Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Evangelina opened her eyes into the stellar blue of Zeke’s gaze, so close to her she could reach out and touch him. She did, finding his cheek and cradling her hand against it.

“Hullo there,” Zeke whispered.

Evangelina smiled, realizing she was held on his lap. She splayed her fingers over his chest, feeling the solid reassurance of him, before turning to look around her. They were in a carriage, rumbling down the street, the depths of the night around them.

“Is he dead?” asked Evangelina.

Zeke nodded softly. “He is.”

Evangelina buried her face in the front of Zeke’s shirt. “You’re safe then. We’re safe.”

“Yes,” he responded, brushing back her hair with his hand. “We are. You saved us, my love.”

Evangelina found she could not respond, only draw herself closer to Zeke. The carriage rolled to a stop, and she at last lifted her head.

“Where are we?” Evangelina asked.

“Somewhere safe,” Zeke said quietly. “Rowan and I have a small apartment we always kept for anything we didn’t want the rest of the family knowing about.”

Evangelina lifted her brows. “Lovers?”

His mouth quirked, but there was no joy in it. “Primarily.”

Zeke hopped down and helped her out of the carriage, whisking her in through the door in a hurry. A woman in an expensive ballgown was not a normal sight for such a setting, and he did not want them drawing any more attention than they already had. He shot the bolt behind them and drew her up a steep flight of stairs.

“Aren’t the two of you rakes?” asked Evangelina as they came up to a second door and Zeke produced a key. “Why would you need to hide your liaisons?”

Zeke opened the door and guided Evangelina in before him. “Well, for Rowan, they were women of a lower order than the ones he was supposed to be consorting with.”

Evangelina surveyed the room. It was hardly tawdry – no red velvet or mirrored ceilings like she would imagine, like the tales she’d heard of places men kept their mistresses. Once, Patrice had brought Evangelina with her to some shop in the middle of the day, and they’d gone into a back room that was all soft fabrics, mirrors, and sin. They’d only been there a few moments, and there was no one in attendance, but it had left a distinct impression on the young woman as to what such dens of iniquity would be like. The handsome, masculine room in rich blues and greens was hardly that.

“And you?” Evangelina asked, curious what he had to hide from the world, but it didn’t scare her. After all, he had brought her into this private place that even his family didn’t know about.

“Men,” he said quietly.

She turned to look at him. “You brought men here? As lovers?”

Zeke looked strange in a way she could not place.

“I did not know that a possibility,” said Evangelina quietly. “But then, I am rather uneducated in these matters. In any case, it’s rather a nice room.”

There was a large bathtub at one end, and Evangelina’s bunched muscles yearned to sink into it and be soothed. Zeke seemed to breathe again, to move again, and he came to stand beside her, placing his hand on her back as he did, as though he simply had to touch her.

“I’ll start heating some water,” Zeke offered, following her thoughts.

Evangelina sank down on the bed, watching her husband as he moved through the room, shedding his coat and starting a fire in the hearth.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, not looking at her.

“Not really,” Evangelina said. “It was what it had to be, I suppose.”

He turned to face her then as the tinder caught behind him. “It was, Evangelina. You did what you had to do, and I am extremely sorry you were the one who had to do it.”

“I’m not,” said Evangelina quietly, and she told the plain truth.

It was her debt to settle, and something decisive and deep clicked into place in her bones when she saw him dead at her hands. Horror at what she had done overwhelmed her first, the sight of blood, seeing the light of life go out in another person’s eyes. It was…unthinkable. Yet he deserved it. And what’s more, he would be a danger to everyone in their family as long as he lived. Evangelina was glad she’d done it, and glad she’d been the one to protect them all. She looked at Zeke, the goodness in him glowing like a star, the peace that flowed through his veins like living water warring with the furious fire that threatened to consume him when one he loved was at risk. Evangelina loved him for that, but she knew it would have killed a fundamental part of himself to a end a life, and that she could not have born. Evangelina knew it had been hard for her, and yet, she did not feel less afterward. Changed, certainly, but not less.

Zeke hadn’t heard her, at least not as she’d meant the words. He shook his head, adding a few more pieces of wood to the flames as they grew.

“It should never have been you,” he said softly, staring at the young fire. “I should have just killed him in Scotland when I had the chance, then you never would have had to–”

“Don’t,” Evangelina stopped him. “You saved me in Scotland, and I have saved you. Perhaps we save each other, and I think that a good thing.”

Zeke stood then and walked over to her, cupping her face in his hands. “I love you, Evangelina Marston.”

“I love you too, Ezekiel Marston,” she answered.

He bent to kiss her softly, and she held onto his arms above the elbows, not letting him go.

The smell off the water made Samira gag. She would have kept her stomach in almost any other circumstance, but given her condition, she could not manage it. Samira bent over to the water and wretched up anything and everything she’d consumed. She felt Rowan’s hand at her back, sweeping her hair off her face as she spat. It was all too much, the fear and tension of the last hours, and that ungodly smell of the Thames when they were in no place like she’d ever been. Dirty could not have done it justice if one said it a thousand times.

“You don’t have to help with this,” Rowan ran his hand down Samira’s arm. “I know it’s rather gruesome.”

Samira shook her head. “I want to. I want to see him sunk to the bottom of that filthy river where he belongs.”

Rowan passed his arm around her and drew her close, kissing her forehead. “Bloodthirsty wench.”

Samira managed a smile at that. “Let’s get this over with.”

Rowan moved toward the carriage, opening the door now that he knew the coast was clear. Joel hoped down from inside, the massive, cloaked figure flopping out between them. The two men strained as they half-drug the carcass to the edge of the water. Samira reflected on how strange a journey it had been, that the man who forced her and her mother to England, who abandoned them just the same, who had never wanted Evangelina then had taken her for his own gain, the man who had caused so much pain and so much strife, now was nothing more than a lifeless husk to be tossed into the Thames like so much refuse.

Rowan and Joel heaved the body of the Earl of Claymore over the edge, and it dropped like a stone, hitting the water with a substantial splash. Rowan and Joel stepped back quickly, avoiding the droplets of water that sprang up. Strange to think that one man could further pollute an already disgusting cesspool where the water slowed and slackened, but it was true.

Stepping back, Rowan passed an arm around Samira’s waist, drawing her closer. She shivered involuntarily though it was not at all cold. Joel swung up into the driver’s seat of the carriage, leaving husband and wife to themselves a moment as they stood alone and together.

“Good riddance,” she said quietly, then snuggled into her husband’s side.

He kissed her forehead, cradling her against him, thanking God above that he had her safe in his arms.

“Let’s go,” urged Joel from atop the carriage. “No sense in waiting around for someone to come by and ask questions.”

Rowan seemed surprised at the good point from Joel, but he wholeheartedly agreed. He had been so wrapped up in Samira, in making sure she was all right, that common sense seemed to go out the window. Rowan quickly handed his wife up into the carriage and shut the door behind them, sealing them in semi-darkness as he took the bench beside Samira, unwilling to be further from her than he needed to be. With a small jolt, Joel started off.

After several moments of silence, Rowan opened his mouth to speak, to try to say something comforting to Samira, but she beat him to it.

“I would have let Claymore kill Zeke if it meant saving you,” said Samira quietly. “If it had been Eva…I don’t know what I would have done.”

Rowan breathed slowly, running his hand along the length of her hair. “I know, my love.”

And he knew that he would let anyone on this earth die before Samira. He would throw himself before any of them he loved, of course, but that was how it should be. Yet Samira was above them all. He knew how much she cared for Evangelina, almost like her own child, and it made him pensive. Rowan splayed a hand over Samira’s belly, realizing that already, he loved the babe in her belly more than anyone on earth. He had thought of Thalia, even Joel, as almost like his children, the majority of his adult life spent as their guardian, but this was something even deeper.

“Thankfully we don’t have to know anything like that,” Rowan whispered. “The Earl is dead. Evangelina and Zeke are safe, as are we. We are whole and we are well.”

“Take me home,” Samira buried her head in the crook of his neck, breathing deeply. “Take me home and make love to me, remind me of what matters, of all those things you said.”

“As you wish,” he kissed her forehead.

They settled closer together in the carriage as it traveled through the London night, taking them back to where they belonged.

The small apartment became a warm haven against the tumult of Evangelina’s mind. The steaming water enveloped her, and Zeke’s arms encircled her as they lay in the bath together.

“I think I’m ready to talk about it,” she said quietly.

She was fighting the urge to wall everything up, but it was getting easier and easier to let the emotions flow out of her each time she forced herself to do it. And in the end, Evangelina ended up feeling lighter rather than heavier, if she told her thoughts, fears, woes.

Zeke planted a soft kiss against her wet shoulder. “I’m here to listen.”

Evangelina picked up the soap and started on her hair, but Zeke took it from her, creating the suds himself and starting to work his hands through the long, black strands.

“He was just going to keep coming after us,” Evangelia whispered. “After you.”

Zeke lathered the soap into her hair. “I know my love.”

She laid her head back on his bare chest, and he gathered her against him with his arms around her, tight around her stomach so that her breasts rested against his forearm. “I had to do it. They never would have held him accountable for anything he did.”

Zeke reached with one hand, picking up the bowl and pouring water over her, over them both. “You had to do it.”

Evangelina sunk a little lower in the water. “I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?”

Zeke hesitated. She had fainted; she was fragile. She had killed a man; that would have broken Zeke. But he had learned, watching her strength and resilience, that she was far from a child, and he did not need to protect her from the truth. She deserved all the honesty he had.

“Yes, you are,” Zeke leaned down and kissed the wet top of her head. “But we are in it together, so that is what matters.”

Evangelina dropped her head into her hands. “They’re going to want to hang me for this.”

He hesitated, fighting every instinct in him that screamed to tell her a comforting lie. “They might try, but I won’t let them.”

That was perhaps the truest thing he had ever said. After everything, Zeke would never allow them to be parted again.

Evangelina shook her head. “How will you stop it?”

“Conway has a great deal of influence,” he said, giving voice to the musings that had been in his head the past hours. “And there are good people who will understand what happened. They know the Earl was threatening us.”

“They know there was a feud,” Evangelina corrected. “And now, the illegitimate, dark-skinned daughter of the Earl has killed him, and they will not be kind to me.”

Zeke ran his hands up and down her soap-slickened arms. “You may be right, I’m sorry to say.”

“So how will we ever be safe?” Evangelina said, hardly even a question it was so devoid of hope.

Zeke’s fingers tightened around her upper arms. “We need to run.”

She turned so fast in the tub that water sloshed over the edge. “What?”

“We’ll leave the country,” said Zeke, nodding, a plan forming. “We can go to Paris, or Madrid, even Rome. Maybe all of them. It will be like a honeymoon.” He was trying to make it sound bright and beautiful, not like they were running for their lives. “And here, Conway and Rowan can lobby for you, try to get any warrants for your arrest or even any questions about the case quashed.”

Evangelina chewed her lip. “Do you think that will work?”

Zeke caught her chin and kissed her softly. “I think it’s better than waiting around here to find out.”

She shook her head a little, in shock rather than disagreement. “Won’t running make me look guilty?”

“Looking guilty for a time is far better than being caught and found guilty for eternity,” Zeke countered.

Evangelina nodded. “When would we have to go?”

Zeke breathed slowly, deeply, making her feel his breath in her own lungs. “I don’t know. Rowan is trying to make sure it stays hidden for as long as possible, but likely it will be found out sooner or later. Someone – a servant, a passerby – they will talk to the wrong person and it will all unravel.”

“Soon then,” Evangelina said.

“As soon as possible, I’m afraid,” said Zeke.

She felt tears sting at her eyes. “Everything has to be a rush, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sorry my love,” he whispered. “I’ll talk to Rowan in the morning and we’ll form a plan. I can talk to Andrew as well – he has connections across the channel I believe.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Evangelina quietly, resting against his chest. “We have tonight though?”

“Yes,” he said softly. “We have tonight.”

Zeke stood up then and took her with him, hauling Evangelina to her feet and bending his head to kiss her fiercely as the water sluiced off them, half into the tub and half on the floor. “We absolutely have tonight.”

Zeke left Evangelina snugly sleeping in bed in the early hours of the morning. He sought out Rowan, who agreed with this plan of action, albeit reluctantly.

“Samira will be devastated,” Rowan shook his head. “But I think you have the right of it.”

Zeke had been encouraged to hear his brother say so, and the pair of them set about their various tasks to prepare. Zeke left his family home and went on to talk to Andrew Montgomery, who would likely know exactly who to contact once they’d landed in Paris. He knocked on Andrew’s door and was shown in, finding the man still half-asleep, which would have been reasonable at such an hour for anyone excepting those running from the law.

“You got your wife back,” said Andrew groggily.

“I did,” said Zeke.

Andrew smiled. “Good. Well, it’s the second time you’ve come barging into my apartments with the look of a man who needs something. I hope I can be of better assistance this time than I was the last.”

“You put me in touch with the men who helped me rescue my wife,” said Zeke simply. “That is helping, more than you could know.”

Andrew nodded. “Well, they’ve taken a liking to you. Cutler went back North to ship out but Sidney and Nate are demanding you join them for a card game soon. What say you?”

“I think that won’t be possible,” Zeke rubbed the back of his neck. “My wife and I are going to Paris.”

Andrew’s eyes lit. “Ah, Paris! It’s been a while since I’ve been, but I’m sure I can give you some places to explore if that’s what you’re after.”

“I need you to give me letters of introduction for some of your contacts there,” said Zeke.

Andrew laughed. “The people I know there need nothing so formal. Tell them you know me and they will open their doors.”

“Very well,” Zeke nodded. “Can you tell me who to find, at least? Someone in the art world, preferably, as I think I may need to make a bit of money while I’m there, and virtually my only useful skill is my art.”

“This I can do,” Andrew nodded. “Search out Ethan Caro when you’re in Paris. He’s an art student and he’ll help you get settled. There are a few others, but I trust him the most. I’ll write out some other names.”

“That would be much appreciated,” said Zeke, and he waited.

“You mean right now?” asked Andrew.

“Please,” said Zeke.

Andrew flopped down at his desk and began to write. “You want to make money? That is unique for you, with your art.”

Zeke nodded. “It would be the first time I paint for anything other than my own enjoyment.”

Andrew scribbled a few names onto the page. “I take it this is not a leisurely sojourn to the most romantic city in the world, then?”

“It is not,” Zeke agreed.

Andrew handed him the list a few moments later. “If you’re in trouble…”

“A man’s dead,” said Zeke flatly, and Andrew’s brows shot up. “We have to go.”

“Damn,” Andrew said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

Zeke nodded. “It’s all right. We’ll be all right, but it is imperative we don’t draw too much attention.”

Andrew nodded. “Well, when you get there and start selling paintings, it’s not going to be long before you’re famous, I’m sure.”

Zeke shook his head. “You overestimate my talents.”

“And you underestimate them,” said Andrew firmly. “You always underestimate yourself.”

Zeke looked at Andrew squarely. “Takes one to know one.”

Andrew shrugged. “Perhaps, but we’re not talking about me. I mean it, Zeke; you have a lot to offer, and even if it’s in dreadful circumstances, I think it might be a good thing you’re going to Paris.”

“That’s the most generous silver lining I’ve ever heard given,” Zeke managed a small smile.

“It’s what I’m here for,” said Andrew.

“Listen, I have to get going, but if I don’t see you again…” started Zeke.

“Enough of that,” Andrew said sharply. “We will, of this I am sure. And they have amazing things called letters that will keep us connected.”

Zeke grasped Andrew’s hand and pulled him close, the pair embracing. “Thank you, friend.”

“My pleasure,” Andrew nodded. “If it helps, I’ll see what I can do on this side, but I’m sure your brother-in-law will be far more effective than I.”

Zeke smiled slightly. “Yes, well, I appreciate it nonetheless.”

“Godspeed then,” Andrew said with a small smile.