Chapter 26

CHAPTER26

Daniel backed up. There was no way he could get Rachel out down the stairs now. He looked at the one other exit in the room with desperation.

“We have one shot at this, Rachel.”

He snatched up the ropes that had bound her to the bed and used one end to tie her to him, to make sure she wouldn’t slip from his shoulder, then he tied the other end to the bedhead.

His mind worked fast as he warily looked back at the flames that were advancing across the room. It was the same feeling he had known in the war, the fear mixed with the need for action. He remained calm, no longer angry or wild, but focused. He had a task now. He was going to save Rachel, and he wasn’t going to fail it.

He reached for the window but found it warping in the heat of the room, sticking against the frame. Stepping back and holding Rachel firmly to him, he kicked at the window. The glass smashed on impact, falling in thousands of shards to the ground below.

Moving toward the gap, he pulled on the rope with one hand, then levered himself out of the window, with Rachel over his shoulder. The moment he put his head out, he could breathe easier again, the smoke clearing. The heat faded too, no longer sizzling on his skin.

Bracing his feet against the frame, he pulled his entire weight against the rope and then leaned back. The weight of both him and Rachel dragged the bed closer to the window. They dropped a foot, and Daniel scraped out with his boots, trying desperately to find something to cling to on the stone wall. Then, the bed braced itself against the window frame, no longer able to slide any further. The rope grew taught, and slowly, Daniel climbed down, taking Rachel with him.

Although they left the bedchamber behind, the strong stench of smoke lingered on both of their clothes.

When Daniel’s feet reached the ground, he couldn’t believe it at first, and he clung onto the rope for a beat longer, needing that certainty. Stepping back, he hurried as far away from the lodge and the smoke as he could, then untied Rachel from his shoulder and lowered her to the ground. He cradled her in his lap and brushed the loose hair back from his face, desperate to see her.

“Come on, Rachel, wake up.”

He took a deep breath, parted her lips, then tipped her head back and breathed into her, needing her to take a clean breath. She gasped, pulling back from him, then her eyes shot open, and she coughed.

“Thank God!” He tipped his head back to the skies, looking at the clouds, then marveled at his own words.

For a long time, he’d wondered if there was a god at all. He’d not believed in one after the war, after seeing so much death, but now, he second-guessed himself. After all, Rachel was still alive.

“Rachel.”

He lifted her higher in his arms. She was weak, barely conscious at all as she coughed. He lurched her forward and clapped her on the back.

“Argh! Could you not do that softer?” she complained, her voice hoarse.

“It must be done, Rachel. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.” He clapped her back again, and she breathed in deeply and fell into his chest.

He held onto her, his arms around her, embracing her warmly to keep her safe.

Above them, thunder cracked. He looked up at the clouds as the rain began falling down. The impending storm had broken at last, and it lashed them all with rain, but Daniel didn’t bother to move them or shelter them from the rain. He just held onto Rachel, relieved at having her back in his arms.

“What hurts?” he asked, pushing her wet hair back from her temples.

“My lungs,” she whispered.

“Anything else? Did he hurt you? Strike you?” He brushed a bruise on her temple, and she winced. “That…” He broke off, not needing to mutter the curse now as he looked across the clearing and saw Lord Repington.

The man was awake, blinking and staring at the rain, but he didn’t move. His leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, suggesting he couldn’t move at all.

“I’m so sorry, Rachel,” Daniel whispered. “I’m sorry for everything.”

“Me… too,” she barely managed and then closed her eyes again.

As she drifted off into unconsciousness, Daniel’s calm façade broke. He lifted her into his chest, cradling her close as tears ran down his cheeks. He’d come so close to losing her. Mere minutes later and she might have died. The rain mixed with the tears on his cheeks, and he didn’t bother to dry them.

Suddenly, the sounds of horses’ hooves sounded in the distance, and he looked around, seeing not only the constable but a man he recognized well.

“Daniel?” It was Ashleigh. He rode straight to Daniel’s side and then jumped down. “Are you well? Injured?”

“I’m fine,” Daniel said hurriedly. “She inhaled smoke, Ashleigh. I need to get her to a physician. They have things, I’ve seen it all done before, in the war. Herbs that people can breathe in, tonics that must be taken—”

Ashleigh took his shoulder, stilling him and calming his frantic words.

“All will be done, I promise you. There’s a physician not far from here we can see.”

The constable dismounted his horse and walked toward the crippled Lord Repington, who said nothing and merely waved his arms at the heavy rain as if he could batter it away.

“How…” Daniel trailed off, nodding his head at the constable.

“Your sister came to me,” Ashleigh explained. “She feared her tale would not be believed, so she asked me to corroborate it in front of the constable,” he added in a low whisper and winked. “It’s a good job she did. When she first explained herself to the constable, he dismissed her as the sister of a madman, then I claimed to have heard everything as well, which we will keep a secret. It got him here.”

“Thank you,” Daniel said, wishing he could take his friend’s hand in thanks, but he could not bear the thought of releasing Rachel. “She needs help, Ashleigh.”

“Come, let’s get her some.”

Daniel stood, carrying Rachel. Even when Ashleigh had offered to carry her, to give him a rest, he hadn’t released her. Rachel was his to protect.

* * *

Rachel opened her eyes. The scent of lavender and honey hung in the air as she looked up. Startled at the feel of soft bedsheets beneath her, she wriggled, sitting straight.

“Careful, you can’t move much yet. You must rest. I’ve seen it before, Rachel.” Daniel’s voice had her spinning around on the bed, reaching for him.

She gripped his arm as he gently pushed her back down on the pillows.

“Daniel,” she murmured, so stunned that she struggled to speak at all for a minute. When the lump grew so great in her throat, she couldn’t fight it, and tears began. He pulled her forward abruptly and embraced her as she cried on his shoulder. “I thought… I thought I imagined you.” She hiccupped. “When I saw you in that fire.”

She’d been convinced of it when the smoke had clawed at her lungs, making her feel as if she was burning from the inside out. She’d thought it was a delusion, the last imaginings before death, of seeing the man she had so wanted to see.

“It was no dream,” he assured her and leaned back, taking her cheeks in his hands and brushing the tears away.

“You mean you walked through fire to get to me?” She pinched his arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You walked into a fire, Daniel!”

“Well, I’m hardly going to apologize for it.” He chuckled, then pulled her forward, embracing her again.

She collapsed into him, so relieved to be engulfed in his arms again that the tears came freely.

“Thank God for you, Daniel,” she whispered.

“You do not know how worried I’ve been,” he murmured in her ear. “When I saw that fire, everything slid into place.”

What does that mean?

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat.

Rachel lifted her head from Daniel’s shoulder and looked at the door of her bedchamber.

Anne was standing in the doorway, looking away from them. “I’m trying to give you two some privacy, but it is difficult,” she said hurriedly. “May I speak with Rachel quickly, Daniel?”

“Of course.” Daniel pulled back, taking Rachel’s hand. “You should know, Rachel, what Anne did to find you.”

He relayed the way Anne had gone to Lord Repington, fabricating lies to lure him into telling her where he had taken Rachel.

“Anne.” Rachel tried to climb out of the bed, but Daniel pulled her back again, and she fell into his chest. “I’m trying to thank her.”

“You can thank her from here. You need to rest,” he reminded her.

“Anne?” Rachel called and held out her hand.

Anne crossed the room and moved toward her, taking her hand. Her touch was gentle at first, as if she was almost fearful that Rachel would break.

“Thank you so much. You walked in the gates of hell for me. I will always be indebted to you.”

“Do not thank me.” Anne waved a hand dismissively. “It is I who must say something to you. I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For not being more welcoming toward you.” Anne’s eyes flicked to her brother. “I did not see until you were gone just how much my brother was devoted to you, nor quite how happy you make him.” She squeezed Rachel’s hand. “So, welcome to the family, Sister.”

“Thank you.” Rachel smiled, overcome with happiness. When her hand grew weak, her sister-in-law stepped back.

“She’s tired, Brother. You’re right, she needs her rest.” Anne retreated to the doorway and offered a sad smile. “I’m glad you’re home.” With these words, she left.

Rachel blinked, looking at Daniel in shock. “Home,” she whispered.

He lifted a hand to her cheek and wiped the last of her tears away, then he moved toward her. His kiss was so sudden, she grew limp in his arms, overawed at the warmth that spread inside her. When she breathed deeply, her chest hurt, and she released him.

“Ow.”

“It will be like that for a while, but you’ll recover,” Daniel explained softly. “Ah, Rachel, I’m so sorry.”

“For what? You saved my life,” she reminded him.

“For being the thing that drove you from this house in the first place. That never should have happened. There’s much I need to say to you.” He lifted her hand between them and turned it over, intimately kissing the inside of her wrist.

“You don’t need to apologize.” Rachel hardly cared at that moment about the argument that had driven them apart. All she cared about was being back here. “Tell me this. Lord Repington… what happened to him?”

“Well, he has a broken nose and a broken leg after what I did to him,” Daniel revealed with a small smile.

“Truly?” Rachel said, finding herself matching his expression as he urged her to lean back on the pillows once again.

“He’s in Newgate. He will be charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. It turns out, his father knew everything about his plans. The constable went to the Duke of Gainsborough’s house this morning and found letters between them that discussed it all. The Duke of Gainsborough fueled his son’s hatred of me and my father,” Daniel said sadly. “I cannot believe he extended that hatred to you. You were innocent, you’d done nothing.”

“Do not think about it now,” Rachel pleaded, leaning forward again.

“I do not think you understand the meaning of rest.” He softly took her shoulders and moved her back again.

“I’m too relieved, too overcome to sit still,” she whined. “Daniel, there’s something I must say to you, and I will say it now. For in that fire, I thought I would die without ever having the chance to say it, and I wish you to know it.”

“Know what?” Daniel entwined one of their hands together, their fingers curling around each other.

She looked at their hands, a little nervous about telling him the truth yet wanting to do it all the same. “I love you,” she whispered, staring at their hands. “I did not want to leave this world without telling you.”

“Then it’s a good thing, for I love you too.” His words made her head snap up.

“What?”

“Hmm, something tells me you heard me the first time,” he said mischievously.

“Daniel!” She pulled on his hand, and he chuckled.

“Very well, I’ll say it again.” He shifted backward, moving to the pillows with her, then raised his arm over her head and around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. “I love you too.” He leaned toward her and kissed her on the temple. “Which is why I’m so sorry for all that has passed between us, this argument, everything.”

“Please, let’s not talk of it now,” Rachel pleaded. “I just want to be happy with you.”

“No, we must talk, for there’s something I wish you to know.” He tapped her chin, urging her to look him in the eye. “Whilst you were gone, my aunt may have pointed out a few things about the folly of my thinking, and Anne even said to me that the reasons to smile in this world might sometimes not always amount to much, but the things that matter are family. It’s you.” He smiled, moving down and resting his forehead against hers. “You do not know how much you have made me smile since you came into my life.”

“And you for me,” Rachel whispered as she raised a hand and curled it around the lapel of his jacket.

It was then she saw the ash on his tailcoat and the damp spots from the rain. He hadn’t changed yet, but clearly stayed close by her side as she was attended to by the doctor.

“There’s something more,” he whispered, lifting his head. “I keep imagining children with us.”

“How do you mean?” she asked, leaning back to look closely at his expression.

A small smile played on his lips.

“I keep thinking of children,” he said again. “A boy with your hair and my eyes, a girl who looks much like you too. The thought makes me happy, and there was something about the idea of those children that made me also ache, thinking what it would be like if we did not have the chance to make them together.”

“Wait.” She scrambled to her knees. “Are you saying—”

“This is not resting. This is getting excited.” He took her waist and tried to push her back down again, but she couldn’t control herself and reached for him.

“Are you saying that you might someday want children?”

“Perhaps,” he said.

“Thank God!” She reached for him and kissed him.

“I didn’t mean we had to start making them this moment,” he said into the kiss and chuckled.

Wrapping her arms around him, she embraced him tightly, having no wish to let go.