Chapter 28

CHAPTER28

It took her a long time to find her voice again. She was still under the influence of shock, of fear, of the dreadful future that could have happened had Leo not arrived in time.

But he had. He came to her rescue, even after she pushed him away and told him that she did not want to see him. He was here by her side when she needed him the most. The thought warmed her heart. It reminded her of what she could have lost.

Then again, she remembered what Seth had said. It was all a lie.

… but, was it really?”

“Jane, my love,” he spoke, cupping her cheeks with his hands and bringing their faces so close together that she could feel his warm breath on her lips.

How she longer for him to kiss her, to tell her that from now on, everything would be all right because they would be together, but she feared that she had ruined that possibility for them when she chose to believe something that, under the light of these new events, might not even be true.

“I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he whispered, their foreheads coming together.

“No, no.” She shook her head, using her hands to cup his face in return. “I pushed you away. I told you I never wanted to see you again.”

He paused for a moment then continued. “I know this might all seem too fast and too soon, but I love you, Jane. I love you more than life itself, and if you need time, I will give it to you. I will give you whatever you need, just please, don’t push me away.”

“Time?” she asked, her brows knitting in confusion. “Why do you think I need time?”

This time, he also sounded confused. “Wasn’t that why you left the ball so hastily? You felt that we were moving too quickly. Seth said…”

As soon as he said those words, it became crystal clear to both of them what had happened. It was all Seth’s doing. He tried to break them apart. It was slowly becoming evident that he had never been her friend. What’s even worse, he had never been Leo’s friend either. Friends did not betray friends in such a manner.

“Yes, Seth,” Jane nodded, finally understanding. “He told me that you knew who I was from the moment you first saw me.”

“What?” Leo frowned.

“He also told me that your late father urged you to destroy his enemy… my own father. That this marriage of ours was just a prolongation of that initial plan. You buying the brewery, you marrying me—it was all a plan to ruin my father.”

“Jane…” Leo sounded incredulous at what he was hearing. She knew he was not pretending. “None of that is true. Not a single word of it. I told you the truth about seeing you for the first time. I did not know who you were. I did find out later, and I knew that whatever I was feeling for you already would come to no good. So, I pulled away.” He paused then he continued. “As for our marriage, I know it did not start off well. I know I made you do things you didn’t want to do. I hate being compared to your father, but in that respect, we were the same. We did not take your opinion into consideration, but rather, we forced our decision upon you, simply expecting you to agree. That was wrong. I should never have done that.”

“Leo, I—”

“Please, Jane… let me apologize for everything that I have ever done to you,” he interrupted her gently. “I want there to be no secrets between us, ever. I want everything to be clear. I want you to know how sorry I am that I haven’t always treated you as an equal because that is what you are to me. You are my love, my all; you are the only one I want by my side, not as an obedient wife, but as my partner in everything. I value your opinion, and I think you are the wittiest young lady I’ve ever met. You make me smile every day, and from the moment I held you in my arms, I knew that there would never be room for anyone else in my life ever again.”

“Oh, Leo…” Jane gasped, looking at him, getting lost in his eyes.

How she longed to hear those words although she had already forgiven him for all of that.

“I couldn’t believe when Seth told me that our marriage was a lie,” she admitted. “I… I needed time to gather my thoughts and emotions, but I would have spoken to you. You know I would have.”

“I know,” he nodded with a smile. “I would also be confused if someone I trusted told me such a thing about their best friend. I don’t blame you for anything, Jane. I was the stupid one not to see Seth’s true colors. He had been my friend for so long. The signs were all there, but I chose to turn a blind eye to them, thinking that it was simply who he was, not that he was such a dreadful man and a coward to top it all off. Coming to your chamber at night, I—”

“Shhh,” she whispered, pressing her finger to his lips. “We shall put all that behind us.”

It was then that he looked down at her hand. “Your hand!” he exclaimed. “You didn’t tell me… Did he do that to you?”

“No,” she shook her head, glancing to her right at the broken window. “I would rather have jumped out of that broken window than allow him to have his way with me.”

He smiled. “My brave warrior.”

“I wasn’t so brave,” she shrugged, sounding ashamed. “I wasn’t able to defend myself from him.”

He cupped her chin, making her face him once again. “No one will ever dare touch you ever again. I promise you that, my love. You will never have anything or anyone to fear.”

“Do you promise?” she whispered back.

“I promise.”

He brought his lips to hers, vowing to her that every single word he said was the truth. She believed him. She would never allow anyone to come between them like that again. She would never take someone else’s word over his. She would never make that mistake again.

When their lips parted, she had to ask. “Why would he do such a thing?”

“Seth?” Leo asked, but they both knew well who she was referring to. She nodded. He took a moment, and then replied with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. I doubt he has ever truly loved a woman. It is all a game in his mind.”

“I know he has been with many women,” Jane dared to admit about a gossip she had heard, but initially doubted whether it was true. Now, she was certain that it was.

“Some of those stories circulating have been set in motion by none other than him, for the mere purpose of destroying the reputation of a lady who has refused his advances,” Leo revealed. “I kept trying to convince him that it was wrong, but he wouldn’t listen. I thought there was some goodness in him.”

“I doubt it,” Jane shuddered, remembering the look in Seth’s eyes as he was approaching her.

“I think he was trying to prove that all women are the same,” Leo continued. “That no woman is worth the effort a man should put into courting, marriage. That is what he always believed, and I failed in convincing him otherwise.”

“You cannot convince someone of believing something they refuse to believe,” she concluded. “His life is not yours to mend.”

“You’re right,” he smiled. “Besides, I do not wish to waste a single breath more on talking about him.

“Me neither,” she agreed.

“So, you broke the glass?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Mhm,” she nodded. This time, she sounded proud, and she was. She had never done such a bold thing in her life.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, taking her wrist into his hand and inspecting the gash closely. She looked at it as well. It didn’t seem big. There were more minor cuts, those were the heavy bleeders, but now it seemed that everything had stopped.

“Not really,” she admitted.

“We still need to take care of that, my brave warrior,” he advised, bringing her bloody hand to his lips and kissing it softly.

“We can take the alcohol from the drawing room,” he suggested.

“I have alcohol in the drawing room here?” she asked, shocked.

“Of course,” he chuckled. “I stocked you well with everything in this house as you shall see.”

“No,” she shook her head suddenly.

“No, what?” he asked.

“I would rather not remain here long enough to see what you have stocked here for me,” she told him, with a loving twinkle in her eye. “I would rather go back home… with you.”

“That is what I plan on doing as soon as we clean this wound a little,” he nodded with a smile.

“It’s nothing, really,” she assured him, but he wouldn’t have it. To be quite honest, she loved how he wanted to take care of her.

Seeing that they would not be leaving before her wound was tended to, she took him by the hand and led him to the drawing room. They found a small cloth, and he went to the cellarette to fetch some alcohol. He grabbed a crystal container and brought it to his eyes for inspection.

“This should be good,” he concluded. “First we’ll clean your wound properly then we shall drink.” He turned to her, getting two glasses as well and putting them on the small table in front of the chaise lounge she was seated on. Her hand was in her lap.

“Why are we drinking?” she wondered, watching him sit down by her side.

Gently, he took her hand in his. She tried to spread her fingers. Some of the surface scabs spread apart, and thin trickles of blood appeared once more.

“Does it hurt?” he asked.

“No,” she answered, glancing down.

“It might when I pour some alcohol on it,” he warned. He then brought her hand closer to his eyes. “I have to check if there’s any leftover glass.”

Gently, he turned her hand around several times, assuring that there were no shards in her skin. She watched him do it, her heart overflowing with love and tenderness. She couldn’t believe that she ever doubted him. She felt ashamed of her weakness, of her willingness to jump to conclusions that were so utterly erroneous.

She banished the thought quickly from her mind. None of that mattered any longer. Everything was sorted out. There was nothing keeping them apart, nothing that could ever stand between them ever again. Their love was strong enough to survive everything. She was more than certain of that now.

“I think it’s clean,” he finally said, taking the bottle. He placed the cloth in his lap then her hand on top of it. He looked at her apologetically. “This might hurt a little.”

“It’s all right,” she smiled.

He proceeded to pour a few drops of alcohol on her wounds. It stung horribly. She hissed through her teeth, but she endured it. She knew why she was doing it. When he was done, he brought her hand to his lips, blowing at it gently. It really soothed the sting.

“We have to find a clean cloth to wrap your hand in,” he suggested, “but I don’t know if there’s anything here.”

“Leo?” she suddenly told him, unwilling to wait a single moment longer.

“Yes, my love?” he asked, his gaze firmly fixated on hers.

“Take me home,” she asked softly. “Please.”

He smiled with such tenderness and love that she felt washed over in it. The feeling was wondrous. She never believed someone could be loved in such a manner, so unconditionally. Despite the fact that it all started so differently, they ended up exactly where they were supposed to end. Together.

He got up, and without saying another word, he picked her up in his arms and headed for the door. She chuckled sweetly as he did so.

“I didn’t mean literally take me home in your arms, you silly man,” she kept laughing.

“No, no, no,” he shook his head as her laughter reverberated around the sleeping house. He walked slowly, making sure not to trip. “Now that I have you in my arms, rest assured that I will never ever let you go, so you’d better get used to this.”

“I already love it,” she admitted, resting her head on his shoulder as he carried her outside and towards the carriage.

She didn’t mind anything. Not the pain in her hand. Not the chilly night breeze that blew all around them. None of that mattered because she was where she belonged in her husband’s arms. And that was where she would remain forever more.