Chapter 31

31

A fter watching his cousin and Victor dance the evening away with Tricia, Thomas had had quite enough.

He was ready to take her into his arms and reserve the rest of her dances, however, he could not find her.

Polk and Jonathan seemed to have vanished as well, and that was not a good thing.

Thomas counted to ten, adjusted his gloves and his cravat, and left the ballroom.

Servants were milling about, so he grabbed a young maid and asked her to check the ladies' retiring room to see if Tricia was there.

"Of course, my lord." She walked into the ladies' retiring area and returned momentarily. "No, my lord. Lady Patricia is not in there. Only Lady Francesca Lawrence and her mother."

"Thank you."

The young maid bowed and went on with her duties.

Thomas strode through the mansion to the foyer, where he inhaled deeply.

Something smelled a bit off.

Almost like…

And it was coming from the adjacent hallway—the hallway that led to his study.

"Oh my God!"

Smoke was seeping out from underneath the door of his study. "What the bloody hell!" He touched the doorknob, and even through his glove it was hot, but he managed to turn it and open the door.

Flames greeted him.

"Help!" He screamed down the hallway. "Help me! The study's on fire. I need water. Quickly!" Then he closed the door.

"Thomas!"

A voice. Tricia's voice.

And it was coming from inside the study.

His heart nearly popped out of his chest.

He opened the door once more. "Tricia!" There she was, beyond the flames, behind his desk near the window. What was she doing here?

But he didn't care. He had to get her out of harm's way.

"Thomas, I'm here. I tried to break the window. I?—"

Thomas didn't think. He ran into the room, right through the flames, toward Tricia.

Tricia screamed. "Thomas, your coat!"

He looked down. The sleeves of his coat were on fire, and the acrid scent of his singed hair somehow made it through the smoke to his nose.

He scrambled out of the garment quickly and stomped the flames out with his feet.

"We've got to get out of here," Thomas said.

He picked up his leather chair and threw it against the window. The glass shattered and, as quickly as he could, he placed his burned coat around the window so they wouldn't get cut by the shards of glass.

He lifted Tricia and helped her through, and then he scrambled through himself just as the ledgers on his desk erupted in flames.

Tricia melted into his arms. "Oh, Thomas! I was so scared."

"Tricia, what happened?"

She burst into tears. "I… I'm sorry, Thomas. I'm sorry I was in your office."

"Do you think I care about that right now? I'm just happy you're safe. What the devil happened?"

"I… I was sneaking around, I suppose, and I?—"

"It doesn't matter. I've alerted my staff, and they'll send a messenger to the fire department, though who knows how long it will take to get them out to the estate. How on earth did the fire start?"

"Oh, it wasn't me. Two men came in. Scattered some papers around, and the next thing I knew everything was in flames."

"And they knew you were there?"

"No. I was hiding under your desk."

"Who in God's name?—"

Tricia swallowed. "I couldn't see them, Thomas, but I do believe one of them was your cousin. At least, his voice sounded slightly familiar, and he mentioned you being his cousin, and I don't know if you have any other cousins here at this house party. From your mother's side or something."

Thomas seethed. "No, I don't. Damn that Jameson. He wants this estate. I'll fucking kill him for this."

"Thomas, no."

Guests and servants were racing out of the mansion and milling about.

Tricia gasped. "Thomas, your arms. They're burned!"

He looked down.

Sure enough, the fabric of his shirt had been burned away, and both his forearms were red with burns. But he felt nothing.

He only felt relief that Tricia was safe.

What if he hadn't been walking around looking for her? What if he hadn't smelled the smoke? Seen it coming out from under the door of the study?

Someone would have smelled it. Someone would have heard her screams.

Oh, God… What if…? And she hadn't been strong enough to break the window herself.

He grabbed her, held her to him. "My God, Tricia. What if… What if…"

"I'm all right," she gulped. "I'm so very sorry for?—"

He silenced her then.

He silenced her with his mouth on hers.

The kiss was raw and frantic. He pried her mouth open with his tongue, and he took from her. He kissed her as though he had never kissed another woman. As if she were his first and only.

And that's when he knew, at that time, that she would be the only one for him from this time on. Even if he hadn't ruined her, he would marry her.

He no longer cared that nearly everyone at the ball was now congregating outside until the fire was put out. They all saw him kissing Tricia.

Including his mother.

Including Cameron, his brother-in-law and Tricia's brother.

And including the viscount, Polk, and his dratted cousin, Jonathan Jameson.

He'd have to marry her now, and he didn't care. For he had now met Tricia's requirement.

He loved her.

He loved her so much that the thought of her perishing in that fire made him sick to his stomach. Made tears come to his eyes.

He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her, until?—

"Good God, Ashford, let the girl breathe."

The voice came from none other than his brother-in-law, Daniel Farnsworth, the Duke of Lybrook and husband to Lily. His deep voice held a hint of a chuckle.

Lily ran up to him next. "Goodness, Thomas, look at your arms."

Still he felt nothing. Only pure emotional relief that Tricia was all right.

Lady Clementine came hurrying toward them. "Tricia, darling. What on earth happened?"

Tricia swallowed. Her lips felt raw and swollen from the kiss Thomas had just given her.

"Mummy, I don't exactly know. Someone started a fire in Thomas's study."

"But why would you be in his study?" she asked.

Thomas should have been curious about that as well, but he did not honestly care.

The fire wagons from the nearest city came barreling up behind galloping horses, but at that point, servants had the fire contained.

Montague, the Ashford butler, walked forward, a stern look on his face. "The fire has been contained to your study, my lord. No other part of the mansion has been burned, but I'm afraid your study has been reduced to embers."

"I don't give a bloody damn about my study, Montague," Thomas said. "Everything in there can be replaced." Then he looked at Tricia, who was receiving an embrace from her mother.

She could never be replaced.

And if his arms were scarred, it was a small price to pay.

"I'm not so sure this could be replaced, my lord." Montague handed Thomas a singed copy of his father's journal.

"Good heavens, you're right about that!" Thomas grabbed the journal from Montague. The cover was badly burned, but most of the pages containing his father's entries were untouched.

He glared in the direction of the Polks. This was the final nail in their coffin. They had clearly set fire to his study to destroy this damning piece of evidence.

"My lord," Montague continued. "You need medical attention."

"I'm fine, Montague." He turned his attention back to his butler. "Has everyone been safely evacuated from the mansion?"

"Yes, my lord. Once we've determined that there is no further danger, we will allow them to go back in. I'm not sure how this fire started, but I believe you're very lucky. It could have easily spread to that whole wing of the house, and then…"

"Yes, Montague, I know. I'd rather not think of it, thank you."

The butler bowed quickly. "I shall continue to see to the cleanup, my lord."

"Yes, thank you, Montague."

Tricia was sobbing in her mother's arms, and then Lady Clementine began sobbing as well. Trudy brought Katrina to them, and Lady Clementine lifted Katrina in her arms—even though she was a big girl of nearly eleven years—and kissed her pretty face, still crying. "Thank God, Kitty Kat!"

Katrina rubbed sleep out of her eyes. "Mummy, what happened? Someone said something about a fire?"

"Yes, Kat," Tricia said through tears. "Everyone is fine now. Everyone is all right."

Lily touched Thomas's shoulder. "Please, Thomas. Let the doctor look at you."

Thomas finally nodded, but he did not want to leave Tricia.

"She's fine," Lily said to him. "But you do realize you have to marry her now. Her mother saw you kissing her, and so did every guest here."

"Did Cameron see it?" Thomas asked.

Lily chuckled. "He did indeed. So if you would care for your manhood to remain attached to the space between your legs, I would propose to the girl posthaste."

"It's all right, Lily," Thomas said. "It shall be no hardship to marry Tricia. It seems I've gone and fallen in love with her."

Lily launched herself at Thomas, wrapping her arms around him. "Thomas, that's absolutely wonderful!"

Thomas stood in the warm embrace of his devoted sister for a moment, but then quickly broke out of it, feeling quite lightheaded. Dark spots appeared in his vision. And then…

Thomas felt his body fall to the ground, and a black curtain draped over him.