Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
When Alison finally came to, the first thing she noticed was the painful throbbing in her head. It was like the dull blows of a hammer, repeatedly tapping away at the inside of her skull. She grimaced, keeping her eyes shut, not at all where the pain had come from or why it was so prevalent…
That was when it came back to her.
Her eyes snapped open as memories flooded to the fore, and she went to sit up as if preparing to throw herself from the bed.
“Careful,” a voice spoke… perhaps the last one she would have ever expected to hear. “We don’t want you falling over and hitting your head again. The Earl might not be so forgiving a second time.”
“Felix?”
Alison realized then where she was, which itself was surprising as the last thing she remembered was being carried into a ramshackle cabin in the middle of the woods. Somehow, and she could not begin to fathom the reason, she was back in her own bedroom, safe and sound.
Stranger still, Felix was sitting with her.
He was perched on a stool by the end of the bed, his body hunched and withdrawn, his expression tired. Indeed, there were bags under his eyes and when he smiled, it was a weak and pitiful thing.
“You’re awake,” he said, his voice soft and unsure. “Mother will be thrilled to hear it. We were not certain when you would wake.”
“I…” Alison’s head throbbed painfully, and she struggled to understand what was going on. “How did I get here? What is happening?”
“I take it you are confused,” Felix said. “Which makes enough sense. It was two days ago now that you were brought home. Two days that we did not know if you would wake up.”
“Brought home…”
“Before you ask, Mother and Father have both visited you, and often. Nerissa and Winnie too. But I elected to stay by your side until you woke. I figured it was the least I could do.”
Felix was different from what Alison knew him to be usually. He was… softly spoken, nervous and ashamed. He could not look at her directly, and he fidgeted with each word spoken.
“I do not understand,” she said. “The least you can do? What –”
“I owe you an apology,” he spoke over her. “Perhaps too late to make such a thing, but I owe it, nonetheless. All of this…” He grimaced at her. “It is my fault, Alison. I did not mean for it to happen, but that is not an excuse. It is done, and I pray that you might forgive me.”
“How did I get here?” she asked through the throbbing pain. “What happened?”
Felix sighed and bowed his head. “The two men who took you, the same who broke into this home while we were away, they did so on account of my own actions.” He winced and turned his head so that there was no chance he might meet her eyes.
“I… I have done some terrible things, Alison. Things that do not deserve forgiveness.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gambling, mostly,” he said bitterly. “Debts that grew beyond anything I might afford – that I was too ashamed to tell Father of. To pay them back, I offered an empty manor, one filled with valuables that would hopefully go some way to appease those to whom I owe money. At least that was the plan.”
It slowly dawned on Alison. “They were here because of you. You told them the house would be empty.”
“I did.”
“And when I foiled their plans…”
Finally, he looked at her. His eyes rimmed red and his cheeks were tracked with tear streaks. “They were never meant to take you. That was not part of the plan. I swear it! But they did, and for that you have no idea how sorry I am…” His head dropped again, and she could hear him sobbing.
“Felix…” Despite what had happened, Alison could not help but feel pity. She and Felix might have never been that close, but she knew he would not wish hurt upon her. “You do not need to apologize.”
“I do.”
She smiled and then shuffled down the bed. When she reached where he sat, she took his hand and squeezed it. “It is quite fine, Felix. I mean…” She laughed. “That you found and rescued me certainly goes some way toward making amends.”
His head snapped up again. “I did not rescue you. Alison… we had no idea you had even been taken.”
“You didn’t…” She leaned back. “Then how?”
“It is no wonder you do not remember. Lord Grayhill said that by the time he found you, you were –”
“Daniel!” she gasped. “I mean… Lord Grayhill. He did this?”
“He hunted you down,” Felix explained. “From what that young boy was saying… Tommy, I think to be his name? He beat the two men to within an inch of their lives. He might have killed them, had the villagers not stopped him in time.”
“He…” She swallowed. “He did?”
“And then he carried you back here, even staying by your bed for the first night. I thought he might have stayed forever. Truly, I am surprised he did not.” He winced again. “I suppose he did not wish to be around me.”
“I… Daniel… saved me?”
Alison thought to be surprised. Her first reaction, that of outright shock, swept over her and the room started to turn. How was it possible? Had he not left for the Americas? And even had he not, why did he even care to put himself in danger like that?
Those thoughts, although powerful at first, soon melted like snow in summer and when they did a smile touched Alison’s lips just as her heart began to swell.
Of course, it was Daniel. Hasn’t it always been? Did he not promise to protect me? Was he not always there when I needed him most?
Her smile grew with realization. Her heart continued to grow inside her chest. And even the dull throbbing pain softened because such things seemed inconsequential in light of what she now understood to be true.
He cared for her. There was nothing else to say. Tommy must have told him what happened and, abandoning his trip, he came to her rescue. Not because he thought it was the right thing to do. Not because he had no choice. But because… her smile grew further… because he loved her.
“Where is he?” she asked Felix. “Where is Lord Grayhill?”
Felix shrugged. “Home, I suspect. He is a good man, Alison. A better man than me. What is more, I owe him more than your life.”
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head as if in shock. “When Lord Grayhill learned of my debts, he offered to pay them. He did not ask for collateral. He did not suggest compensation. He just…” He exhaled. “He just said he would cover them and that was that.”
“Of course he did.”
That was just the type of man that Daniel was. He might not have believed it of himself. He might have been at pains to deny it. But in his heart, he was a protector of those who needed it. For all the wrong he thought he had done in his life, it paled in comparison to the good.
And now, Alison came to realize, it was time that he understood this to be true.
He loved her, she knew that he did. He might deny it.
He might refuse to admit it. But it was true as sure as the sun rising on the morrow.
And this time, when Alison went to him, she would not stop until he knew it as fact.
Like it or not, Daniel was going to admit how he felt. Honestly, it was about damn time.