Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
“It’s over now, Lucy. Your brother is gone,” Daniel whispered.
Lucy knew that he was trying to be strong for her, but she could also sense the tension in his voice. He had gone through hell and back for her.
He pulled her to her feet so easily, as if she were a feather. He guided her out of the destruction that was her room, his arm solid around her, keeping her steady.
Lucy felt like she was drifting through a waking dream. Or was it a nightmare? The evening was a bit of both, with Daniel’s love confession and the horror of discovering that her only sibling had incestuous feelings for her.
When Daniel led her downstairs to the morning room, she was shocked to see that dawn was breaking.
“H-how is it almost morning?” she asked in awe.
Did time really pass by so quickly, or did her mind drift off elsewhere, protecting her?
“Things went by fast,” Daniel replied as he lowered her onto the sofa.
The thrill was gone, leaving her hollow. Shaking. Wondering if she was seeing things as he sat beside her.
He put some distance between them. It was appropriate and understandable. He knew that she was bruised, that he should be careful with her. Then again, he was also bruised and possibly wounded. She had seen the blot of blood on his shirt. Thankfully, it had not spread or changed shape.
“I had no suspicions,” she murmured, sounding defeated.
“I lived with him all my life. He is my brother, but I never saw the monster beneath. Didn’t even suspect it.
I thought I was just a sister who wanted her freedom, and he was nothing more than an overprotective brother.
I thought I was the one who was delicate and broken, and he used that to make up lies about me just so he could control me. ”
While she said those words, she was fully aware of Daniel’s hand on her back, rubbing slow circles. His mere touch calmed her.
“Look at me right now, Lucy,” Daniel commanded gently.
Her breath hitched when he stopped rubbing her back.
“He was a peer of the realm. Nobody suspected anything. He perfected the image he wanted the world to see. It is not your fault. Never has been. He was your older brother and guardian. The only one to blame is him.”
“Th-the things he said. The way he had looked at me when he asked me to—to—” She shuddered.
“Who would even suspect such a strange and filthy obsession? Nobody would suspect anyone of that, naturally. That would be the last thing on anyone’s mind, Lucy,” he insisted.
“You are safe now, I give you my word. Moses Gordon, the man your brother hired, signed a confession that will seal Joshua’s fate. ”
Lucy might be relieved that she had escaped her brother’s clutches, but she did not really want to seal his fate. She still loved him. Years of sibling love could not be simply erased in one moment. She still wondered what had happened to make him this way.
“I’ve been running away from ghosts this past year, Lucy,” Daniel said, interrupting her reverie.
There was no triumph in his voice either.
No joy in having Joshua arrested. “When Kenneth and Uncle Algernon died, the duchy was passed to me. It didn’t feel like a reward, but a burden.
It is a reminder of how I inherited it. For the past year, I didn’t feel I deserved my new title until I avenged them.
Even my father’s title, the Marquess of Grisham, felt more real because I was both punished and rewarded for it during my youth. Becoming a duke almost broke me.”
“And then I met you. I didn’t know it yet at that moment, but you were about to become the most important woman in my life,” he continued, his eyes seeking hers.
They were almost pleading. “I thought you were a complication, one who would prevent me from doing what I should. But you made the world a better place, Lucy. I did not expect that. I thought I would remain the uncle my sisters’ children would run to if they needed more affection. Needed more presents.
“When you told me that you wanted to become a wife and mother, images of us together flashed in my mind. But it was hard to commit to you when I knew I was not the best option for you. Having children with you would have endangered them, too. I just did not expect that solving my problem—dispelling my shadows—meant that you would lose your brother. Yet I can’t be sorry for too long when I love you.
You’ve caught my eye that first night at St. Clair’s. ”
Lucy watched him. The man was unfairly handsome, all sculpted planes and sparkling eyes. Today, the eyelashes that framed his eyes were slightly wet, as if he had been crying or trying not to. It made her heart swell.
This man… She thought she had lost him. Now, he was here, telling her that he had loved her for so long.
“I want to ask for your forgiveness, dear Lucy. I hurt you. I do not mind apologizing for the rest of our lives.”
Our lives. Those words made Lucy want to cry happy tears, but caution still guarded her heart. She had been willing to give it to him whole, but he had rejected her.
“That last night at the greenhouse, I thought I was doing the right thing by relinquishing you to a safer man. I didn’t know your brother was evil. I am guessing you asked him to help you find a match?”
She nodded, but remained silent.
“In my cowardice, I had sent you back to him, a silent predator. I had failed you. I don’t want to do that again.”
Daniel rose from the sofa to face her. He was a tall man. Standing over her, he blocked the light, and she didn’t mind. She gasped when he dropped to one knee before her. He reached for her hands and took them in his large, calloused ones. Their hands trembled, but eventually, they stilled.
“I understand if you want to say goodbye and start anew. No matter what you tell me today, I will always protect you from near or afar. I love you. I won’t set conditions anymore.
But I am also asking you to trust me, even though I have not earned it.
I want to spend the rest of my days proving that you are everything to me and that you are free to choose your own path, even if that path does not lead to me. ”
He reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out the small silver bird charm that he had given her before. He held it out in the light, making it gleam. Then he pressed it into her hand, and she could not help but press it to her heart.
“I don’t want to be your guardian or your jailer.
I want to be your husband. I want to wake up next to you, to know that you are safe.
That you are mine, and that I am yours,” he continued, his voice breaking.
“When I gave you the silver bird, I knew that I wanted to marry you, but I could not say the words. Not yet. But now, everything is different.”
He let out a shuddering breath, his misty eyes holding hers.
“Lucy Coulson, will you marry me? Will you let me cherish you for the rest of my life? There will be no more secrets and ghosts between us. No more cages will be built around us. Just a bond. A promise. A quiet life with our own children.”
Tension filled the room. It was not unpleasant, but it hummed in the air, making Lucy feel like she was wading through water. Her life hinged on the decision she had to make at that moment.
Daniel’s eyes flickered with uncertainty when she did not respond immediately. The hope that had been there splintered a little, even as she looked at the silver bird in her hand.
Hollow. She had been hollow. With him, there was a promise of a better tomorrow, a life as a wife and a mother. She thought of Victoria with Richard and Melody, and of course, her unborn child. It would be sweet bliss.
Daniel had been as confused as she was, but things had just become clearer. Oh, so much clearer.
“Yes,” she rasped, her throat feeling raw. “Yes, Daniel Brighton. I will marry you.”
Daniel jumped up to his feet, his eyes full of joy and relief. He pulled her up into his arms until her feet lifted off the floor. He squeezed her to him and buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent as if memorizing it.
Eventually, he pulled back. Gently and slowly, he lowered her to her feet and let go, only for his hands to cup her face. His thumbs brushed away tears that she did not know had fallen.
Lucy bit her lip as the anxiety on his face turned into a dark heat. It made her skin prickle pleasantly, as if all her nerve endings had come alive.
“Lucy,” he groaned, his gaze dropping to her lips.
She knew what was going to happen, and she wanted it. She was just as desperate.
His mouth claimed hers. They had denied themselves of this because of fear, but now there was no reason to fear anymore.
The kiss was no longer questing. It was sure, bold, and passionate. They had both found their home. As his tongue plunged into her mouth, she moaned softly, her hands tangling in his hair.
He could never be close enough. There was no more fear of scandal either. They were ready for their new beginning.
Daniel gently kissed the bruise on her neck, replacing the pain with pure pleasure.
“I have you now,” he promised softly. “You are mine.”
“And you, Daniel, are mine,” she replied, with a smile.