Chapter 27 #2
“You know why, you fool. You’ve always been a reptile, Meinster,” the duke said loftily. “Your father saw your weakness as did I. Noble blood, certainly, and yet trash. You would never amount to anything, and my son was tainted by you.”
Nicholas had heard this so many times before, and it had always angered him, had always saddened the little boy who still lived inside of him. But now, the words merely brushed against him like rain against metal.
“Yes, well, this is nothing new, Wexford. Why did you burn my gambling hall down now?”
He stepped closer, afraid that his rage would result in two murders. Leonard was pale and sweating, his eyes darting between the two men.
“You know why, as I said. You have taken my son’s legacy from me both in body and financially. I have lost a son and yet I am to have nothing? It isn’t right for you and that whore to benefit from their deaths.”
Nicholas’s rage made his vision go red and his skin feel white hot. But when he stepped forward, he felt Leonard’s push against him.
“No, Nicholas, don’t do anything you will regret?”
“And why should I regret killing the man? He is a monster?” Nicholas growled, but Leonard pushed harder against him.
“He is, as am I, but don’t let yourself be pulled asunder!”
Nicholas threw Leonard aside and then punched him hard in the jaw. He fell to the ground with a wince. Now, Nicholas was close enough to Wexford to take the man by the neck. However, the duke still looked at peace.
He shook his head. “You were never smart enough to know that once I set my mind on something, I will do it. I told you that I would destroy you. I have taken exactly what truly matters to you and it goes up in smoke.” He lifted his hand to mimic the wafting of smoke.
“Just as you have taken what truly matters to me.”
Nicholas felt a sudden calm come over him that he did not expect.
“You lie and you don’t know it, Wexford.
You have taken something from me for certain, but you have not taken from me what matters most. And that’s where I win.
” He could hear the constables coming. “For your thoughts are ever on money and possessions, while the only things that truly matter to me are my wife and my godchildren.”
Before Wexford could say another word, Nicholas hit him in the face and watched as he crumpled to the ground.
“You are the only ones who are ruined.” The constables rushed in, some to help put out the fire, and others to deal with the men, and Nicholas nodded at Leonard.
“Ask him the full details of what transpired. These men set fire to my establishment.” He spat on the ground.
“Cousin, if you had only truly asked for help, I would have given it. Instead, you chose the weaker path.”
“Nicholas, please,” Leonard said, but then the constables lifted him from where he sat and took him away, Wexford not far behind.
Darren rushed up just then, looking harried. “Meinster, what in God’s name?”
Nicholas nodded at Leonard and Wexford being dragged away. “No one was inside, Darren, but those bastards burned everything to the ground.” He shook his head, and Darren looked spent.
“He’d been coming around so often, Your Grace. I thought he meant to help. I’m sorry. I never should have trusted him. He said he wanted to help; he was so often in your office, pretending to look at books.”
Nicholas put a hand to his worried assistant’s shoulder. “All will be well, Darren. I promise. Once they put out the fire, help gather what you can. We’ll need to recover what we’re able.”
Darren nodded. “Again, Your Grace, I’m sorry.”
“Not at all. Not your fault. I was far too distracted,” he said with a weak smile. “Didn’t see what was right in front of me.”
Darren went to assist the constables. A crowd had begun to gather as Nicholas stared up at the burning building, his realization now hitting him full in the face.
His words were truer than he realized. He was sad, perhaps even brokenhearted at the sight of all he’d worked for going up in smoke.
But compared to Cordelia, it was nothing.
As if he had conjured her from thin air, he heard her voice from behind him.
“Nicholas, are you all right?” she asked, and he saw that their carriage had just arrived, and she’d rushed up to him, her eyes worried, her hands on his arms. She looked up at the den and gasped.
“We could see the smoke from the house, and I was coming here anyway to talk to you. Oh, I’m so sorry, Nicholas.
All you’ve worked for, everything you know. ”
“It was Wexford and my cousin, Leonard. Desperate for both revenge and money.”
“What a terrible man,” she said, her face paling in horror.
A tear slid down her cheek, and Nicholas couldn’t help but smile at her. Seeing her there in front of him brought more relief than any sort of money or progress or accomplishment could have done.
He reached up a hand to her face, brushing the tear away with his thumb.
“You cry for me?” he asked softly.
She nodded. “I cry for what you’ve lost. You’ve worked so hard, and now, it’s gone.” She looked away toward the building, but Nicholas only had eyes for her.
The fear was no longer roiling inside him, rotting away, attempting to get in the way of what happiness he could find. He touched her chin, nudging her to look back at him.
“The club served its purpose for me, love. It was where I could learn to be a man apart from my father, where I could take what terror and chaos he’d wrought and put it into something worthwhile, something that could be built upon.
” He put both hands on her cheeks, and she breathed in softly.
“But now, with the ashes, I can build something new. We can build something new. I don’t need this anymore.
I have a wife I’m desperately in love with and two children I adore.
I cannot believe what good fortune I’ve come across, and I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to do this again. ”
He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. Instantly, Cordelia sank against him and wrapped her arms around him. The world quieted around them as he kissed her, and he pulled her close, deepening the kiss. When he pulled away, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Tell me, I’m not wrong, Cordelia. Tell me that you will build something alongside me? Would you be willing? We can build something from scratch. Together.”
She leaned back to look up at him full in the face, beaming now. Her hands pressed to his chest, she said, “Yes, I will. I would love to, Nicholas.”
Tears were now streaming down her cheeks, but she was grinning broadly as he fell a little bit more in love with her. He grasped her waist, lifted her, and spun her around, putting her down with a little frown.
“What were you coming to speak to me about?”
She stiffened a little, her cheeks reddening. He would never tire of her blushes, and he leaned forward to brush a kiss against her neck, desperate to smell her scent, to touch her in every way possible.
“Well?” he whispered roguishly in her ear.
She pushed against his chest. “Not fair that you know now just how well your rakish ways work on me, Nicholas.”
He couldn’t help the smile that split his face. “I have never wished for them to work on anyone as much as I wanted them to with you. Now, tell me.” His fingers interlaced with hers. “What is it?”
She swallowed. “I was rushing here to tell you that I understand why you should care about this place, that I don’t want to fight about it anymore or act jealous about it. I wanted to tell you that I want you to be happy because I…love you too.”
Nicholas’s heart swelled with joy and happiness, and he picked her up and spun her around again, kissing her before her feet touched the ground.
“I love you more than I ever thought possible, my dear.” His tone darkened. “Come, let’s go home, love. Let the constables and my assistant deal with this now. I have a few important matters that need attendance.”
“Oh, the children are awake and playing, looking very well! They will be happy you’re back,” she said, taking his hand and leading him to the carriage.
He chuckled, helping her into the carriage, and then jumped in behind her and shut the door. He yanked her onto his lap as the carriage began to roll away.
“No, I meant I have matters that need attendance, and they are all to do with you. That was why we got a nanny, you know. One of many reasons.”
“Oh,” she said, her cheeks reddening but her arms wrapping about his neck. “I do like carriages, you know.”
With that, Nicholas threw his head back and laughed. He felt like a phoenix. So much had gone to ashes and dust in his life, so much sadness and tragedy and hardship. But now, with Cordelia’s lips on his, he felt reborn.