Chapter 28 #2
Arabella glanced back at the house, half-expecting Philip to be looking out of the window at them or walking toward them.
She didn’t want to talk about anything with her brother right now; he could be apologetic or contrite about his actions, but she didn’t want to hear it. She needed time away from him.
They stepped off the terrace and made their way into the garden.
With the fading light and the moon coming out, there was an ethereal appearance to the garden, with shadows getting longer and longer.
Normally, Arabella would be terrified at going out there, but with Alastair beside her she managed to relax.
It was nice to have a quiet moment away from the drama that had happened not long ago.
They reached the fishpond, and Arabella stood at the edge of the water, trying to see the fish swimming about under the surface. She saw a frog on one of the lily pads and a newt swimming around in the water. It looked calm and tranquil.
“I’m glad the magistrate believed me,” Alastair remarked.
“So am I. I suppose having Mr. Lloyd giving his statement helped as well.”
He grunted, moving to stand beside her as they both stared into the water.
“To think it he’d not tried to threaten Mr. Lloyd by hurting his wife, Sebastian would’ve gotten away with it.”
Arabella shivered. “I don’t want to think about how I could’ve ended up being married to my father’s killer if we hadn’t found that proof.”
“Even with your objections?”
“I’m sure your cousin would’ve found a priest who would happily ignore my protests. He seems the type of person who would do that.” Arabella grinned. “Or I might’ve just run away the night before. I’d disappear into the night, and nobody would see me again.”
“Nobody?” Alastair sounded hurt. “Not even me?”
“I meant Philip, Vaughn, anyone acquainted with them.” She turned to him. “Not you. If you weren’t a duke, I’d ask you to come with me.”
He chuckled and took her hands. “Whether I’m a duke or not, I’d have come with you. I’d rather give up my title than be parted from the woman I love.”
“You love me?” Arabella thought she’d misheard him. “Did you just say that?”
“I did, and I do.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you, Arabella Fairleigh. I never expected it, but I fell in love with you. You’re just the person I want in my life, and realizing how close I came to losing you made me reevaluate life and how much better it was when you’re around.”
Arabella let this sink in, feeling her heart swell at the thought that Alastair loved her.
She never thought that would happen to her before she met him, and her own thoughts on falling for him had made her uncomfortable, given the link he had to her father’s death, but now she fully embraced them. She didn’t want to let go of it.
“You’re lucky that I love you too,” she teased, grabbing his head and kissing him before he could respond. “I was so conflicted, given everything. But then I got to know the real you, and I knew you weren’t as I imagined.”
“Which was?”
“Arrogant, hard-nosed, a liar and a cad.” Arabella smiled.
“I still stand by the first two, but the last two are certainly not true of you. You’re a good person under all that swagger, and you care about the truth.
You show that you’re someone anyone should have on their side.
And I would want you at my side in more ways than one. ”
Alastair gave her a wry chuckle. “I was beginning to wonder where that was going. It sounded like it was going to be bad.”
“How could it be bad after telling you how I feel about you?”
“I don’t know, but given how strange the evening has been, it shouldn’t be a surprise.” He kissed her. “I should’ve told you long before, but I was worried that you would turn me down. You would still see me as the culprit, and I knew your feelings were conflicted about it…”
“You’ve proved me wrong about that.” She bit her lip. “Forgive me for thinking you might’ve had something to do with Pa’s death? I feel awful that I accused you.”
“If the roles were reversed, I would’ve thought the same thing.” He rested his forehead against hers. “There’s nothing to forgive because I did that long ago.”
They stood like that for a while longer, Alastair wrapping his arms around Arabella. She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. For the first time that evening, she felt relaxed and happy. She could feel the tension easing off her.
Now she felt content. Something good was coming out of this.
A gasp, and a giggle off to her left made Arabella jump. Alastair lifted his head.
“What was that?”
“Sounds like someone else has snuck away from the drama,” Arabella giggled. Then she stilled when she heard one of the voices. “I think that’s Helena.”
“What?” Alastair straightened up. He frowned. “What’s she doing out here?”
Then Arabella heard the other voice. It was Edmund. Now she understood what was going on. She put her hand on Alastair’s chest and shook her head.
“Leave them,” she whispered.
“But…”
“You trust Edmund, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then trust that they’re going to be fine. He won’t take advantage of her. Not when he knows you’ll be angry about it.”
Alastair relaxed a little but not by much. Helena and Edmund were still whispering to each other, although Edmund seemed to be doing most of the talking. Arabella tried to strain her ears to hear what they were discussing, but she couldn’t hear anything over the trickle of water from the pond.
“What do you think’s going to happen now?” she asked.
Alastair frowned. “With what?”
“Your cousin. Will they hang him?”
He pursed his lips, deep in thought. “There is that possibility. Although he might be able to argue that it was an accident, and that would mean he escapes the noose.”
“So he’d go to jail.”
“Or be transported to the penal colony.”
Arabella’s eyes widened. “On the other side of the world? That’s at least a year of sailing to get there.”
“And that’s where lots of convicts are going.
He might have a nicer time of it compared to others, but he still committed crimes.
” Alastair shrugged. “It might be the lesser evil. At least if he somehow finished his sentence, he wouldn’t be able to come back and harass us again. He’d be in the penal colony for good.”
“He could sail back,” Arabella pointed out.
“Given he knows what he’s leaving behind, I don’t think he’ll risk it. Saving face was what he was more focused on than anything else, and now that’s slipped…”
He did have a point. Maybe having him on another continent would be a good idea. Arabella could feel as if she wasn’t needing to look over her shoulder all the time. Sebastian Vaughn had made her very uncomfortable in the short time they’d known each other.
Suddenly, a squeal from the dark made both of them start. A moment later, Helena was screaming.
“Yes! Yes, I will marry you!”
Alastair blinked, stunned at the declaration. “Did Edmund just…?”
“He did.” Smiling, Arabella took his hand. “Maybe we should be the first to congratulate them. Then you can ask him what took him so long to propose.”
At least there was another lot of good news for the evening. It would wipe out what had happened earlier.