Whirlwind Wedding

Turning back to Elizabeth, he gently caressed her face and hair. She was ghostly pale, her lips chalky, her auburn curls matted, her gown splattered with her own blood. She hadn't so much as flickered an eyelid. He would have traded his very soul for her just to open her eyes.

He lost all track of time. Each minute that she remained unconscious seemed like an eternity. He had no idea how much time had passed when he heard voices. The door opened and he stood.

A man entered a man who was immediately, haunt-ingly familiar, yet not at all the same. His face bore lines of suffering and he moved with a decided limp. But the eyes… those gray eyes so like his own. There was no mistaking them, even from across the room.

They stared at each other for an endless, stunned moment, while Austin struggled to draw air into his lungs, to comprehend the living, breathing miracle that stood before him. Even though he'd desperately hoped believed, that William was alive, a grain of doubt had persisted, his logical mind telling him it wasn't really possible. But it was.

Wordlessly, he walked across the room until only a few feet separated them, his heart beating so loudly he wondered if William could hear it.

He watched his brother's eyes fill with tears and a thousand questions.

'Austin?' he whispered.

A sob rose in Austin's throat. Jerking his head in a nod he opened his arms and spoke only one word.

'Brother.'

Chapter 26

Austin knelt next to the cot, his gaze riveted on Elizabeth's face. Damn it, she was so frighteningly still. So pale.

William had left nearly an hour ago to get the doctor and the magistrate. How the hell long before he returned? His gaze flicked to the opposite side of the room where Claudine dozed Josette wrapped in her arms. They were exhausted but fine. If only he could say the same about Elizabeth…

He touched her cheek with a trembling hand. She was so soft. Like silk. And so beautiful. And brave. There was no doubt that she'd saved Josette's life.

God he loved her. Totally. He was helpless to stop it, and he no longer wanted to. He wanted to love her. To tell her. Show her. Every day for the rest of their lives.

'Nothing else matters,' he whispered cupping her face against his palm. 'What happened between us before… it isn't important anymore. I don't care why you married me, if you wanted to be a duchess. I don't care about having children. I only care about you. If you want, we'll adopt children… as many as you like. Dozens of children…' His voice broke and he swallowed hard, his gaze roaming her face.

'You're so beautiful,' he said around the lump in his throat. 'God I love you. Since the first moment I saw you, tumbling out of the bushes. You're in my heart, my soul. You are my soul.' His heart beat in hard heavy beats, and his chest ached. 'Please open your eyes.' Lowering his head he touched his forehead to hers. 'Don't leave me, Elizabeth. Please, darling. Please. I can't even think of being here without you. Don't leave me.'

Elizabeth heard his voice from very far away, as if she were in a cave. Don't leave me…

Austin. His name drifted through her mind. She struggled to open her eyes, but someone had attached heavy sandbags to her lids. Weakness washed over her, in stunning contrast to the fire burning in her shoulder.

But she had to tell him. About her regrets. Had to let him know how much she loved him and that she had said those things to protect him. How the thought of leaving him shattered her heart into a thousand pieces. He had to know, but dear God, she didn't have the strength to tell him. Her pain-racked body sought oblivion, to feel no more.

Focusing her strength, she forced her heavy eyelids open. Austin's ravaged face loomed above her and sadness washed through her at the bleak expression in his eyes. Their gazes locked and he drew a sharp breath.

'Elizabeth. You're awake.' Taking her hand he pressed his lips to her palm. 'Thank God.'

She tried to push the words past her dry lips, but dizziness invaded her, and his face wavered before her eyes, ebbing and receding like waves upon the shore. Her eyelids drifted shut but she fought to keep them open, trained on his face, fearing that once she closed her eyes, she'd never see him again.

Summoning her strength, she pushed the word she most wanted to say past her lips. 'Austin.'

It was barely audible, but he heard her and gently squeezed her hand. 'I'm right here, darling. Everything is going to be all right. Save your strength.' His whispered words settled on her like a warm, velvety quilt.

So many things to tell you. But she was so tired. So sore. A spasm of pain rolled through her followed by a sickening wave of dizziness. She fought to remain conscious and focused on her thoughts, but blackness edged around the fringes of her vision. Relentless pain seeped through her aching body. Her eyes grew impossibly heavy and she realized she wasn't going to be able to tell him everything. But there was one thing he had to know.

Gazing at him, she tried to smile, but didn't know if she succeeded.

'Love you,' she whispered.

Her eyes drifted shut. She heard him calling her name, over and over, pleading, but she couldn't fight the weakness, the pain, any longer.

She floated away toward a place where pain did not exist.

Austin sat on the steps leading to the cottage, his insides hollow, his heart filled with a crushing pain.

Lowering his head into his hands, he tried not to think the worst, but it was impossible. Desolation slammed into him. 'Please, God' he whispered 'don't tell me I've killed her by bringing her here.'

The doctor had been with her for nearly an hour, and each passing minute tightened the vise of misery strangling him.

The magistrate had arrived with several men who'd removed Gaspard's body. Austin, William, and Claudine had answered the magistrate's questions. With Claudine acting as interpreter, Austin had explained that Gaspard had sent him threatening letters, and that he'd hired a Bow Street Runner to find him. He allowed the magistrate to assume that the Runner had directed him to Gaspard's location. After the magistrate left, William had traveled back to the town to purchase food and supplies.

And still Elizabeth hadn't woken up.

Damn it, if that doctor didn't come out soon, he was simply going to barge in and grab him by the neck and force him to say that Elizabeth would recover.

The cottage door opened and he jumped to his feet. The doctor and Claudine emerged.

'How is she?' Austin demanded, his gaze flicking from one to the other. He knew they saw the stark fear he couldn't hide.

'Resting comfortably,' the doctor said in heavily accented English.

Austin locked his knees to keep from falling down. 'She's not going to… die?'

'On the contrary, I expect your wife to make a full recovery, although she is weak and experiencing a great deal of pain right now. I changed her bandage and administered a dosage of laudanum.'

A full recovery. She was going to live. He braced his hand against the cottage to keep himself upright. 'Did she wake up?'

'Yes. She asked for you, and I assured her you were right outside. I recommend she not be moved for at least a week, but once she's feeling up to it, she may travel back to England.' The doctor removed his pince-nez and polished it on his sleeve. 'Remarkable young woman. Very robust in nature.'

Austin nearly laughed out loud, something he hadn't thought he'd ever do again. 'Yes, indeed rny wife is very robust.' Thank God.

'You may see her now,' the doctor said and Austin didn't hesitate for an instant.