Regret hit him in the gut. Could she be happy with a man such as him?
Would he want her to sacrifice her dreams for power in society and balls and gowns and whatever else it was young ladies of the ton wished for?
He’d said it before and his words rung in his ears now. She deserves more.
His thoughts were cut short by the feel of her hand tentatively touching his chest. “I cannot believe that you left without Everley.” She shook her head as if in disbelief, pulling back to look at his face. “You have spent so many years trying to make that man pay, and you had your chance—”
“He will still pay,” Rupert cut in shortly, his voice choked with emotion that she worried about something like that. That she could think for one second that his quest for revenge meant more to him than she did.
He reached a hand out to gently cup her chin. “Everley will pay, and dearly, for all that he did to you, what he planned to do, what he’s done to so many others…he will pay for what he did to Alston.”
“You could have had him,” she said. “He was right there, along with the evidence. You could have had him and you walked away.” She licked her lips, her voice tremulous. “You walked away for me. To save me.”
“Of course I did.” His response was quick, short, and more gruff with unchecked emotion than he’d anticipated.
Her eyes grew wide and her lips parted in surprise.
“Never doubt for one instant that you mean more than all of that. You wonder at your value, but I need you to know…” He stroked her cheek as his chest tight with emotions. “To me, you are more precious than anything else. You mean more than any revenge or any professional goals. You are…” His voice dipped as her eyes darkened. “Delilah, to me, you are everything.”
Her eyes were so wide and so…tear filled.
Terror shot through him that rivaled anything he’d ever felt while working an investigation. Was it possible she did not feel the same?
Or perhaps things were different now that she was no longer dependent on him for safety, now that the threat she faced was gone…
Perhaps she was realizing that she was no longer promised to Everley, that she might be able to step into the light where she belonged.
She could have her pick of men once the scandal subsided. Gentlemen of the ton who would give her the life she’d always wanted.
“Rupert, I—I—”
“Your man has arrived!” Tolston shouted this news from across the room and it startled Delilah so badly that she shot out of his arms, scrambling backwards to put some distance between them as the others turned to stare.
His man. It took a moment for the words to register. His man who’d captured Everley and sent word that he’d be bringing him here.
“Go,” she said, prodding him with a little shove to his arm. “Go see if you got your man and the justice you’ve been seeking.”
He lingered, torn between staying with Delilah, making sure she was all right, and going off to make sure the man who would harm her was under his control along with his wretched partner.
“Delilah will be in good hands, Mr. Calloway,” Miss Grayson said, coming to stand beside Delilah and placing a hand on her shoulder.
His heart begged him to stay, but his mind told him it was time to leave. To walk away.
He would be back to win her heart, but not until she was rested and healed and…
Well, she might never be ready to hear what he had to say. But he could at the very least resist the urge to push her on the matter until she’d had the chance to sleep.
“Take care of yourself, Delilah,” he murmured as he leaned down to kiss her hand.
Take care of my precious heart.
17
Take care of yourself.
Delilah jabbed her needle into the fabric with more force than was absolutely necessary. Take care of herself.
For how long?
She stirred restlessly, unreasonably irritated by the calm contentedness of the friends who surrounded her.
The Beaumonts were hosting a ball tonight and by all rights, everyone here should be getting ready to attend. But Louisa, Addie, Prudence, and Miss Grayson had all declined without a question just to be here with her.
Delilah might have been able to go, but with all the chaos going on this week surrounding her stepmother and Lord Everley…there was no saying just how badly her reputation would be affected.
The gossips would be hard at work trying to sort out what exactly had happened that sent the baroness out of the country a ruined disgrace or why Lord Everley was being hauled off to prison.
The truth would undoubtedly come out in the newspapers soon enough, and Tolston had assured her once again earlier today that her name would be kept out of it as much as possible.
That was a good thing, she supposed. Perhaps she would get through to the other side with just a bit of scandal clinging to her name and not outright ruination.
She jabbed her needle once more. Yes, she should be very grateful, all things considered.
She should be pleased beyond reason that the entire ordeal was over and done with. Lord Tumberland had taken it upon himself to ensure that her father was being properly cared for and that his estate was being managed by reputable, trustworthy solicitors. Tolston had assured her that he still had men keeping an eye on the school on the off chance that Everley had accomplices who might seek revenge.
She’d been lucky indeed that, aside from her stepmother, it seemed no one knew that she had spent several evenings unchaperoned in a bachelor’s home, so all in all…
She’d managed to escape this ordeal with nothing more than a sore cheek from her stepmother’s attack.
She was very lucky.
All of these reasons
