Is he searching for a new man of business? A proper one? Annabel bit her cheek to quell her smile. Proper would make Jocelyn laugh.
“Though I went to war with Gareth, I never considered myself a warrior, never thought of myself as hostile.” Claudette drew a deep breath. “I am most definitely hostile.”
Annabel’s neck was still stiff from her tumble down the stairs. “I’ll go with you to the hanging.”
Jasper looked up at them. His smile was too thin for a victory this large.
Their mission was over. “Let’s go down now that the crowd has thinned,” she said.
Collins might as well be taking her to the gallows with him.
Jasper met them at the bottom of the stairs. Exhaustion had remapped his face, leaving heartbreaking lines and shadows. He caught Claudette in his arms as she embraced him. Friendship and Frenchness made things so much easier.
“I shall leave you both,” the young widow said as she kissed Annabel’s cheeks. “Gareth’s family is waiting to say goodbye before they sail.”
Her absence left nothing but silence. Jasper offered his arm. “Shall we go?”
It was over. Spencer’s corruption was contained. Collins was going to hang. Mr. Christian had fled for parts unknown, taking his investors’ cash with him—and none of it belonged to her father.
“Bainbridge has canceled Charlotte’s engagement.” Jasper’s words were soft and slow, more evidence of his exhaustion. “He’s using the Melton family’s midnight flight as the reason.”
“Thank God,” Annabel breathed. She would rest easier knowing Viscount Raines wouldn’t be around the corner in the park or behind a fern in a ballroom.
“I wanted so badly to stop this corner of government corruption, to find Gareth’s killer, and I have.” He shot her a quick smile. “We have. But there is a path of devastation in our wake…”
Annabel stopped him in the middle of the great hall and stared into his fathomless gaze. “Which none of us anticipated. And which is none of our doing. You did not make Raines a villain, or Graydon a thief, or Collins a murderer. And Spencer was a greedy, manipulative bastard long before we came along.”
His smile wasn’t as sad this time. “You’ve taken to swearing quite well, Lady Ramsbury.”
“Something else we have in common.” She loved this man and the life they’d created. She’d fight for it, even if it terrified her.
His eyes searched her face. “If I had lost you on those stairs…”
“Then it would have been my own fault for haring off and putting myself in that position.” She knew she’d made a mistake the moment she’d taken the turn onto Piccadilly. “But I was genuinely worried for your mother and the girls.”
“I know.” He chuckled. “Though I cursed your stubborn nature for most of the night while I watched you breathe.” He reached for his side, where his skin was still knitting together. “Something else I think we have in common.” He offered her his arm again, and cursed when she limped forward. “Stay here and let me fetch the coach.”
Annabel tightened her hold. She was tired of coaches and guards. She wanted to talk to her husband. “I don’t think you should hire Drake.” Her words echoed back to her.
Jasper stopped in mid-stride. “I believe he limits his talents to blackguards worse than me.”
Tears flooded her eyes, and his frown wavered in front of her. His gentle touch melted her until she was sobbing against his shoulder.
“You told me you didn’t want to marry me, and I talked you into it for all the wrong reasons.” Jasper cradled her against him, and his words tickled her ear. “You’ve been shot at, almost stabbed, practically a widow, chased through Piccadilly, and thrown down the stairs.”
She took the handkerchief he offered and blotted her tears before she backed away. “And broken into Westminster, helped catch an embezzler, a violent thug, a murderer.” She didn’t want to consider what her life would have been like without him. “I’ve also found my freedom, my voice, and a husband who values my unique contributions to a marriage Society trapped him into.”
“I love you, Annabel,” Jasper whispered against her lips.
“Something else we have in common.” She tunneled her fingers into his thick hair. “I love you.”
It was a long time before she thought of anything but how his body felt under her hands and how his mouth felt on her skin, but when Jasper finally raised his head, the light had returned to his eyes.
“We’ll need a man of business temporarily,” he said as they resumed their walk. Sunshine greeted them as they emerged onto the noisy street. “We really should have a wedding trip.”
“Paris would be lovely in this time of year.” Annabel said it because every Society couple went to the Continent. It was quick and easy, and just scandalous enough to be entertaining. “Though I’ll need to talk to Jocelyn before we go. She’s asked for my help on a business matter of some sort.”
Frederick saw them approaching and leapt from Lawrence’s side. It was a relief to see him unarmed. Just another footman.
“Has she really?” Jasper maneuvered her through the crowd. “That will work fine. I need to make my presentation in Lords before we go.”
Pride swelled in Annabel’s chest. They had been working on his speech for veterans’ rights for the past week. He now woke at midnight to think rather than worry.
“Would you mind if we didn’t do Paris?” He cast a sly look her way. “There’s a ship leaving port in two weeks, sailing for St. Kitts. In the Caribbean.”
Annabel stopped in the street, her mouth open in a most unladylike fashion. An island. An honest-to-God adventure.
“I thought we might enjoy seeing real sharks.” He put his hand on her back to urge her to resume their walk. “And whatever exotic thing we might find.”
They reached the coach, and he helped her inside. She dropped against the cushions with a sigh.
Jasper sat beside her and lifted her foot to his lap to remove her boot and massage her swollen ankle. “The queen has asked us to look in on some of her property while we’re there. Perhaps poke around in the caretaker’s records.”
No titled lady in London, or elsewhere for that matter, should get a thrill from the idea of breaking into someone’s private chambers. They certainly shouldn’t wonder if they could learn to pick a lock in two weeks’ time.
“Maybe we could tour a sugar plantation or two,” Annabel added. “There might be a good opportunity there.”
“There might indeed.” His fingers left her ankle to travel up her calf. The carriage rocked forward with a jolt.
