“While you’re welcome to the slut,” Hubert said. “Even if you’d managed to keep her fortune, you’d soon find you made a poor bargain.”
Charis hardly noticed the insults. Her mind worked too frantically to find something to persuade Gideon against this perilous course. He’d sacrificed so much for her, but this went beyond what anyone could ask. It would be like facing Rangapindhi all over again.
Gideon didn’t look at the brothers but spoke directly to her. His voice rang deep and sincere. “My wife is more precious than rubies. If she came to me wearing only her shift, I’d still be rich beyond measure.”
He made the extraordinary declaration for her sake in case things went wrong. Charis’s heart twisted with overwhelming love.
Oh, dear God, whatever happens, let him live through this.
“I can’t leave you,” she said unsteadily. Blind fear dug icy talons into her. “Don’t make me.”
“I must.” He released her hand and his voice lowered. “Akash and Tulliver are at the house. They’ll know what to do.”
“Gideon…” His name was a ragged plea. She watched his expression close against her. His purpose was clearly unshakable.
Gideon faced Felix, his face set with disdain. “So you agree? I place myself in your charge, and Charis goes free?”
No, this must not be. In blind distress, she turned to Felix. “Take me.” She was mortified that her voice broke.
“Both so eager to sample our hospitality.” Felix’s laugh was cutting. “Make up your minds. One of you needs to get the money.”
Gideon sent her stepbrother a flinty look. It was as if she’d never made the offer to stay in his place. “I assume you have a mount for Lady Charis. Unless you intend to shift the tree.”
Gideon’s continued calmness astounded her even through her dread. He wasn’t shaking or sweating or pale. He looked like the invincible man who’d come to her rescue in Winchester.
Hubert’s piglike eyes darted between Gideon and Felix as he tracked the shifts of power. “She can have my nag.”
Gideon turned to her and gently cupped her face. His smile, like his touch, was poignantly tender. She searched his eyes for the fatalistic resignation she’d seen so often when he faced down his demons. All she read in the glowing black depths was strength, serenity, resolve.
And love, like a single star shining over a dark sea.
“Trust me, my darling,” he said softly. “If you love me, trust me.”
He knew he defeated her with that last demand. Gathering her ragged courage, she swallowed another furious protest and raised her chin.
Agreeing to what he asked was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Harder by far than defying Felix and Hubert or confronting the vile sailors in Portsmouth. Harder even than fighting Gideon for the chance to create a life together.
Fear coiled like an angry snake in her belly. For all Gideon’s bravery, she abandoned him to an ordeal that could break him. But she couldn’t let him down. Or succumb to pathetic, immature hysterics. She was the daughter of Hugh Davenport Weston. She was the wife of Gideon Trevithick. She wouldn’t shame either valiant hero by failing now.
“I’ll go,” she muttered reluctantly.
She closed her eyes in despair as Gideon pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet, passionate, heartbreakingly brief.
As he slowly drew away, she looked into his eyes. The star was still there. More radiant than ever.
“I love you.” She could no longer hold back the words.
“I love you.” He spoke without reluctance or equivocation. She snatched the vow close and locked it in her heart, never to let it go. Surely if they loved each other, Felix and Hubert couldn’t defeat them.
Such hope rang false when she forsook her beloved to torture and imprisonment.
“Oh, for God’s sake, get a move on,” Felix said in a theatrically bored voice.
She ignored her stepbrother’s jeering. She clung to Gideon’s hand as she climbed down from the carriage. Her knees felt like custard as she reached the road.
Summoning all her courage, she released Gideon and braced her shoulders. Standing straight, she faced Felix. A scatter of cold raindrops hit her. The storm wasn’t far off. A crack of thunder made the pony start and neigh.
The gig creaked as Gideon jumped to the road behind her. He towered over her, and his gloved hand closed firm and possessive around her arm. “She leaves unharmed. Otherwise, we have no agreement.”