Runaway (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 4)

“What’s next?” Molly whispered to Jasper when they were all alone.

Jasper turned to look at her. “Now, we round up whoever we can find and take them to gaol where they belong.”

Sir Hugo appeared in the doorway behind them. “You all need to stay here. I am leaving the men on watch so you shouldn’t be interrupted again.” He pointed one long finger at Molly and Oscar. “You two need to decide where you want to live. I have heard from the solicitor. Your aunt didn’t leave a will. A local team has searched her house but haven’t found one so it looks like everything that belonged to your aunt now belongs to you two. Unless you have any other relatives who are closer to your aunt than you two?”

Molly shook her head. She struggled to know what to say. Sir Hugo grinned at her.

“No, I didn’t think so. Do you want to go back to your aunt’s house to live for a while?” He asked but already suspected he knew the answer.

“God, no,” Molly whispered.

“Then, with your permission, I shall instruct the solicitor to oversee its sale, as soon as your aunt’s things are cleared out. You are also going to be contacted by your father’s solicitor who is astonished that Edith didn’t hand any money over to you. We can’t try her for theft now, obviously, but the solicitor is going to make sure you get the allowance you are supposed to receive from now on.”

“Good Lord,” she whispered when Sir Hugo named a sum that was shocking.

“No wonder she allowed you to stay,” Jasper sighed ruefully.

“You need to stay here for the time being, at least until we have everything settled with the solicitors,” Sir Hugo informed them. “Then you will be free to go and live wherever you choose and don’t need to worry about finding enough money to live.”

“Yippee!” Oscar cried. He jumped up and raced around the hallway with childlike enthusiasm.

Molly rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Oscar? Come on. You can help us,” Harry urged, ushering the young boy into the kitchen. “You did well with the guns, young man. You saved all our lives. Well done.”

“Here, here,” Jasper added. “In a few years, you will be one of us.”

Jasper winked when Molly opened her mouth to protest. She smiled and shook her head chidingly at him but suspected that if she had any kind of connection with Jasper in the future, Oscar would indeed be joining the Star Elite when he was older and would become ‘one of them’. For now, he had a lot of growing up to do and needed to focus on nothing more than enjoying his childhood.

“How are you?” Jasper murmured when the front door had closed, and he had a few blessed minutes alone with Molly.

“Shaken still, but worried about you. Are you sure you don’t need to see a surgeon?” Molly asked.

Jasper didn’t seem able to stop smiling. He knew it was because the dangers that had surrounded them had been vanquished.

“The future lies ahead of us,” he murmured gently.

“You look happy,” she replied, too worried to find any anticipation for the future seeing as she wasn’t sure if he would be in it.

Jasper sauntered over to her and tugged her to her feet. Molly went into his arms willingly and returned his embrace.

“Do you know something?” he whispered huskily.

“What?” Molly whispered, her gaze dropping yearningly to the teasing promise of his lips.

“I want to get out of this house and away from the smoggy streets of London for a while. Once able to enjoy some crisp, clean air and sunshine in a better location, I have no doubt we will all be considerably happier,” Jasper began.

Molly, somewhat disappointed that what he had said wasn’t what she had wanted to hear, nodded because she knew he was right.

“Then, and only then, are we going to simply relax and enjoy life a little,” he added.

“Doing what?” Molly asked with a frown. She had never had the opportunity in life to ‘simply relax and enjoy life a little’ since she had been a child.

“Whatever we want to do,” Jasper mused.

“You make it sound as though we will be together,” Molly breathed as she watched Jasper’s head lower slowly toward hers.

“That is because we will. I won’t be able to settle if I don’t know where you are and what you are doing at every moment of every single day,” Jasper promised, his voice raw with emotion.