Dangerous Masquerade (Regency Masquerade)

Geoffrey’s image was becoming thin, hazy and transparent. “I’m sorry…”

Urgently she asked, “What do you mean he made you? Who made you?”

But to no avail. Geoffrey had disappeared.

Ria heard Luc coming up behind her, breathing heavily. He took one swift glance at Geoffrey, shook his head, then pulled her into his arms, clasping her tightly as though he never meant to let her go.

She hugged him to her equally tightly. Shaking with sobs, she buried her head against his chest.

As she recovered, she became aware of Luc running his hands over her head. Clasping her face between gentle hands, he looked directly at her and asked, “Are you hurt?”

He then began to run his hands over her body, checking for injury, an anxious expression on his face. “If something had happened to you…”

Ria felt that small banked ember of hope flickering back into life. He had to care. The look of desperation, his anxiety—he must love her.

34

Later that day, Ria sat in front of a fire in the best parlor of the village inn. Her head whirled with the speed at which Luc had made arrangements. Before she knew it, he had organized for a magistrate to be told of the unfortunate accident, arranged for Geoffrey’s burial, and whisked her away to this inn.

Admittedly she wasn’t quite herself. But then, surviving a murder attempt and watching the would-be murderer die could do that.

She closed her eyes at the thought but then rapidly opened them again. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw Geoffrey lying on pristine white snow that slowly turned a blood-stained red.

She could hear the landlady protesting in the corridor, and then Luc appeared in the doorway.

Striding over to her, he handed her a familiar blue box and said, “I think it’s time you put this back on.”

Ria stared at the box in his hand. Her fingers itched to take it from him, but she wasn’t sure what he was really saying. “Why?”

When she made no move to open the box he added hoarsely, as though the words had been torn from him, “It would give me peace of mind.”

She frowned at him, not understanding his logic. “You gave me this as an engagement gift. Are we engaged?”

His eyebrows met in a frown. “Of course.”

“Why of course? I released you.”

“I never accepted or acknowledged that. And last night you said you’d never let me go. Which is just as well, as I’m not going to let the woman I love go either.”

So he had heard her! She blinked as the rest of what he’d said sank in. Hesitantly, seeking reassurance, she said, “You love me?”

He ran his fingers through his hair, “What a question! Of course I do—why do you think I came up here?”

“You said it was because you didn’t want me to worry.”

“Of course I love you!” His voice cracked. “You mean everything to me. Without you, I have no future. I’ve known that since we first met, but I wouldn’t face it. The thought terrified me.”

He bent down and pulled her to her feet. Ria went unresisting into his arms. He looked at her intently, then gathered her closer to him. Picking her up, he sat back down in the chair and held her. For a while, he didn’t say a word. Just held her tightly.

Then, haltingly, he began to speak. “Since I met you, I’ve been afraid I was obsessively possessive like my father.”

Pulling back, he looked down at her, “Remember the day I introduced you to Devon?”

She nodded mutely. She remembered it well.

“All you did was smile politely at him, and it annoyed me. I had never felt like that before,” he admitted.

She remembered. He’d been morose and curt. She had wondered at the time what was wrong.