Page 93 of The Devil's Accidental Duchess
Taking the ropes, he darted back to the Marquess and bound him in the tightest knots his strength could fashion. Ties that thebastard would not be able to get out of by himself when he woke up, no matter how much he wriggled and writhed.
Satisfied that the Marquess would not interrupt or somehow get away from the justice that was coming to him, Philip made his slow way back to his betrothed.
Selina rubbed her raw wrists. “I was so worried you wouldn’t know where I was.”
Philip sank to his knees in front of her and took her hands in his own, bringing her sore wrists to his lips and kissing each in turn.
“I came to speak to you, and when I couldn’t find you in your chambers, I felt that something was wrong. I searched the entire estate for you.” He kissed her wrists again. “It was your brother who noticed the Marquess was missing. Only then did Mary tell me that she had seen him riding in your direction.”
“Oh… oh… Mary and Lord Ramsbury. They were working together. I don’t know what the plan was exactly, but?—”
“I know,” he said.
Her gaze dropped. “Mary had me eavesdrop outside your study. She wanted me to hear that…” She shook her head. “We have a lot to talk about, but I am not sure that this manor is the place for it.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He rose to his feet and, with great care, pulled her up with him. “For now, I just want to make sure that you are all right. I just want to feel this relief for a while.”
He wrapped his arms around her and sighed as he felt her arms slide around his waist, holding him in return. Her cheek nestled against his chest, her eyes closed as if she, too, just wanted to feel this sweet relief for a moment.
He held her for a long while until she pulled back and looked up at him with those beautiful green eyes. They shone with tears that spilled onto her cheeks.
With a smile, he brushed them away with his thumb. “You are safe now, Selina.”
“I was so afraid,” she whispered. “I thought I would have no choice but to be his.”
“You could never be his,” he told her softly, “when you are already mine.”
He hooked a finger under her chin. As her head tilted willingly and her pretty eyes closed in anticipation, he caught her mouth with his in a slow, sensual kiss. A promise that she was his and he was hers, and nothing would ever come between them.
Her hands smoothed up the contours of his chest to loop around his neck. Rising on tiptoe, she clung to him, kissing him back.
It would not have been right to make use of another man’s house, least of all the Marquess’s, but Philip could not deny that he would have liked to carry his bride up to one of the bedchambers and let her knowjusthow grateful he was that she was all right.
“I wish we were back at Ashbrook already,” she whispered between kisses, as if reading his mind.
“As do I.”
He kissed her harder, holding her tighter… and might have suggested what he was thinking had it not been for the interruption of a most unwelcome voice.
“How dare you kiss my daughter!”
It seemed John had finally caught up.
“I tried to keep him outside, but he insisted,” Zachary said, breathless.
Meanwhile, Reuben gasped at the sight on the floor. “Is he dead?”
Blushing, Selina pulled back. “You did not tell me you brought reinforcements.”
“I thought they were far enough behind that they would not bother us,” Philip replied wryly. “But it seems some things never change. I imagine your father will still be telling me not to kiss you when we are married.”
Sadness fell across her face. “Yes, well, I… I hope your kisses won’t change.”
“Never,” he murmured close to her ear, and her face flushed a darker shade of pink. Eager to return to Ashbrook, he kept his arm around her and turned to address the others. “Did you happen to pass a priest on your way here?”
Reuben nodded. “He said he was going to fetch the constables.”
“You should follow him. Make sure the constables hear the correct side of the story,” Philip said. “I would go myself, but I have a bride to take care of.”
An almost proud smile curved Reuben’s mouth. “Of course. I will ride to town at once.”
Soon enough, all of this unpleasantness would be over, and Philip would go home with the woman he loved. Although he understood that returning to Ashbrook was only the beginning, and that officially making Selina his wife was not yet guaranteed.
If she heard everything I said in the study, then I do have a lot of explaining to do.
“Take me home, Philip,” Selina said quietly, leaning into his side.
He bent to kiss the top of her head, not caring about her father’s sharp glare. “Soon, my dear. Soon.”
