The Unexpected Wife - Jess Michaels Page 0,89

the ladies leave. Gregory, perhaps you could escort them in Abigail’s carriage. I will call for Gilmore and we will…take care of this.”

Owen tilted his head. “Take care of it?”

Leighton met his eyes. “I asked you to find out who killed my brother, and now we know the sordid truth.”

Celeste stared at this man. Unlike his brother, he had never been anything but decent and kind toward her. She saw his pain, she saw his grief and loss and his strength. She saw all he was that his brother had never been. And she mourned for him.

“I’m so sorry, my lord,” she said.

Leighton looked up at her. “You are too kind, Celeste. I do not deserve your apology and I owe you a great many more.” He sighed as he pushed to his feet. “I think Erasmus has done enough damage to everyone involved, even the young lady who shot him. If there is anything that men like Gilmore and I know how to do, it is to make things easier for ourselves, to cover up the cracks so the world sees perfection.”

“The cracks were not yours to fill,” Pippa said softly. “The imperfection never yours.”

“But it shares my name. My blood. And it is my responsibility.” Leighton glanced at Pippa again and then at Owen. “Let me do it, Mr. Gregory. Let me cover this up. Not to save myself—there is no doing that. The world knows of Erasmus’s bigamy and betrayal, and I will spend years regaining the honor he took from our family. But let me cover up the rest for them.”

Owen looked at Abigail and Pippa. He looked down at Celeste. And he nodded. “I will meet with you later. And you will tell me how to word the report.”

Leighton stepped forward and extended a hand. “Thank you, Owen.”

“Rhys,” Owen said as they shook. Then he led Celeste from the room with Abigail and Pippa trailing behind them. Celeste was numb as they got back into the carriage. Numb as they rode off back to London. Back to a reality she could not see played out before her except in shades of pain.

And she could only hope there would be one light in the distance. One light held by the man who now held her. But it was not guaranteed and she would have to wait to see if it were even possible.

Owen lay in bed, his arms around Celeste. It had been twelve hours since the horrible events in Lambeth. Ten since he had escorted Pippa and Abigail back to their home and brought Celeste to his. They had not spoken. He thought she could not yet. He certainly couldn’t find the words to talk about what had happened.

Seeing her with the gun jabbed in her side, hearing Montgomery declare that he would kill her, knowing that bastard meant it…it had ripped a hole in Owen that he doubted would ever be filled. He would wake the rest of his days from that nightmare, sweating in pure terror.

He could only hope that the woman laying beside him right now would still be there during those future nights, future nightmares. That would make the rest almost worthwhile.

She stirred a little and he tightened his arms around her. She was still in her gown. He’d made no attempt to undress her, just let her fall into his bed, weeping until she slept. He’d only removed his own boots, his shirt so he could feel her against his skin. Know she was real and whole.

“Owen?” she said softly, her breath gentle against his bare chest.

She glanced up at him, and he smiled at her. “Sleep. You need to rest.”

“What time is it?” she asked, her fingers tracing patterns into his skin.

“After four,” he said. “Very early.”

“I cannot believe I slept like that,” she said. “How could I sleep after what happened?”

“Your body needed to release,” he said, smoothing his fingers through her hair the way he loved to when he held her like this. “You needed to turn off the world and recover.”

“What will happen now?” she whispered.

He shifted. “Well, Leighton and Gilmore will pay their way into a cover up, I assume. The rumors of a murder will transform to one of a suicide, or if Leighton pays enough, perhaps an accident. Some of the pressure will come off. Not all. But enough that Leighton will at least be able to move again.”

“You will be agreeable to that lie?” she asked.

He drew in a long breath. “That