fighting for control. “I cannot think right now,” he growled. “I…” He closed his eyes and inhaled a slow breath. Then he looked at her again, and it seemed he was seeing her for the first time. “What would you do?”
Caroline nodded, grateful for the tight rein he forced on his emotions. “I would not risk being hanged for committing murder,” she told him, her gaze imploring. “I would find a way to have him hanged for committing murder. All of them. After all, he was not the only one there that night.”
At her words, he stilled, and she could see his thoughts racing. A spark of hope came to his eyes as he once more began to pace. After a few restless minutes, he stopped, his eyes shifting to her. “But we have no witnesses,” he said into the stillness of the room as though expecting her to find a solution.
Caroline did not know if she felt honored or terrified. Perhaps a bit of both. “There’s Daphne.”
He shook his head. “She’s a child. She was no more than three when it happened.”
“Then find other witnesses,” Caroline urged. “Before, you didn’t know anything about the men other than that their speech suggested they belonged to upper society. Now, you know one of their identities. Retrace his steps. Find out what he did that day, whom he was with, where and when. Who saw him and where. Perhaps he boasted of that night to someone. Perhaps someone remembers something. If anyone can find out the truth, it is you.” Holding his gaze, she stepped closer. “Use their cowardice against them. They prey on the weak. That means they’re not strong men. Use that to your advantage. Intimidate them. Show them what fear is and make them turn on each other.”
The hint of a smile lingered on his lips as he looked down at her. “How can anyone not see you?” he whispered as his eyes swept over her face. “You’re mesmerizing.”
Caroline did not know what to say. Never had anyone looked at her the way he had from the start. It felt wonderful, and she never wanted to live without it ever again. It was like the sun had finally come out, and she could not imagine returning to the shadows.
“You can do this,” she told him, ignoring his compliment for she did not know what to do with it. “But you need to be patient. You need to be reasonable and not act rashly. Think of Daphne.”
Again, his body tensed. “When I think of her, I think of him and then I…” He clamped his mouth shut, and she could see his frame trembling with rage fighting to free itself. He began to pace once more, restless, unable to keep still, his thoughts and emotions jumbled. “I know I shouldn’t say this, but I feel like the only way to regain some peace of mind is to sink my fist into that man’s face.”
“May I suggest an alternative?” Caroline heard herself say, feeling her pulse spike at her daring thoughts. Indeed, whenever he was near, she felt herself forgetting the world around her. Perhaps it also worked the other way around. Had it not already? Had he not forgotten—at least for a moment—about the horrors of his past when she’d been in his arms?
“What alternative?” he demanded hoarsely like a man dying of thirst, eager for a glass of water.
Caroline inhaled a fortifying breath, ignored the slight tremble that settled in her limbs and nimbly closed the distance between them. His eyes remained on hers, merely curious at first, but then quickly narrowed as he watched her move closer and closer. Perhaps he could see her thoughts reflected in her eyes. Perhaps his own happened to turn in the same direction by chance alone. Perhaps it was neither or both.
It didn’t matter.
The moment Caroline’s hands slid up his chest, his own reached for her with a desperate urgency, hauling her into his arms. A fierce need burned in his eyes as his head swooped down toward her, her own rising to meet him. Who initiated that kiss would forever remain unclear for it was neither his nor hers.
It was theirs.
And it felt exactly like the ones they’d shared before, out in the alley, in the hackney coach and in the orphanage; overwhelming, intoxicating and utterly addictive.
Caroline’s head spun for the second time that night. Only this time, she never wanted it to stop. She felt delirious, all her senses focused