The Return of the Duke - Grace Callaway Page 0,111
word, he held her steady. Stretching upward, she was able to reach several ripe apples, dropping them into the burlap sack that he held.
“I can’t reach the biggest ones.” She gazed at the remote fruit, which seemed redder and larger than the rest. “I’ll have to stand on your shoulders.”
“I ain’t sure that’s a good idea—”
She managed to balance on her knees. “Quit complaining and hold still.”
“’Ave a care…” Sam panted.
“Just hold steady another second.”
With great concentration, she stood up, her stockinged toes curling on Sam’s shoulders. He dropped the sack, his hands gripping her ankles for extra support.
“Almost there,” she said.
Triumph surged through her as her fingertips touched the fruit…then Sam lost his balance, jerking forward. With a shriek, she tumbled through the air, bracing for impact, but strong arms caught her, holding her against a large, hard, and achingly familiar chest.
Breathless, stunned, she stared into her husband’s eyes.
36
As Severin gazed into his beloved’s face, a tide of relief and yearning crashed over him. After a week of desperate searching, he had found her. She was safe in his arms and everything he had ever wanted.
“Fancy.” Her name left him in a hoarse whisper. Love and desire robbed him of thought, drove his lips toward hers—
She shoved at his chest, nearly causing him to drop her. He managed to hold on, settling her safely on her feet. The moment she had her balance, she struggled against his embrace, and he let her go. Not because he wanted to, but because he knew she had every right to push him away.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
With her eyes sparkling with anger and plaits disheveled, she had never looked more beautiful to him. He ached with love and remorse, with the primal need to drag her into his arms and hold her there forever.
“I am here for you,” he said.
Her brothers and Sam Taylor gathered in a protective ring.
Taylor glared at him. “You want us to take care o’ this bounder for you, Fancy?”
Severin curled his hands. How dare the bastard presume to protect her? Fancy was his—and he would be the one looking after her. Even if he had to fall to his knees and grovel for the privilege. Knowing that his wife would not appreciate him pummeling Taylor, Severin reined in his jealous fury.
“Fancy, may I please speak with you alone?” he asked tautly.
Her brother Liam crossed his arms. “We’re not leaving her with you.”
“Me sister travelled by ’erself for a week to get away from you,” Oliver snarled. “What kind o’ ’usband lets ’is wife do that?”
“Or makes ’er cry ’erself to sleep?” Tommy twisted the knife.
“Hush,” Fancy said, her cheeks pink.
Self-recrimination roiling in his gut, Severin said in a low voice, “I know I’ve been a bastard, Fancy, and I have no excuse. But there are things I would like to tell you…things I’ve only just realized. Please will you give me a chance to explain?”
The doubt in Fancy’s eyes punched him in the gut, and he had no one to blame but himself.
What if it is too late? What if she can’t forgive me for not knowing my own heart?
He held his breath, awaiting her answer. Agonizing moments passed.
“All right,” she said. “Follow me.”
Fancy led the way to the back of the orchard. Her emotions were tangled skeins, like yarn tossed in a basket. She didn’t know where one feeling started and another ended, whether she was angry, irritated, or hopeful. She felt Knight’s presence behind her, his pulsing masculine energy.
Why did he come after me? she thought. Is it out of obligation…or something else?
Arriving at the fence that marked the end of the grove, she turned to face her husband. Sunshine filtered through the leafy canopy, light and shadow playing across his stark features. His grey eyes burned into hers with breath-disrupting intensity.
“How did you find me?” she managed.
“Bertrand.”
She blinked.
“The damned donkey led me to your family’s campground,” Knight clarified. “It was Toby’s idea. He said donkeys have an excellent memory and sense of direction and turns out he’s right.”
Exhaling, she asked, “Why did you come after me?”
“Because you are my wife, and I love you,” he said steadily.
Shock percolated through her. How she had yearned to hear those words…yet now she couldn’t believe them. Not after what she’d seen.
She lifted her chin. “You have never lied to me. There is no need to start now.”
“I’m not lying.” Squaring his shoulders, he said, “I understand why you might think so—”