are you quite well?” She kneeled beside Freya.
Freya jolted upright. “Guy is still in there.”
Rosie glanced at her husband and rose. “Is that true?”
His expression turned grim. “He was.”
“Should we go and get him out?” Rosie asked.
Russell shook his head. “If we had stayed any longer, we risked the building coming down on all three of us.” He set his jaw. “He’ll survive.” He leaned into his wife and winced slightly.
Freya spotted the blood stain on his leg. Good Lord. How he had even carried her down all those stairs, she did not know.
Freya tried to push to standing. “There’s time. We should go to him.” Her limbs trembled and gave way and she fell onto her rear.
Rosie sat beside her and looped an arm around her shoulders. “Guy is perfectly capable of escaping himself,” she said firmly. “He would not ask Russell to leave him unless he knew that to be true.”
She glanced at her and saw the doubt in Rosie’s eyes.
“He wanted you safe and you are, that’s the main thing.” She gestured to Russell. “If there’s one thing I learned about these men, is they’re incredibly resilient.”
“I don’t want him resilient, I want him alive.” Freya swiped a tear from her cheek. “Louisa....have you seen her?”
Russell nodded, his hands clasped behind him as he peered at the increasing glow in the building. “We arrived as she was fleeing. She’s safe.”
Freya let her shoulders drop. At least she was safe. It was all Guy wanted after all. Near the top of the building, a window shattered. Russell scowled and motioned for them to move back. “We should get you two to safety.”
“You should damn well sit down, Russell,” his wife scolded. “That leg won’t hold you for much longer.”
He urged them to move across to the other side of the road but refused to sit. Flames crawled their way out of the building, catching upon the roof. Tears trickled down Freya’s cheeks, though she didn’t notice them until they splattered on the front of Guy’s jacket. How could he possibly survive such a fire? She should resign herself to the truth now. He would die in there.
“There’s still time,” she muttered. She tried to stand again but Rosie held her back. Easily done given how her legs felt as though they belonged to a newborn foal.
“Guy would never forgive us if we let you go back in.”
Russell nodded. “You are safe. That’s what he wanted. I’ll be damned if I go against my brother’s wishes.”
Tiles dropped from the roof near where they were originally standing. Freya finally noted the servants gathered a little way down the street. People from neighboring houses emerged to watch the blaze take hold and a few people Freya assumed were meant to be dinner guests huddled by a carriage. A few had buckets of sand or water but there was little that could be done, given the flames had swallowed half of the upper floor. They were forced to watch helplessly as the roof began to cave in.
Freya twisted and buried her face against Rosie’s chest. She should have fought harder to stay. Surely it would be less painful to be swallowed by the flames than to be without Guy?
“Oh.” Rosie jolted. “Oh!”
With a frown, Freya lifted her head. She scanned the darkened street. “Is it the baron?”
“No. Look.” Rosie pointed toward the garden gate.
She eyed the darkness for several moments. Her heart gave a wild leap. It couldn’t be.
“Oh!” She shoved to her feet, her legs scarcely holding her long enough to race forward. She half-stumbled, half-dashed toward the limping figure and flung her arms around him.
Guy gave a grunt but wrapped one arm around her waist. She pressed her face into his neck and sobbed. He held her for a few moments before easing her back. “I do not think this is the safest place to be.”
Russell hobbled over and aided his brother across the street. All four of them turned to eye the house while the orange glow seeped into the night. Freya curled herself into Guy’s side.
“How did you escape?”
He grimaced. “The floor gave way then I managed to crawl my way out of a window.” He pressed a hand to his ribcage. “I’m going to regret it all tomorrow.”
“You will not. You are alive.”
“And missing a little hair, I suspect.”
She touched the singed patch. “Never fear, you are still handsome.”
His lips quirked and he glanced past her. “I’m glad to see you’re still alive, Russell.”
His brother lifted a