Willoughby 03 - A Rogue's Deadly Redemption by Jeannie Ruesch Page B

her.
    All the joy Lily had felt at today’s pending discussion had fled. The idea of joining the group now, her group, who sat avidly listening to Cordelia, left a bitter taste in her mouth.
    In the span of less than five minutes, Lily had been relegated to living, once again, in the shadow her sister’s presence left behind.

Chapter Six
    Robert braced himself against the fourth bone-jarring bump he’d felt in twenty minutes. He pounded a hand against the carriage side. “Can we keep it to the roads and stop running up the sidewalks?”
    He was late. The carriage ride to his meeting had gone at a snail’s pace. No, a snail would have made it faster.
    “Perhaps we’d best postpone this,” Edwin suggested with a grimace. “We’re late as it is, and I don’t know how safe it is to travel in this fog.”
    “How far have we come?” Robert reached over, and pushed the curtain aside so he could peer through the window. A veil of white was all he saw. “I can’t make out a single building.”
    “I don’t know.”
    Robert grinned at Edwin. “Nervous? I don’t recall ever seeing you nervous before.”
    “I don’t wish to argue with nature,” Edwin replied. “She will always win.”
    Frustration laced Robert’s sigh. “Damn it, but you are right. No sense in getting ourselves killed on the way.” He reached up to pull the latched door open. “Pull to the side and let’s wait a bit, see if the fog clears as well.”
    “Very good, my lord.” The driver seemed relieved.
    Robert tapped a hand against his leg. The delay was aggravating. He needed this meeting. The organization held opportunities for him, the only chance for him to drive his own future, his family be damned.
    Every step he took deeper into the organization was a step away from his family. From Lily.
    That needn’t be a consideration any longer. Tonight, he’d return to an empty house. Somehow, even though they’d rarely spoken when Lily was there, the idea held little appeal.
    How had she filled up so much space?
    It was the question that baffled him. Annoyed him. The question he couldn’t stop asking.
    She always had, he realized. With her smile. Her becoming blushes. The way her eyes danced with intelligence when they had discussed her favorite books. The curve of her hips, her waist, when she didn’t know he was watching. The way she’d held his gaze when they made love, when he entered her.
    Heat rushed to his groin, and he shifted in his seat to alleviate the keen ache. It had been so long, years since he’d touched her. Or even talked with her on anything but the weather.
    Robert shook his head and dropped his head back against the carriage interior. “Idiot.”
    “I beg your pardon?” Edwin asked.
    “Not you,” Robert said with a dismissive wave. “Go back to sleep.”
    Edwin snorted, but tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes. Robert knew Edwin wasn’t sleeping, but he had an uncanny ability to look deep in slumber then rise bright-eyed a second later.
    Lily was leaving the continent. That was the reason he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d get over it.
    She’d made her wishes clear, and if he’d done little else right in their marriage, he could at least honor them. She deserved that much.
    She deserved so much more than him.
    The carriage made a sharp, lurching turn and Robert thrust his arms out, slammed his hands against the walls of the carriage. “What was that?”
    Then the carriage lurched, tilted again. Another lurch before it shifted and fell completely on its side. Robert and Edwin crashed down against the wall of the carriage. There were yells, screams from above, beside them.
    “My lord, let’s get out by the—”
    Edwin’s words were cut off as the carriage lurched again and rolled. They landed against each other with a hard crunch and pain exploded in Robert’s head then roared through his body.
    The world closed in around him, and all he could see was Lily.
    Then nothing.
    ***
    Lily