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Edward’s heart was in his throat and his legs had cinder blocks attached because they were too heavy to move.

Every cell in his body wanted to run to Ivy.

Hold her in his arms. Convince himself that she was safe, and well.

She was magnificent standing over the snivelling weasel.

But he dare not take a step closer. She was balancing on the brink of a madness he knew well. One false move and Ivy might fall.

‘Philippa, find Olivia. She went that way.’ Edward pointed to the back of the stables.

The fair-haired beauty had made a run for it the moment Edward skidded into the stable, right before Ivy slammed her fist into Smithwick’s throat.

Olivia’s bright hair and iridescent dress would help Philippa hunt the woman down in the darkness.

With a swift nod, Philippa pulled a pistol from her skirt and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

He forced his gaze away from Ivy to the children. ‘Henry, Sarah, come behind me. Yes, that’s it.’

Henry helped Sarah to her feet, the dagger still held in one hand. They skirted the edge of the stables and then cut across the short distance in the centre to huddle behind Edward.

Returning his gaze to Ivy and Smithwick, Edward put his hand on Henry’s shoulder and held the boy’s gaze, willing some of his strength into the lad.

‘Take Sarah to the kitchens. Find the butler, Stokes. Tell him what has occurred and that we need to locate Lord Killian, Lord Drake, and Lord Renquist and their wives. If they’ve left the ball, he can send a runner to their houses. They are needed here. Immediately.’

‘Yes, sir.’ The boy’s voice wavered.

‘Good lad.’

When Henry reached for Sarah’s hand, she pulled away, her eyes on Ivy.

‘I won’t leave her.’ The girl’s voice wavered, but she thrust her chin out in an expression reminding Edward of Philippa.

‘She wants you to be safe. I’m here. I’ll protect her, Sarah. You can trust me. Right now, you must go with Henry.’

She blinked and pressed her lips together. For a terrifying moment, Edward thought she would refuse him. He had no idea what he would do if she did.

‘You promise she’ll be okay?’ Sarah asked.

Edward nodded. ‘I do.’

‘Fine. But I’m not holding his hand.’ She huffed, glaring at Henry’s hand as though it were diseased. Instead, she strode past him out of the stable. Henry gave a long-suffering sigh and hurried after her.

With the children safe, Edward could give all his attention to Ivy.

‘He’s the Wolf, Edward.’ Ivy’s hand shook, her finger tightening on the trigger.

Smithwick curled into a smaller ball, his arms over his head as if they might deflect a bullet.

‘He was going to sell Henry and Sarah. He was going to kill me and try to make it look like I ran away with the money.’ Her voice was too calm. Devoid of inflection.

‘She’s lying.’ Smithwick peeked from under his own arm. His desperate gaze found Edward. Tears, blood, and snot streaked over his dirty face. ‘She’s gone mad. She admitted her plan to me. She was going to run away with her lover.’ Spittle sprayed from his mouth. ‘You must believe me.’

‘Lying coward!’ Ivy kicked him again, and he tightened back into a ball, groaning in pain.

‘Given that I am her lover, and we have no intentions of going anywhere, I’m inclined to believe the lady.

’ Edward understood Ivy’s struggle. He wouldn’t mind putting a bullet in the man himself.

He certainly deserved such punishment for his crimes.

But Edward had a better idea. ‘Ivy, he is not worth the stain his blood would leave on your soul. He can’t hurt the children. Step away from him.’

‘I don’t mind a few stains.’

‘Fair, but he’s more valuable to us alive.’

Ivy looked at Edward. ‘How?’

She was fierce and fearsome and if he wasn’t already in love with her, this would seal his fate.

She wouldn’t follow his lead without first understanding his reasoning.

A fair deal, as he would do the same thing in her shoes.

‘A few nights in Newgate might loosen his tongue to share the secrets of his brotherhood. And if it does not, seeing which men in the House of Lords push to release him from his sentence will give us just as much information. If they are even willing to risk exposing themselves to save this worthless maggot.’

Ivy turned her head back to Smithwick. ‘He says he won’t hang. He says he’ll be released.’

‘Then we’ll find him again. Do you hear me, Smithwick? If you are released, you better be prepared to run, because we will find you.’

Smithwick’s response was a garbled sob.

Ivy kicked him again, Edward guessed she hit his kidney by the way Smithwick howled. But her grip on the gun loosened and he knew reason had eclipsed revenge. ‘Fine. We shall let him live long enough to know what it feels like to have a noose around his neck.’

Edward breathed a sigh of relief, then found some rope.

Ivy kept her gun trained on Smithwick while Edward tied his hands and feet tight enough to cut off circulation.

When he was certain the weeping lord was securely bound, he stood and walked to Ivy, wrapping his fingers around her pistol’s muzzle. ‘I think we can put this down, now.’

Holding her arm stiff, her eyes resolutely trained on Smithwick, she didn’t move. Edward gently cupped her cheek and shifted her to face him. ‘You were stunning.’

* * *

Ivy blinked and tried to make sense of Edward’s words.

It was like waking from a horrible nightmare.

But the keening sobs from Smithwick were far too real to be a dream.

She would have killed him. Without thought or question.

He threatened Henry and Sarah, and she would have pulled the trigger to ensure their safety.

In a moment fraught with terror, she hadn’t felt fear, just a strange, resolute calm.

But now, all the horror seeped in to chase away the rage.

Dropping the pistol, she collapsed into Edward. ‘I would have shot him. I wanted to do it.’

‘I know. And I wouldn’t have blamed you for it, but this way is better, Ivy. I swear it.’

Edward wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest and she sank into him, her body shaking. ‘I’m quite cold.’

‘It’s shock. It will pass. Just stay right here. With me.’ Edward rocked her back and forth and she burrowed deeper into his coat, inhaling coffee, mint, and man.

She could have easily died this night and never again felt the glory of being held.

Never again known the beauty of falling asleep with her head on Edward’s chest, the rhythm of his heart carrying her into dreams. They had only shared one night together and it wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough. If today was any measure of the danger they might face moving forward, she didn’t want to waste any more time.

‘We should marry. Immediately.’ She spoke against the rough fabric of his coat.

Edward pulled back, his eyes searching her face. ‘You are still in shock. You don’t know what you are saying.’

Ivy lifted her hand to trail a finger down his cheek.

‘I know exactly what I’m saying.’ She brushed her thumb over his lip, his pupils blew wide.

‘Edward Worthington, Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Duke of Landbourne, you are the only man I could ever imagine sharing my life with, and you are the only man I can’t imagine this life without. Will you marry me?’

Edward blew out a breath. For a terrifying moment, she thought he would refuse her. After all, they never spoke of marriage or commitment. This had been about pleasure and exploration. But he loved her. He said it himself. And she loved him.

Drat. Did I tell him that bit? I can’t remember. No wonder the men do this part. It’s bloody awful.

‘If I forgot to mention, I do love you. I love you very much and, er, that would be one of the reasons I think we should marry.’

The ghost of a smile tilted Edwards firm lips into a crescent. ‘Really? And what would the other reasons be? Shall we write a list?’

Ivy couldn’t stop her grin as her cheeks heated. ‘Will you marry me, Edward?’

He pulled her back into his arms, pressing a sweet kiss against her lips. ‘It would be my greatest honour, Ivy.’

‘Oh, one more thing.’

Edward nuzzled her neck. ‘Yes?’

‘I wish to adopt Sarah and Henry.’

Edward froze and Ivy’s heart stalled right along with him. If he refused her this, she wasn’t sure how they would move forward. ‘You mean we.’

Ivy frowned. ‘What?’

‘I’m not sure you understood what you were proposing earlier. If we marry, then we agree to make our decisions together. You are not adopting Sarah and Henry.’

‘Why ever not?’ Her newly awakened anger bubbled forth. She would fight him on this point if she must.

‘Because we are adopting them. Together.’

She took a moment to absorb the details of his face, the scent of the stables, even the sound of Smithwick weeping at her feet.

Because this was the moment when everything changed.

The quintessential strike in her timeline of before and after.

‘Truly?’ Joy could sometimes hurt like the sweetest ache.

Edward nodded, tugging her back to him for a searing kiss.

Smithwick’s desperate sobs ruined the moment. Ivy reluctantly pulled away. ‘I suppose we should deal with him. And find Philippa and Olivia.’ She still hadn’t processed her friend’s betrayal.

‘I suppose we should. But later. Later, we will celebrate. I can get a special licence. We can be married by next week if you wish.’

If she wished. What a marvellous thought. After everything her father told her, all the ways marriage would ensure her captivity, her subservience, her forced submission, to know this union would be based on her wishes was miraculous. But still, not quite right.

‘If we wish. Didn’t you just say? We make our decisions together.’

‘What a lucky man I am to have such a brilliant fiancée. Let me try again. Do we wish to marry next week?’

Ivy’s heart overflowed. ‘We do.’

* * *

Three weeks later

‘I cannot believe no one can locate Olivia. Do you think she left England entirely? Maybe returned to Europe, or took a vessel to the Americas?’ Ivy had been Lady Ivy Worthington for two weeks, but still, it felt like a dream.

She stretched in Edward’s large bed, our large bed, not missing her narrow mattress in the orphanage one tiny bit.

‘I have no idea.’ Edward lay next to her with the sheet barely covering his very aroused appendage. Flipping her over so she was on her belly, he pulled her nightgown up and began trailing kisses along her spine.

‘I am worried about Philippa.’ Ivy tried to keep her focus on the conversation, but whirls of sweet ecstasy were spinning over her skin from the centre of each hot kiss.

‘So am I. But I was rather hoping we could discuss this later.’ Edward palmed her bare arse and squeezed hard enough to make Ivy moan.

‘It’s just, no one has ever knocked Philippa out, have they?’

‘No one except Olivia,’ Edward agreed, his teeth scraping over her shoulder blade before he bit hard enough to make her desperate for more.

‘I still can’t credit it.’ Ivy’s words were rather breathless, but she pushed forward.

‘Philippa raced after her in the stables, came around a corner, and wham! Olivia hit her with my gun. Knocked Philippa out cold. It’s hard to know if her obsession with finding Olivia is due to Philippa’s passion for justice, or a very bruised ego. ’

Edward slapped her arse with the flat of his palm.

The sting resonated in her nipples. ‘You know the children will be banging on our door soon, wanting to break our fast together. And we promised Sarah we would let her try riding the new pony after that. We have a very limited moment to engage in all manner of delightful wickedness and you want to ruin that with conversations we could have any. Other. Time.’

Ivy arched her back, knowing the move would lift her buttocks. Edward growled as she smiled into the pillow. ‘Of course, my love. We can discuss this later.’

‘Good.’ Edward used his thigh to push her legs apart, pulling her hips higher so her knees dug into the mattress. He ran his hands along her sides, bumping over her ribs to cup her breasts. She gasped as he squeezed and pinched her mercilessly.

‘I can’t believe Lord Smithwick was killed in prison. Do you think the Devil’s Sons orchestrated his murder?’

Edward groaned, pulling his hands away from her breasts and holding her hips steady.

‘Remember when we determined our decisions should always be made together? Well, if we can’t come to an agreement that pillow talk does not include Olivia, Philippa or, for God’s sake, the murder of certain prisoners, then I may have to override some of your decisions. ’ He smacked her arse again, harder.

Ivy squealed into the pillow. She loved it when he was a little rough. ‘We certainly wouldn’t want that.’

Spreading her cheeks, he brushed his thumb over her back entrance before delving into her wet folds.

‘God! I want you. Now.’

‘Then you shall have me,’ Edward growled as he thrust into her channel from behind, the pressure creating a spark of sensation across her clitoris.

‘I do so love when we make decisions together,’ she gasped.

‘As do I, sweet Ivy.’ He pulled back only to plunge again, deeper.

‘Don’t stop,’ Ivy demanded.

Don’t stop loving me. Don’t stop being with me. Don’t stop sharing this life with me.

‘Never. I swear it.’

And just as she trusted him with her heart, body, and soul, she knew this was a promise he would always keep.