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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

A lbion had found his way to the open balcony portside.

As the ship roared to life, the hiss of steam from the boiler and metallic reverberations of the engine pierced the air.

The paddle wheel turned, setting the Hyacinth on a northward course.

Away from Chamberly. Away from Reginald Addington and the Duke of Rostin.

As the sky darkened, the topography of the strip of coastline between Chamberly and France dulled, but the sharp light from the new lantern served as a beacon on the medieval watchtower.

She took in the briny aroma of rot from the Channel that was somehow more pleasing than the decay found further inland.

Diana drew her cloak tighter against a cold gust of wind. As the hissing of the steam engine grew quieter, she heard the faint squawk of sea birds flying toward the beach to roost for the night. The boat lulled into a steady, rhythmic motion before she raised her voice. “Husband?”

He turned slowly. In the light from the brass lantern hung behind them, above the main entrance to the cabin, she saw that dear face she loved and longed for. The wide collars of the greatcoat he had put on over his tasteful ensemble flapped in the breeze.

But the smile was not that of the Albion Higgins known to Society. His authentic soul shone through, and he greeted her as a husband should a wife, not just a wife born of a pragmatic arrangement between two lost souls.

After a minute, however, his smile collapsed.

“Daisy. I’m sorry.”

“What on earth have you to be sorry about?” she said, drawing near and hoping he would welcome her into his arms.

Instead, he swung his hands behind his back, his raven hair blowing in the wind and revealing his features more clearly, so she could see the sadness etched into every part of his face. “I lied to you.”

“You kept something from me.” Diana met his gaze as her hand lightly touched the railing.

“I lied to protect a secret. It was an unconscionable way for a husband to treat a wife.”

“Hardly. You could not tell me. I was not to be trusted. It is my fault that Reginald nearly apprehended you.”

“Did he not threaten your sister?”

She shook her head sadly. “What a coward I was, husband.”

“Nonsense,” he said. “You are the very opposite of a coward, wife. Did I not observe you try to convince Reginald Addington that you are the Benevolent Phantom? Not yet an hour has passed since.”

Her eyes widened, and she shrugged helplessly. “Sir Reginald would never think a woman capable of the Phantom’s exploits. But I could think of nothing else to say.”

“It was a misdirection. And sometimes misdirection is all that is required.”

“You certainly took advantage of that. Poor Reg must still be sneezing.”

Albie chuckled. “And cursing the day I was born, no doubt.”

“Of course, there was more to your misdirection than that,” Diana continued. “Your entire personality. How difficult it must have been for you, Albie. How privileged I was to get a glimpse of the man you truly are. To know your honor and courage …”

And love. She nearly added those words when she honestly didn’t know if they were appropriate.

“If only all of London might know. But I understand the purpose of your facade. Your actions were all the more honorable for your lack of taking credit for them.”

She leaned against the railing, remembering how much she enjoyed the sensation of moving across the water.

When her stomach felt strong, at any rate.

In the eastern sky, the stars of the Summer Triangle twinkled low on the horizon.

No matter what happened next, she must remember and savor this perfect moment.

“Once we reach Yarmouth,” she said slowly. “How shall you proceed?”

“The Langleys will accompany Jacques to London to reunite with his mother and siblings. If your sister wishes to join them, I have every confidence in my men. Hugh will also meet us there. I will direct him to protect her at all costs. I trust him with my life.”

“As for you?” Diana asked. As for us?

“Well, it seems I’ll have a rather rough go of it in London once Reg exposes me,” Albion said.

“I don’t know if I’d say a rough go. The papers love you already. I can only imagine the number of sketches they will conjure with the Phantom unmasked, depicted in all manner of heroic acts.”

“Hmm. Perhaps, but it ruins the point of it all, doesn’t it? And who knows what tricks Reg may resort to in order to square his debt with Rostin. All in all, I think it best to avoid the city for a spell.”

“So you will continue north, then?” Diana asked, heart thumping. “To the Hidden Realm?”

“You always said you wished to visit my homeland. I trust that desire still holds?”

“It most certainly does.”

“You will be among the first humans to see our land,” he told her. “As you wanted.”

“But do you want me to come with you?” she blurted. “As husband and wife. Truly. When I am not worthy of you.”

“Daisy!” he cried.

“Reginald and his brutes nearly caught you. Who knows what Rostin would have done? Prison? Execution? And it would have been all my fault.”

“Reg threatened your sister. He forced your hand.”

She shook her head sadly. “What a coward I was, husband. I should have found another way to help Lillian. Even before I knew you were the Phantom, I understood I was betraying a noble man. How shall I live with myself? I always suspected I was unworthy of love. Now, I know it for sure. I will forever be grateful to you for rescuing my sister, at great personal risk, I might add. But I expect nothing further from you. You must view me with great disdain.”

“How can you think such a thing?”

“It is only reasonable.”

“To the devil with reasonable,” he told her, with a passion she had never heard from him before. “You were put in an impossible situation and dealt with it as best you could. Who on earth led you to believe you were unworthy of love? That blasted Nigel Halman? Your parents?”

“My destructive behavior leads me to believe as much.”

He stepped closer, though he still didn’t reach out to her.

“Your conduct has been as honorable as any I’ve ever witnessed. Did you not come here to see to my safety? At great peril to yourself. Did you not admit everything that had happened to my family? William told me.”

“They were overly generous with me. Your mother should have ordered me out of her house.”

“Mother would do no such thing because she sees you as clearly as I do. Daisy, whether one is human or orc has never mattered to me. Goodness and cruelty can be found in either. But something from my upbringing still cleaves to me, so believe me when I say this as a compliment: You have the heart of an orc. I have said as much before, and you validated that sentiment today.”

“I did no more than I had to do. I love you, Albie. No matter what you think of me now or what happens to us next, I will always treasure you.”

His amber eyes sparkled in the manner he reserved for her alone, sending a wave of delectable excitement shooting inside her.

He opened his arms and drew her closer. The prospect of this grand adventure stirred her.

She wanted to feel the sea air lashing her face, the same as she had on the packet that brought her to Philadelphia.

She wanted to embrace all that life offered a free woman unhindered by the restrictions of the ton .

All life offered her as a Lady of the Hidden Realm. With Albion Higgins, her Albie, at her side.

“Daisy,” he said, his voice breaking. “I love you. If you stay with me, you shall feel nothing but love for the rest of your life. Love and passion and romance. Forever. I promise.”