Page 96 of The Notorious Lady

“We want different things in life,” she hastened to answer as if trying to shut down any possibility of hope. “You want to get married and have a family—”

“And you can’t be that for me?”

Her heart leaped in her chest. “I am a harlot! A brothel owner. We lead opposite lives. I consort with criminals, and I thrive in my brothel. I am not willing to give up the life I’ve built.”

He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “And what if you’re with child?”

“I will let you know, and we shall decide from there. But I will not marry you just because of the child, Ford. I need far more than that if I were to sign over everything I own, including myself.”

He nodded and, without another word, left the room.

The drive in the carriage was filled with tension. Eloise, the only sunshine in their vehicle filled with clouds, was sick the entire drive.

She’d said that was the reason they came back early from their trip. There was a glow to her face and a shine in her eyes that did not look sickly.

Grace didn’t say anything in front of Ford, but she wondered if Eloise knew she was with child. Grace smiled, imagining gruff and surly Hades with a little babe in his arms.

Seeing him again didn’t bring the spark of feeling within her except for the unconditional love she’d always felt for him. And he was different with Eloise. Happier.

The way Grace was with Ford…

She wondered, too, if she were with the child as well.

She didn’t want to be. Except, despite what she had said, she desperately wanted something to hold her to Ford.

She didn’t want to lose him. In the short amount of time they’d spent together, she’d come to care for him. Yearn for him. Love him.

The thought caught her by surprise, her heart drumming violently in her chest, urging her to tell him. Urging her to not let him get away.

Yet, her mind reminded her that the only way she wanted him was if he loved her, too.

Chapter 27

Just as Grace had predicted, by the time they arrived in London, William had already escaped from the gaol. Hades and Grace had managed to find his location, though—it was easy since they all knew the same safe hideaway spots. The young couple had taken refuge in a small, nondescript boarding house on the outskirts of the city, lying low and waiting for their chance to flee the country.

Hades and Grace had pulled their connections to get William and Victoria safely across the English Channel. They’d known quite a few smugglers who would do anything for a few extra coins.

Just to make certain they would get the job done, Hades, with his imposing presence and reputation for ruthlessness, had threatened them with dire consequences should they fail in their task or betray the fugitives.

Grace, on the other hand, employed a softer approach. She had offered the men free patronage to her brothel once they reopened—which she was sure would happen soon.

They didn’t know what worked, Grace’s sweet approach, Hades’ intimidation, or the offer of money. Perhaps, all three. Either way, the men agreed to smuggle William and Victoria onto their ship, although they couldn’t promise comfortable accommodations.

Grace was so busy dealing with William’s escape plans that she didn’t have time to dwell on her separation from Ford… at all.

Sure, she still thought about him constantly, his face appearing unbidden in her mind’s eye at the most unexpected moments. The memory of his touch, his voice, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled haunted her waking hours and her dreams.

But she absolutely did not yearn to be in his arms again…

And she was not thinking about him right now as she stood now on the docks, Hades standing by her side, watching the ship with William and Victoria disappear into the misty horizon.

Why would she?

He didn’t love her. He wanted her body but rejected everything else about her. He was not worth her tears, although she’d shed them anyway once her courses had arrived earlier in the day.

But that was just the emotions that always came during that time of the month.

“We have to go,” Hades said, and she only grunted in answer, her thoughts whirling back to Ford.