Jenna Petersen: The Secrets of a Lady

No it wasn’t Audrey’s. Her voice had a richer tone, more of the sound of laughter in it.

“No, it’s Hannah, Lord Berenger,” said the woman with a laugh. “But you needn’t worry, Audrey is fine. The doctor and Lord Golding never would have allowed her to travel if she weren’t.”

“Travel?”

Griffin eased up onto one elbow and finally looked at the woman with comprehension. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face, revealing a nasty bruise next her eye that was already healing from black to purple. Her arm was secured in a real sling now, and though she favored it, her movements were sure and swift.

“Left two days ago, by my guess.” Hannah said. Her sharp, green eyes watched his face carefully to judge his reaction. “Though not before she was reassured you would fully recover.”

Griffin flopped back on the bed in disbelief. “I was asleep for two days?”

“After we brought you back here and the doctor set your leg, he gave you a mighty amount of drugs to sooth you. After all, you were thrashing about and screaming for Audrey so much you near killed yourself.”

Griffin blushed, an unfamiliar feeling that was entirely unpleasant. He didn’t like being so exposed to this woman who he hardly knew.

“And why didn’t you go with your friend?” he asked.

“I wanted to, but she said she needed to go home. And she thought three days in a coach wouldn’t be good for my arm,” Hannah said with a shrug. “In truth, I think she wanted to make sure someone was here to take care of you.”

“And Noah?”

“Should be back any moment,” Hannah said. “He’s just finishing up with his paperwork.”

“I’m here now,” Noah said, coming in the door with a smile for his friend. “Glad to see you awake, Grif. I told that doctor not to knock you out forever, just give me a break from your complaining.”

Griffin couldn’t muster a smile, not after finding out that Audrey had left without even saying goodbye to him. Instead, he shifted on his pillows.

“How did the case turn out?” he asked. It was an awkward question when what he really wanted to know hung between them. Still, he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about Audrey with an audience.

Noah smirked. “Very well. Though Ellison didn’t live to see trial, we did manage to squeeze the names of the associates out of his staff and glean some information from his files. The Department has made several arrests in the past few days.”

Griffin arched an eyebrow. “What about your precious list?”

Noah nodded. “It was in the box, just as Audrey said it was. When Ellison took her, he put the thing in his pocket. It survived the fire far better than he did and served out the final evidence against several key players in the plot. We’ve been making arrests most of the past two days.”

“So this is over,” Griffin sighed. He should have felt relief, but he didn’t.

“In more ways than one, at least for me. I’m retired.”

“What?” Griffin sat up too quickly again and paid the price of a throbbing head.

“You heard me. Lord Golding felt Audrey and I were too revealed during this case. He relieved us both from duty with thanks and hearty bonuses. I suppose I’m just an Earl again. Damn boring job, I must say.”

His friend gave Hannah a side look and the woman nodded in understanding. “I’ll leave you two. I’m glad you’re recovering, my lord.”

Griffin nodded to the woman then turned his attention back to Noah as the door closed. “I suppose everything will go back to normal then.”

“I suppose so.” Noah looked at him evenly. There was an awkward pause before he spoke again. “How long do you plan to be such an ass?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How long before you ask me about Audrey?” Exasperation was heavy in Noah’s tone.

“What about her?” Griffin turned his face away so Noah wouldn’t see his tormented emotions. “She left.”

“Yes. Mother found out about the whole bloody business and wrote Audrey a long letter. The first in a long time. Audrey went home to patch things up, but she left a message for you.”

“For me?” Griffin asked, hoping he sounded uncaring even though his whole body came to attention. “What is it?”

Noah frowned. “She said it was better for her to leave things as they were, without a big scene where you pretended to love her. I tried to make her wait, but she was bent on going. But then, I can’t tell her what she needs to hear, so nothing I said would have made a difference.”

Griffin covered his eyes with his forearm. “And what does she need to hear?”

“You know what she needs to hear.” Noah stood up with a screech of his chair. Wincing, Griffin lowered his arm to look at his best friend. “If you don’t care for my sister, then leave her be. Let her move on with her life now that she’s rebuilding with our family. But if you love her, Griffin…” he trailed off, clenching his teeth.

“I know what I need to do.”

His tone sounded angry even though he didn’t feel anger. He felt anticipation as he threw the covers off his legs and staggered to his feet. Pain shot through his lower body when he put weight on his injury, but he ignored it as he hobbled to his armoire. Where the hell was his damned valet when he needed him?

Noah jumped to his feet to put a steadying arm on Griffin’s shoulder. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m taking your bloody advice.” He gripped the edge of the armoire.

Noah smirked. “I haven’t even given it yet.”

Griffin rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. It has something do with telling me to stop being a coward. To go to her and make up for everything?”

“Hmmm…” Noah nodded with a grin. “That pretty well covers it.”

Griffin returned his smile. “I’m going to need help.”

“You’ve got mine.” Noah frowned. “But it doesn’t include dressing you. I draw a line somewhere.”

With his heart feeling lighter than it had in ages, Griffin laughed. “First, we need a plan. Aren’t half-assed plans your department?”

***

Audrey threw open the shutters on her windows and breathed in the scent of the country air. Fall was beginning to make the breeze a bit cooler, but the soft warmth still hung beneath it. It had been two weeks since she left London. Though she had received letters from Hannah and from Noah, Griffin had sent no word. She heard he was improving, but there was nothing else to give her a hint about his feelings for her.

What did she expect? It wasn’t as if she’d asked Griffin to write to her. And she’d specifically told Noah not to force the man to come to her unless he wanted to.

Which he obviously didn’t.

Turning from the visions of changing leaves and warm sun outside, she folded her arms in disgust. She thought she’d been a ninny the last time she’d broken ties with Griffin Berenger, but this time was much worse. Though she didn’t feel the pangs of youthful grief, she did feel a solid ache inside her. This time she’d experienced first hand what Griffin could offer her, and had been forced to turn it down.

What would have happened if she had accepted his proposal?

No, she couldn’t think of that now, it was only torture to her already broken heart.

After the excitement of the past few months, her home seemed calm and subdued. Because her father had been ill, he liked quiet evenings at home. While she enjoyed being reunited with her parents, she sometimes longed for the thrill of a case.

Her time with her mother had been especially good. Though Tabitha had been disapproving of the life she’d lead at first, nearly losing her first-born daughter seemed to put things into perspective for her. She’d even apologized for nearly forcing Audrey into a marriage she didn’t want.