Page 57 of A Gentleman's Guide to Save a Lady
Belle understood his anguish but could not summon any pity. Yes, she’d faced her demons a long time ago and still his betrayal stung deep.
Something else ticked at her mind, too. “It was you. You stole the drawings from me.”
“Yes, that was me,” he whispered, “It was safer in our hands than yours. We did not want you to carry that burden as well.”
Her heart hurt.
“Why were you there, Quinn?”
He sighed. “Years ago, I was tasked to capture a French spy. By the time I realized it was your Edgar, it had already been too late.”
“He’s not my Edgar,” she snapped. “So you are a spy.”
He said nothing.
It made sense—his sudden departure from her life only to never return again.
“Does Bradford know?”
Quinn looked away.
“Does Bradford know?”
“Of course Bradford knows. He’s been hell bent on destroying everyone who had a part in that mission.”
Sobothher brothers were spies.
“You both knew yet still you stayed away? Why?”
Betrayal had given way to anger. How dare they save her and then abandon her again? It was even worse than she thought.
“You do not understand, sis. We wanted to return home badly after that, but we could not. In our vendetta to destroy the people who hurt you, we needed to remain away until it was finished. Your life would have been in danger.”
“News flash, Quinn, the person who hurt me is still very much alive and still continues to hurt me.” She threw her hands in the air. “How is it that I have two brothers who are spies yet they cannot protect me from one madman?”
Quinn flinched. “Yes, I know. The bastard is as sneaky as a rat. He’s always three steps ahead of us.”
“And now you want my friends just to let it go? Hell, Quinn, did it ever occur to you that you might have succeeded a long time ago if you’d just remained here?”
“Of course it did. But we have it under control now.”
That brought Belle up short. “We? Bradford is here?”
He nodded. “Look, don’t be mad at Brad. He wants to be here and he will, once that French bastard is taken care off. What he’s not aware of, however, it that you are secretly housing Westfield. Let us just keep that little bit of information to ourselves.”
It occurred to Belle that her brother still did not understand what saddened her. They were not the ones who had been abandoned by their family. They weren’t the ones who had to face the darkest moments of their lives alone because they’d had each other.
She, on the other hand, had been left with her aunt. And while she loved her aunt dearly, her aunt was a bit batty—a fact that mostly allowed Belle to do as she pleased. But it did not keep her from feeling alone.
“I’ve no care for what Bradford might think. Westfield and every one of my friends have been here for me when it was clear I’ve been abandoned by you. They don’t leave when danger lurks, they band together. If not for them, I would bedeadright now, Quinn. They saved me this time—not you.”
Quinn looked away. “I hope that one day you may come to understand, Belle. But for now, I must ask you to back down or risk not only your lives but ours as well.”
His grave tone gave her pause. She sensed the shame he carried in his heart. She had to admit that beyond her anger and her betrayal, the prospect of them becoming a family again warmed her heart. She would focus on that. “I will see what I can do, but I cannot promise anything.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time. That is twice now.”
Belle sighed. “I do not blame you, not really. You were not the one who fell in love with a French spy.”
