Page 34 of Crash Landing
None of this made any sense.
Well, whatever the man’s reason for being there last night, Trajan and Florence were fortunate there was no harm done beyond a smashed cocoa pot, soiled clothes, and a stained carpet and settee.
Florence sniffled, but still held her chin high. “Your cousins may as well join us. You will repeat everything I tell you anyway. They may as well hear it directly from me.”
He took her hand, liking how small and soft it felt in his.
This was why Florence was so dangerous to his heart, this softness about her. She was intelligent, quick-witted, and independent. Yet achingly vulnerable. She brought out his protective instincts.
But did he not have the right to behave like a wild ape when she was behaving like a stubborn donkey?
There were four plump leather chairs arranged beside the hearth in his study, and he motioned for his cousins and Florence to sit while he remained standing.
He began to pace. “All right, Florence. Let’s have the rest of it.”
Her anger fled. She no longer scowled at him or cast him a stubborn look. Instead, she slumped her shoulders and buried her head in her hands. “I am so ashamed.”
She burst into sobs before all of them.
Trajan paled.
His cousins stared at him, confusion, remorse, and horror mingled in their expressions.
Oh, gad.
What had he done? What vile secrets was he forcing Florence to tell them?
Chapter Six
Florence felt asthough her heart had just been flayed bare.
She wanted to cry, wanted to be left alone to weep buckets of tears, because Trajan and his cousins would now know her shame.
She had to tell them, for they deserved to know the truth. But how was she to reveal the facts to them without their losing all respect for her?
She offered no resistance when Trajan drew her out of her chair and placed his arms around her. “Florence, love. Are you sure you do not wish to speak to me in private? I never meant to humiliate you. My cousins can leave the room while you tell me what this is about. But you must tell me. I cannot remain in the dark to whatever is going on.”
“I know.”
“Oh, love.” He caressed her cheek and gently stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down. But she had kept so much sealed up inside, it was hard to stop the deluge now that her dam had burst.
“They can stay. Just give me a moment.” She withdrew her handkerchief and used it to dab her eyes, leaving it well and truly soaked, because she had held back so many tears for so long, and now they were flooding out of her.
After a moment, she eased out of Trajan’s arms and sank back in her chair. He knelt beside her, studying her with genuine worry.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “These tears aren’t for me.”
She felt the soft rush of air as he released a breath. “Then who? Are you protecting someone?”
She nodded. “My brother. The golden child. The firstborn who can do no wrong in the eyes of my parents. But Matthew is about to be brought up on charges of dueling. Fortunately, he merely winged the son of a marquess who had called him out for cheating at cards.”
“Bloody blazes,” Sebastian muttered. “Did he cheat?”
“Yes. And he has also run up a sizeable debt at the copper hell he frequents. This is the bargain I really struck with the princess. She has agreed to erase his debts and squelch that dueling charge in exchange for the return of those letters. It seemed a good bargain at the time. All those marks against my brother suddenly made to disappear.”
“She ought to have warned you about Frampton,” Sebastian retorted.
“Assuming she knew how vicious he was.”
