Page 96 of The Lord I Once Loved

Turley quivered, and I felt a bit of fear creep up my spine. Surely, Will wouldn’t… kill him?

As if he sensed my fear, Will turned to his mother’s nurse, who was cowering in the corner.

“Go and get help. Sneak out the back kitchen door and head to the village. You won’t be caught. But before you do that, get me the rope.”

She squeaked, and moments later, Will had tied Turley’s hands feet together with the same thick rope Turley had used to trap me. The maniac Lord sputtered and cursed, but Will didn’t even look at his face. Once he was immobilized, Will took a few steps away, his face unreadable.

I began to speak, but I wasn’t sure what to say. Will approached me, but he didn’t look in my eyes.

Was he still ashamed?

He silently untied me, releasing me from Turley’s imprisonment.

A silence descended on the room. The only noise was the slow breathing of Will’s mother.

I watched as he slowly walked across the room to her, his expression pained. He gently untied the rope from her hands, and then picked her up, as if he was picking up a precious gemstone, and carried her to the bed. Her eyes remained hazy and clouded.

She showed no sense of recognition, even as her own son carried her across the room.

Will placed her delicately in the bed and then spread the blanket across her frail body. Just as he was turning to leave, his mother’s hand reached up ever so slightly.

“My son…” A small, frail voice said.

I could barely make it out, but the words were unmistakable.

She recognized him.

Will looked down at her, and I thought I saw a tear fall down his face. I felt my heart constrict, and all I wanted to do was fall into his arms… to caress his face and feel the strength of his arms.

But now was now the time.

I slipped quietly out of the room, giving them the privacy they deserved.

Itwasnearlydaybreak,and the countryside was filled with the first sounds of the early morning songbirds. The sky was beginning to lighten into a soft, pale blue, and everything felt still.

I sat quietly on the front steps of the country house, taking in the peaceful surroundings. After men from the village had arrived, Turley’s hired guardsmen had disappeared, as if they had never been here at all.

Now, all was settled.

Except, of course, for Will and I.

I heard the front door open behind me, and I turned to find Will standing on the step above me, his golden hair glowing in the soft morning light.

“Amelia.” He said softly, and I stood up to stand before him, looking up into his blue eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” He said, and I knew that he meant it.

I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes.

“You don’t have to apologize Will. I…” I trailed off, unsure of how to put my feelings into words.

I didn’t have to. Before I could utter another word, he had pulled me into his embrace. His soft lips touched my own, gently at first, and then more passionately, until I felt as if I was melting into his touch.

We were one, Will and I, and I knew without a doubt that I loved him more than I had ever loved anyone else.

I fell backwards, his arm catching me, our lips never apart. I let my hands run up his strong arms, feeling the curves of the muscles. His own hands traced along the small of my back and the curve of my neck, sending shivers running up and down my spine.

We could have stayed in that moment for eternity. There was nothing that could have made it perfect –

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