"Oh, my God, yes, of course. I'll need a candle." Olympia whirled about and hurried over to the desk.
"Be quick about it," Felix ordered.
"I am trying to hurry, sir." She picked up an unlit taper and reached for the one that was already lit. Her eyes met Jared's.
He smiled slightly.
Olympia snuffed the candle with her fingertips and plunged the room into darkness.
"Damn you," Felix shouted. His pistol roared. Light flashed from the small explosion.
The Guardian fell neatly into Jared's hand. He hurled it toward the spot where Felix had been standing.
There was a high, terrified cry of pain and rage and then a thud.
"Jared?" There was a scratching sound in the darkness. The candle in Olympia's hand flared into life. "Jared, are you all right?"
"Quite all right, my dear. Next time I trust you will consider my potential usefulness before you lock me away in a storage room for the night."
On the floor, Felix groaned. He opened his eyes and looked up at Jared. "You always were so bloody clever."
"I thought you were clever, too, Felix."
"I know you will never believe me, but I am truly sorry that it came to this."
"So am I." Jared crossed the room and knelt beside Felix. He examined the hilt of the dagger as it protruded from Felix's shoulder. "You will live, Hartwell."
"Not much point in that," Felix whispered. "I do not care to hang, sir. I wish you had killed me while you were about it."
"You will not go to prison," Jared said. "I will see to it that your creditors are repaid. In exchange you will leave England for good."
"You actually mean that, do you not?" Felix searched his face. "I do not understand you, Chillhurst. But, then, I have never really understood you."
"I realize that." Jared glanced up at Olympia who was hovering nearby. "There is only one person on the face of the earth who understands me."
Graves stumbled into the doorway. He had his hand pressed gingerly to the back of his head, but he looked reasonably alert. "M'lord. I see I'm a bit too late."
"All is well, Graves. How are you feeling?"
"I'll live, thank you, sir."
Olympia whirled around in concern. "Graves. You've been hurt."
"Nothing to worry about, madam. Been hit on the head more'n once in the course of me career. Never does much damage, I'm proud to say." Graves grinned his skeletal grin. "Trust ye won't go tellin' Mrs. Bird how hardy I am. I'm plannin' to play on her sympathies a bit, y'see."
"She'll be horrified," Olympia assured him.
Graves's smile disappeared as he looked at Jared. "Sorry about what happened, sir. I snuck back to the house after madam sent me and the rest of the staff off for the evening, but I got here too late. He was already inside. Never saw him come up behind me."
"It's all right, Graves. We have survived the evening."
A loud knock on the front door interrupted Jared.
"Perhaps you had better answer that, Graves."
"I'll get it," Olympia said quickly. "Graves is obviously not up to performing his duties tonight." She lit a second candle and went out into the hall.
Protesting vehemently, Graves followed her to the door.
Jared touched Felix's wounded shoulder.
"Damn." Felix sucked in his breath and passed out.
"Demetria. Constance," Olympia exclaimed out in the hall. "What are you two doing here? And why have you come at this hour, Mr. Seaton? Now see here, if it is to discuss the duel, I may as well tell you that it is not going to take place. Is that quite clear?"
"You may set Chillhurst free," Constance said dryly. "Demetria has told her brother everything. Gifford wishes to make his apologies and call off the duel. Is that not correct, Gifford?"
"Yes." Gifford's voice was very subdued. "Please tell your husband that I wish to speak with him."
Jared glanced toward the door. "I'm in here, Seaton. Before you make your apologies, would you mind very much summoning a doctor?"
Gifford came to stand in the doorway. "Why in God's name do you want a doctor?" Then his eyes went to Felix. "Damnation. Who is he? Why is there so much blood about?"
Olympia stood on tiptoe to peer over Gifford's shoulder. "That is Mr. Hartwell. He tried to rob me of my emerald earrings just now. That's his pistol over there on the floor. He threatened to shoot Jared with it."
"But what happened to him?" Gifford stared at the fallen man with sick fascination.
"Chillhurst used his dagger to save us." Olympia's eyes glowed with wifely pride. "He threw it at Mr. Hartwell just as Mr. Hartwell fired his pistol."
"Chillhurst downed him with a dagger?" Gifford asked weakly.
"Oh, yes. Chillhurst always carries it with him, you see. It was the most amazing thing because it all took place in the dark. I had just snuffed the candle and—"
Gifford made an odd sound as Jared took hold of the dagger and pulled it quickly out of Felix's arm. Blood flowed in the few seconds that it took Jared to bind Felix's cravat snugly around the wound.
"My God," Gifford looked distinctly ill now. "Never saw a man with a dagger stuck in him."
"If you think this is unpleasant," Jared said easily, "You should see a man with a bullet in his chest. That's why I sent you a note reminding you to make certain there would be a doctor present at our meeting."
"You're a bloody pirate after all, aren't you?" Gifford's face turned an ashen color. He sank gracefully to the floor in a dead faint.
Chapter 20
"I must say, it was very clever of you to escape from the storage room." Olympia snuggled into Jared's warmth. "But, then, you never cease to amaze me, my lord."
"I'm glad you continue to be impressed with my humble skills." Jared threaded his fingers through her hair.
It was nearly three in the morning. The household was quiet once more and everyone was abed at long last. But although she was exhausted, Olympia was finding it impossible to sleep. The events of the evening were still too fresh.
"I have always been impressed by your many abilities, sir." Olympia pressed her lips to his shoulder. "I am very glad that you are not angry with me for locking you in the storage room."
"My lovely siren," Jared whispered. "I could not possibly be angry with you. When you turned the key in the lock, I realized that you loved me."
Olympia went very still. "How on earth did you reason that out?"
"No one else has ever tried to rescue me." He searched her face in the shadows. "I'm not wrong, am I? You do love me?"
"Jared, I have loved you since the day you walked into my library and rescued me from Mr. Draycott."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I did not want you to feel obliged to have to love me in return," Olympia said. "You had already given me so much. I hoped you loved me, but I did not want to press you. In truth, it was difficult not to long for more. I wanted your love more than anything else in the world."
"You have had it since the day I met you." Jared brushed his mouth lightly, reverently, across hers. "I will admit that I did not realize at first that I was in love. I was too occupied with trying to deal with the strong passion that you aroused in me."
"Ah, yes, the passion." Olympia smiled. "There is that, is there not, sir?"
"There is definitely that." He kissed the tip of her nose. "But the love was there, too. I have never felt like this about anyone else, Olympia."
"I am glad, sir."
"I sought you out in order to find a missing fortune," Jared said against her lips. "But I realized soon enough that you were the only treasure I wanted."
"My lord, you take my breath away." She twined her arms around his neck and drew him toward her. "Come close and tell me more traveler's tales. I would hear of strange, far-off islands where lovers meet to make love on beaches scattered with priceless pearls."