“Disappear?”
“Go into hiding. It is the only way to ensure your sister and brothers’ safety. As you said, if you are dead, Caliban will no longer have the leverage to blackmail you. So you will be presumed dead. We will put out the story that you were drowned at sea, that your body was never recovered.”
“Will anyone believe it?”
“I don’t see why not. I mean to say that you were in my employ all along. You have been working for the British government, Sir Grayson, trying to get close to the smugglers and win their confidence.” Lucian paused. “There is no proof otherwise.”
“You would do that for me?” Gray asked, his tone hoarse.
Lucian shot Brynn an enigmatic glance. “Yes. You were only aiding me in my duty, attempting to keep my wife safe. If you cannot be found, Caliban will no longer threaten her or your brothers. Once we catch him, you can return to the world. It may be some months, however. Caliban has proven damnably elusive. But you can use the interval to recover. The doctor tells me you will be bedridden for a time.”
Brynn let out the breath she had been holding. Grayson was not going to prison. She felt tears fill her eyes as she squeezed his hand.
When Gray remained silent, deep in thought, she spoke up. “What do we tell our brothers… Theo? They will be devastated to think Grayson dead.”
“If their acting skills are good enough, you can tell them the truth. Their grief must be convincing enough to fool Caliban, though.”
“Theo will consider it a lark,” Gray asserted. “And I’m certain we can count on the others to keep up the pretense.”
“At least the presumption of your drowning avoids one problem,” Lucian expounded. “If there is no body, there will be no immediate question of your heir assuming your title and holdings, so there will be no legal mess to sort out when you return to life.”
“Where will Grayson go?” Brynn asked.
“I thought Scotland. I have property in the Highlands where he will be safe. One of my ships is anchored at Falmouth and can convey him there.” His gaze focused again on Gray. “My colleague, Philip Barton, will accompany you. You can use the journey to tell him everything you know about Caliban. If you agree to the plan, I will have a stretcher brought in to carry you to the ship.”
“Now?” Brynn repeated. “So soon?”
“Tonight?” Gray asked.
“It will be best if you disappear immediately,” Lucian answered. “The subterfuge may become too difficult to sustain otherwise. If your servants see you wounded, it will be harder to make credible your sudden disappearance at sea.”
Brynn suddenly comprehended. “That was why you didn’t want Gray moved from the caves.”
“Yes,” Lucian replied. “Then you agree to my plan, Sir Grayson?”
Gray looked at Brynn, who nodded, unable to speak for the tears in her throat. Lucian had given her brother a reprieve. She could not have imagined he would be so generous. She returned Lucian’s gaze fervently.
“Thank you,” she uttered, her heart filled with gratitude.
Gray echoed her sentiment. “Yes, I thank you, my lord. I know I don’t deserve such leniency. As for your plan, I will do whatever you think best.”
Lucian seemed to brush off his thanks with a hard stare. “You should have come to me first. I trust I needn’t warn you of the consequences if you ever dare involve your sister in treason again?”
Gray’s mouth curled in a harsh smile. “No, I need no warning.”
“Very well then… I expect you will want a few moments to say farewell. I have some matters to tie up, so I will leave you two alone.” His glance went to Brynn, but she couldn’t read his expression. “We still have a great deal to discuss.”
“Yes,” she murmured.
“Perhaps you will await me in your rooms. I will join you there when I can.”
“Very well.”
Brynn bit her trembling lower lip as she watched him leave, not knowing how to interpret Lucian’s sudden coolness.
Realizing her brother was watching her, though, she forced herself to wipe her eyes. “I can scarcely credit Lucian is letting you go free,” she remarked, trying to summon a smile.
“It is solely for your sake, Brynn. I think he must care for you a great deal.”
She bit her lip, unable to let herself hope. “We should have gone to Lucian from the start, I see that now. It might have spared us a great deal of terror. Perhaps if you had told me earlier what you were facing…”
“I’m sorry for what I put you through,” Gray said quietly.
“I know, dearest.” Bending, she embraced him carefully, mindful of his injury. “But if you ever dare become involved in something so dangerous again and try to shoulder the burden all yourself, I swear I truly will shoot you myself.”
A short while later she stood at the window of her bedchamber, waiting for her husband to come… for her fate to be decided.
Her farewell to Gray had been bittersweet, filled with both relief and sadness. She’d watched as her brother was carried away on a stretcher, knowing how fortunate he was to be given a second chance.
Would she be given the same chance?
Brynn shivered as she stared out at the night. The storm had apparently passed them by, leaving a few clouds of mist scudding across the dark sky. The faint moonlight painted the ocean silver, transforming it into a cold, flickering mirror.
She felt just as cold; she felt empty, aching. She wouldn’t blame Lucian in the least if he hated her for what she had done.
Trying not to think about it, Brynn busied herself stoking the fire. She froze when she heard the door to her bedchamber open and then slowly shut. Hardly daring to breathe, she turned to face Lucian.
He stood just inside the room, his features eclipsed by shadow, much as he had looked earlier in the evening when she’d attempted to drug him.
Was that only hours ago?
He was the first to speak. “How is your arm?”
“It throbs a little, but it’s nothing, really. Merely a flesh wound.”
His eyes narrowed as he stepped into the light. “I don’t consider a bullet wound ‘nothing.” That was a damned foolish thing to do, Brynn, lunging in front of me.“
“You’re welcome,” she retorted, stung to defiance by his criticism.
His voice was unnervingly quiet when he replied. “You could have been killed.”
She couldn’t tell whether that prospect would have saddened him or not. “Would it have mattered to you?”
“Certainly it would have mattered.” There was a moment’s pause before he added, “You are carrying my child, did you consider that?”
Brynn’s hand went to her abdomen in dismay. “No, I didn’t stop to think.”
He moved toward her, his gaze piercing as it bored relentlessly into her. “You didn’t realize you were endangering our child?”
“Not at that moment. All I thought about was that Jack meant to shoot you and that I had to stop him.”
Lucian halted a short distance from her. She could see the tightness in his face, could sense the thrumming tension coiled in his hard, elegant body.
She regarded him in mute wretchedness. He cared deeply about their child, she knew, but did he care about her in the least? Perhaps he couldn’t forgive her for her crimes after all.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally, miserably.
To her shock, Lucian reached up to touch her cheek. “No, I am the one who should be sorry. For doubting you. You saved my life, Brynn.” Her breath caught as his thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. “You terrified me,” he whispered. “I thought I would die of fear when you stepped in front of that bullet.”
She returned his searching gaze, unable to speak for the hope filling her.
“My dream was wrong, wasn’t it?” Lucian murmured. “In my nightmare, you are standing over me as I lie dying. You want me dead. But you couldn’t want my death if you were willing to give your life for me.”
“That dream is terribly wrong.” Brynn felt tears spring to her eyes. “Your death is the last thing I would ever want.” She gazed up at him earnestly. “I know I betrayed you, Lucian, but I only wanted to keep you safe. Even if you can never forgive me… I did it for you.”