“But we don’t know what caused their deaths.”
“Mother,of coursewe know. It was a fire. They died because of a fire. She didn’tsetthe fire. You’re being so superstitious—I’m honestly surprised at you.”
“I know it probably isn’t true,” his mother admitted. “But how can I take chances with my own children?”
“I’m willing to take the chance,” Thomas said. “I don’t believe in any of this.”
“You may be willing to take chances,” his mother said darkly. “But what about your sister? Have you thought about her? If you do this, Thomas, she and the cursed lady will be family to each other.”
“Oh,Idon’t mind,” Rachel said brightly. “I think the whole thing sounds rather fascinating, actually. I’d like to have a cursed lady for a sister.”
“It’s a terrible idea,” his mother said. “I won’t permit it.”
“It’s not in your power to forbid it, Mother,” Thomas said. “I respect that you disagree with the decision, but you can’t stop me. I’m going to go to her home and ask her uncle for her permission to marry her this very afternoon.”
“You could have walked away from this,” his mother said. “Youstill could, Thomas! I thought you didn’t want to marry! How can you have changed your mind so quickly?”
“I thought you did want me to marry.”
“But I don’t want you to marryher. There are so many preferable options, Thomas. There are so many young ladies who would love to have you, even after the scandal of last night. Don’t you understand how lucky you are? You can have anyone you want.”
“Maybe Lady Madeleine is who he wants,” Rachel suggested.
“Don’t be silly,” their mother snapped. “The two of them hardly know one another. He doesn’tloveher. He’s doing this out of a misguided sense of duty, or guilt, or—something like that. But you shouldn’t feel that way, Thomas. You have no responsibility for that lady. I know you feel for her plight. You’re a caring man, and you always have been. I admire that about you. But that doesn’t mean you have an obligation to save her.
“But that’s just it,” Thomas said. “Idohave an obligation to save her because she saved me.”
“What do you mean?” Rachel sounded positively breathless.
“Yes, whatdoyou mean?” his mother asked. “Explain, Thomas.”
“Do you recall the attack I suffered four years ago?”
“Of course,” his mother said. “But why would you bring that up now?”
“I never told you how I was saved,” he said. “I only mentioned that a gentleman helped me.”
“That’s right.”
“That gentleman was the Viscount of Keenward,” Thomas said. “Lady Madeleine’s uncle.”
“And so you feel you owe him a debt of gratitude for saving your life, is that it?”
“No, that’s not it,” Thomas said. “Not entirely.”
“Then what?”
“Lord Keenward told me that night that it was actually his niece who had found me,” Thomas said. “And she had kept me alive with her own hands until help could be summoned. She had her hands covered with my blood, Mother. She could have walked away that night and let me die—no one would have blamed her. But she didn’t do it.”
His mother was quiet.
“She’s a real heroine,” Rachel breathed.
“She’s the reason I’m still alive,” Thomas said. “If I were to turn my back on her now, in her hour of need, I would be the worst kind of man imaginable. How could I live with myself if I did that, Mother? She saved my life, and you’re saying I should just be thankful I can walk away from the scandal and leave her alone in it? I couldn’t do that.”
“Of course you couldn’t,” Rachel said loyally. “In a way, it’s a bit romantic, isn’t it? You needed her help all those years ago, and now she needs yours.”
“It isn’t romantic at all,” their mother said.
