Page 45 (1/2)
Irown silent, but now he spoke "It’s over"
"No," Sier man "Take it"
Christian eyed him warily--as well he should
Meanwhile, de Raaf still pleaded "He was your friend You can end this, Fletcher"
Christian shook his head Blood from the cut on his cheek already stained his collar Siore from his eye and s without Lucy? But he would have an honorable death He wouldhis shirt, despite the fire eating at his shoulder, despite the weariness weighing down his soul, he would have a real fight A real death
"Take it," he repeated softly
Chapter Twenty
The light from Lucy’s candles shone on the conservatory floor Glass shards sparkled there like a carpet of diamonds Lucy stared dazedly at them a moment before she noticed the chill She looked up The histling through what had once been a glass roof, o out She held the candelabra higher Every pane in the greenhouse was jagged and broken The sky, graying with the threat of day, hung too low
Who?
She lass crunched beneath her boots, scraping against the brick walk Terra-cotta pots were in drifts on the tables, broken and crushed, as if a great, angry wave had tossed thelass sliding beneath her shoes Upturned roses in various states of bloo from a pane overhead Pink and red blooms bled petals on the floor, their familiar perfume curiously absent Lucy touched a flower and felt it melt and shrivel beneath the warmth of her hand It was frozen The bitter winter air had been let in to savage the sheltered blooms Dead All the roses were dead
Dear God
Lucy reached what had been the dome in the middle of the conservatory and stopped Only a skeleton, bits of glass skin still clinging here and there, reiant hammer had been taken to it A frozen plume of ice stood in the fountain, stilled in mid-splash More ice spilled from a crack in the fountain and widened into a frozen lake around it Beneath the ice, shards of glass glittered, horribly beautiful
Lucy swayed in shock A gust of wind h the conservatory and blew out all but one of her candles Simon must have done this He’d destroyed his fairyland conservatory Why? She sank to her knees, huddled on the cold floor, her one re flame cradled in her numb palms She’d seen how tenderly Simon had cared for his plants Remembered the look of pride when she’d first discovered the dome and fountain For him to have smashed all this
He must have lost hope All hope
She’d left hih she’d promised not to on her mother’s memory He loved her and she’d left him A sob tore at her throat Without hope, how could he survive the duel? Would he even try to win? If she knehere he would duel, she ht stop him But she had no idea where this duel would take place He’d warned her that he would hide the dueling rendezvous froly He was going to duel; he ht in the cold and dark, and she couldn’t stop hi for her to do
Lucy looked around the ruined conservatory, but there was no answer here Dear God, he would die She would lose hi the chance to tell him how much he meant to her How reenhouse she wept, her body shaking with sobs and the cold, and she finally acknowledged what she had kept hidden deep in her heart She loved her husband
She loved Simon
Her last candle flickered and went out She drew a breath and wrapped her arms about herself, bent as if broken She lifted her face to the gray sky as silent, ghostly snowflakes dropped and melted on her lips and eyelids
Above her, the dawn broke on London
DAWN WAS BREAKING ON LONDON The expressions on the faces of the ht filtered across the dueling green He could see the desperation in Christian’s eyes as he darted forward, his teeth clenched and bared, his red hair rabbed the sword in Siasped as the blade sawed at his flesh Scarlet drops fell to the snow at his feet He leveled his oord and swung blindly Violently Christian ducked to the side, alain, felt the blade connect A spray of blood decorated the snow, then was tra with Simon’s scarlet drops until all was a muddy mess
"Goddamn," Christian moaned
His breath blew in Simon’s face, foul with fear His face hite and scarlet, the wash of blood on his left cheek only a shade darker than the freckles underneath So young Siize He shivered; his blood-soaked shirt was freezing It had begun to snow again He looked at the sky over Christian’s head and thought, ridiculously, I shouldn’t have to die on a gray day
Christian sobbed hoarsely
"Stop!"
The shout ca his sword up one last time
But then de Raaf was there, his oord drawn "Stop, Si man interposed his blade between the?" Si
"For the love of God, stop!"
"Listen to the rowled
Christian froze "Father"
Sir Rupert lih the snow, his face nearly as white as his son’s "Don’t kill, hih I concede Don’t kill my boy"
"Concede what?" Was this a trick? Silanced at Christian’s horrified face Not on the son’s part, at least
Sir Rupert was silent, using his breath to laboriously walk closer
"Jesus Let’s get this skewer out of you" De Raaf placed a fist on Sied Christian’s sword out with one swifthis lips His vision darkened for a second He blinked fiercely Noasn’t the ti from the wound on his shoulder
"Christ," de Raafhe’d brought with hi them into the wound
God’s balls! The pain was near unbearable "Didn’t you get a doctor?" Sied "Couldn’t find one I trusted" He pressed harder
"Ouch" Si breath "Goddamnit So I have you to physicto thank runted He looked at Sir Rupert, refusing to flinch as de Raaf tended his shoulder "What do you concede?"