*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
As the carriage drove through the dark night to a safe location Roman attended to Dean in their carriage. He removed the shirt wrapped around his wound and the white shirt was now red from the blood Dean was losing. "This doesn't look good," said Roman nervously as he grabbed a rag to clean up the infected area. "Dean," he said as Dean's eyes were closed and his color draining from his face and his lips. "Dean," he said again.
"Roman," he responded weakly. "It hurts."
"I'm sure it does," said Roman as he put the rag onto the wound and Dean winced in pain. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's going to hurt a little. I'm going to do my best to take care of you and get you fixed up before we arrive at the cabin."
"It hurts," he said through his gritted teeth. "How is Della? How's Adelle?" he asked with concern, "are they well?"
"They were unharmed as for Della I'm not sure where her mind is. She killed Seth," answered Roman as he continued to clean out the wound. "We need to get to the cabin before morning, sleep and be back on the path to catch our boat to America. We need to get to America as fast as we can before The Crown catches Della if they catch her she will be executed for her crimes. She's in serious danger."
"At least that bastard is dead, he deserved to die," he winced. "One less heathen in the world that we need to worry about."
"Truly," said Roman. "I'm worried about you this is going to get infected. I don't want you to die. You seem to have a whole life ahead of you. What happened with you and Adelle?" Roman smiled trying to distract Dean from the pain of closing up his wound with a sterilized needle and thread.
Dean winced in pain before he let out a slight scream of pain as the needle pierced his skin and the wound was stitched once. "I fell in love with her," he smiled. "I fell in love with her. I'm going to marry her when we get to America. I'm going to raise Samuel as mine but I think my days of being a guard are over," he said with a soft smile. "It's too dangerous."
"I would say so," smiled Roman, "but you need to make it through this. You have a son that needs his father," he smiled.
"I'm going to," said Dean weakly as he winced through Roman's stitching. "How has life been with Della?"
"It's been perfect," he answered with a smile as he thought about his life with Della the last year. He couldn't have asked for a better wife or mother for his daughter. "I wouldn't trade my life with Della for anything in this life. Marrying Amelia was a mistake, I should have never followed the pressures of society. I didn't want to live like my father. I wanted to live like myself, live with the woman I love, have a lot of children with the woman I truly love title or not, peasant or not she's my greatest treasure, Leah is my greatest treasure. I love my girls and I don't see my life with anyone but them. I'm officially going to take her as my wife in America."
"I'm glad that you're happy, you deserve happiness," said Dean with a soft smile. "Your daughter is beautiful."
"Thank-you," said Roman with a smile. "I think Samuel is quite handsome."
"He's perfect and looks like Adelle thankfully, I could not imagine Adelle living every day of her life looking at our son if he resembled that monster. Seth deserved everything that Della gave to him. The way he treated Adelle was horrific. He raped her daily, beat her around, he was a monster."
"Della experienced the same treatment from him," he said bitterly. "I'm glad Della killed him. He deserved everything he got from her."
"So when do we leave for America?" he asked.
"Tomorrow at nightfall," he responded as the carriage continued to travel through the dark cold night as Roman stitched Dean's wound. "We need to depart Europe before the crown finds us. I don't know what information Seth has given to them. They could know our location and could be onto us," he said.
"I hope not," said Dean, "that would mean Della could be beheaded for her crimes."
"She's in danger," said Roman. "I have to get her to safety as soon as possible. I wasn't ready to leave for America for days but we need to be on a boat tomorrow by night fall to escape the crown so Della escapes punishment."
"You seem worried," he said.
"I'm terrified," said Roman. "I couldn't imagine my life without Della if the crown finds her she will die. I can't risk that. I need her safe. I'm terrified at everything that can happen to her. It makes me nervous."
"We'll get to America," he promised. "Della will be safe. You have made it this far and not for nothing besides I doubt Seth would give up the location of where you and Della were. He was too focused on following Adelle and me to your residence. If he wanted The Crown involved he wouldn't have shown up alone. Seth wanted to be selfish like he has always been. He wanted the glory, he didn't want The Crown to receive the glory for finding Della. I believe he would have either made her endure the hell he put her through or turned her over to The Crown. I'm going with the latter there is a lot of coin offered for her capture. Seth could get by with the coin, become richer and take another woman for his wife. He didn't need Della she was nothing but payment to him from her grandfather. He didn't love her. He loved the idea of her and having her whenever he wished whether she wanted him or not. Seth was a sick bastard and the world is better off without him," he said. "I think that The Crown may be waiting for Seth to bring Della to them but Seth would never give the location."
"I hope you're right," he said.
"Trust me Seth is a glory hound and it is believable that he would be seeking the glory. I'm proud of Della," he said proudly as he finished stitching him up.
Della sat in her carriage as the nanny held Leah in her arms, Della looked at her blood stained hands in disbelief. She couldn't believe she had killed a man. She never believed she had the power to kill a man. She looked at her blood stained dress silently as Leah slept peacefully. "Della," said Adelle, "are you well?"
"I'm frightened," she said softly as she looked at her sister. "I killed a man tonight."
"A man that got everything he deserved," said Adelle as she held a sleeping Samuel.
"I killed a man," she said softly. "I killed him and then we burned his body."
"You did what was right," said Adelle as she comforted her older sister. She wasn't sure if Della was experiencing guilt or fear for killing Seth.
"The Crown is going to execute me," she said softly. "They're going to find me and execute me and my life will be over for running away with Roman and now for murdering Seth," she said. "The Crown is going to execute me, Adelle."
"You're going to be all right," said Adelle. "You did what you needed to do. Seth was a savage beast. You did what you needed to do. He was going to kill you."
"I know he was a terrible man, I'm sorry, Adelle."
"Sorry for what?" asked Adelle.
"That you needed to endure hell with that man because I left him," she said with tears stinging her eyes. "I'm sorry and you have his child," she said. "I was lucky enough to miscarry my child with him."
"You and Seth shared a child?"
"Until he caused me to lose my child and I'm grateful for that. I couldn't imagine having his child, his spawn, I'm sorry that he's the father of your child."
"By genetics," she said, "but by love Dean is his father and will always be his father. Seth was a monster but the best thing to come from him was Samuel," she said softly as she looked down at her son. "I love him so much more than I thought I ever could. I thought I would despise him, sickened by my own child," she said with tears in her eyes, "but the moment I saw him, the moment I held him in my arms was the moment my life had meaning again. He mattered more to me than anything and I had so much love for him in my heart. He was perfection from something so imperfect. He will never know Seth as his father he will always be Dean's son as long as Dean is still alive."
"I'm sure that Roman will take care of Dean. He's good at almost everything. I'm sure he will take care of Dean to make sure he can live his life with you and your son. I'm still sorry, Adelle. You should have never had to go through that."
"You're not the one that took me from Mama and Papa. You didn't' rape me or beat me," she said, "It is not your fault."
"But I ran away," she said.
"To save your life," she said, "I ran too, Della. I ran too. That's the only thing we could do for our lives. Seth would have killed us both if we hadn't. We will never have to worry about that monster again. He's gone, Della and he's gone because of you," she said with a smile, "we will never have to worry or fear him again. You saved some poor woman from enduring what we did. And for that, Della, you're a hero," she said.
"I don't' feel much like a hero," she responded. "I am glad I did what I did but I wouldn't consider myself a hero. I'm an adulteress," she explained. "I'm going to be caught by The Crown and they aren't going to consider me a hero."
"That's never going to happen," she said. "You're safe, Della."
"I won't be safe until we are on that boat to America, then I will truly be safe."
"You know Lord Reigns will never let harm come your way, Della, he risked his own life to protect you more than once. He will never allow anything to harm you," she said softly.
"He's not a Lord anymore," replied Della, "but we will not be safe until we are on that boat to America. That's when I will truly be able to breathe a sigh of relief," she said nervously.
"I understand," she said as she rocked Samuel. "I wish I could see Dean. I need to know he's well. What if he dies? I can't lose the man that I truly love and want to spend the rest of my life with," she said sadly.
"If Dean was not well we would have stopped but since we're still traveling I believe that Roman is doing everything he can to keep him alive. He will be all right," she promised as she wrapped her arm around her sister to comfort her.
"I hope so," she said looking down at her son as the carriages travelled on through the night.
Just as the late night was ready to give way to the dawn the two carriages pulled up in front of a private, secluded residence lost in the woods to the rest of society, Roman exited his carriage first carrying an injured Dean into the residence to his bedchamber while Adelle and Della exited their carriages with their offspring. They walked into the residence and took a seat in the sitting room while the maid went to make them a cup of tea to drink to warm them up while they fed their children. Roman got Dean settled and comfortable before he made his way down the stairs to see his wife in the sitting room feeding their daughter. She was still covered in Seth's blood. He walked into the sitting room. "How is he?" asked Adelle.
"I did everything I could. He's in a lot of pain. I stitched him up. He seems to be doing well. The next couple days will be the most crucial. If he makes it past the next couple days he will make a full recovery. I didn't know the dagger went as deeply as it had. I believe he will be just fine he lost a lot of blood."
"I can't lose him," said Adelle with tears in her eyes, "Samuel can't lose him. We haven't had enough time."
"You'll have plenty of time," he promised with a smile. "You should go see him he's been asking about you."
"Very well," she said as she stood up and carried Samuel to the staircase. "Roman," she said just as Roman was going to take a seat next to his wife.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Thank-you," she said with a smile and tears in her eyes.
"You're welcome," he said with a smile before Adelle made her way up the stairs to find Dean in his bedchamber while Roman and Della sat in the sitting room. "You need to bathe," he said, "and you need sleep."
"I'm not tired," she said softly. "I'm frightened," she said.
"You have nothing to fear, My Love," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "What is there to be frightened about?"
"The Crown, I killed a man tonight, Roman and I am an adulteress. They are going to behead me," she said.
"They would have to capture you first," he said. "Do you think after everything we have gone through to be together that I would allow anyone to jeopardize that, jeopardize our future together?"
"You have no control," she said honestly. "If The Crown wants to execute me you can't stop them."
"I can protect you from them. I've been protecting you since the day that I met you. I will never allow them to execute you. We have so much planned for our life together in America. We'll be on our way to America by nightfall."
"But we have to get through the day," she said softly.
"And we will," he said comforting her. "You have nothing to fear, Della. I'm your protector, your hero. I would never allow any harm to come your way."
"I know," she said, "but we can't control what life and fate give to us. I look at Leah and I can't allow her to grow up without me as her mother. I don't ever want to leave her behind but if I must I will pay for my crimes even if it means death."
"Dell," he said wiping away one of her tears. "Stop talking like that, you're going to be safe. We have a whole life in America waiting for us. We're going to wed, we're going to produce more children but most importantly we're going to grow old together, we're going to die together and be together for eternity. You've got a whole life ahead of you. I will never allow anyone to take that away. I worked hard to have this life with you. I will work just as hard to protect this life with you and our future. Our daughter needs her mother and she will never be without you. You're everything to me I will not lose you and I would die before allowing The Crown to take you from me."
"Roman," she said with tears in her eyes. "I love you but I need you to promise me that if anything happens to me that you will protect Leah with your entire life and allow her to know how much I loved her and how much she meant to me."
"Della," he said.
"Promise me," she said as she felt a lump in her throat holding back the sob waiting to escape. "Promise me," she said before she broke into sobs.
"I promise," he said with tears in his eyes before he wrapped her up in his arms, he kissed the top of her head to comfort her as he sobbed that they felt the same fear of The Crown. He didn't want to lose his wife or have his daughter lose her mother he would do what he needed to protect their family but he knew the force of The Crown. He needed to get his family to America as soon as he could. He would not feel relief until they boarded their boat to America. He hugged his wife tightly to comfort her, let her know he was going to protect her he would never allow anyone to destroy what they had started to build even if it meant his own death to save her from hers.
*A/N: Is everyone still interested in the rest of this story? Please let me know. Do you think Dean will survive the attack? Do you think The Crown will ever catch up to Roman and Della? What lengths do you believe Roman would go to protect his family if he had to? Please review and thank-you for reading.