Chapter 24

London, 1820…

"Elizabeth," Jason murmured, nuzzling her curls from the side of her face and pressing his lips to her cheek. "You have to wake up."

"Mmmm," she groaned, shoving her face against the pillow and shivering when he curled his body next to hers. "It can't possibly be morning yet."

He chuckled against her ear, igniting that familiar fire in her belly. "It's early afternoon, and I'm afraid we're going to have company for dinner."

"What?" she asked lazily, lifting her head and yawning. She rolled onto her back and stretched out, trying to ignore the way his eyes moved over her when the sheet slipped down her body. "How long have you been awake? Don't you ever sleep?"

"We can't all afford to lazey our days away," he teased, brushing his lips over her forehead as he stretched out beside her – fully clothed.

She was tempted to point out that something was very wrong with this situation, but wasn't sure if she had the energy to go yet another round with him. "You've left me completely tired and not given me proper rest," she reminded him, sitting up slowly and tugging the sheet around herself.

"I do believe someone else started this whole ordeal last night," he pointed out, running his hand up and down her back. "If you'd like to rest a while, you may, but I thought you would want to know that we'll have company later."

"Company?" she asked, embarrassed that all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and stay hidden away. She honestly hoped that when Jason spoke of them spending time alone it would be longer than this. "Jason, I-"

"Johnny is coming for dinner, Nadine too, and maybe the boys," he cut in nervously, pulling himself up beside her. "I promised to send for him when I knew – when things fell into place about what happened."

"I don't understand," she murmured, easing herself to the side of the bed and sliding to her feet. She pulled the sheet with her as much as she could and tried to wrap it around herself. "What was all of this? A distraction?"

"No, it's not like that, Elizabeth," he answered seriously, getting up from the bed. "I told you that I just wanted to spend some time with you, for us to – to not have to deal with this – our pasts and secrets. I wanted us to-"

"To what?" she interrupted, pulling the sheet the rest of the way from the bed and tucking it safely around her tiny body. "To do this and then go back to the case as if this – this what – hadn't happened? Forgive me, Jason, but I'm confused. One moment, you want to steal me away and now you're thrusting us back into this whole mess."

"First, I wouldn't think that I would have to tell you there is no possible way of going on as if none of this hadn't happened," he said slowly, reaching out to smooth his hands up and down her bare arms. "I wanted us to have time to let go of this. I wanted you to know – to show you that what happened to you – what you did – it doesn't change how I feel in the slightest way."

She smiled softly and dropped her gaze to the floor. "It's rather nice to hear you say that, but I – things are going to move rather quickly from now on, aren't they?" she asked hesitantly, knowing that whatever they felt inside this room wasn't going to stop what was happening outside of it.

"Johnny wants to discuss the case with me. You don't have to meet with him unless you'd like to, but he is right. We have to figure this out now that we know the truth," Jason said seriously, easing her onto the edge of the bed and sitting beside her.

"I'm mostly nervous," she admitted, wringing her hands in her lap. She leaned into him as he slipped his arm around her. "It was difficult enough to tell you the truth, but to know that Johnny knows. Nadine, too. Your eyes are different." She nibbled her lip as she looked up at him. "I can see that you don't look at me any differently, that you want to protect me and fix this, but I…"

"I assure you they only want to help your father too," he replied, gently rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "Johnny is an incredible friend, the best I've ever had, and he would do anything for your father. As would, Nadine."

She nodded slowly, picking at the sheet. "She was a patient too," she murmured slowly. "I remember her. She was there at the end of the summer when I returned from my grandmother's."

"That's how Johnny met her," Jason said quietly, his lips curving into a smile. "Well, he met her before she was in your home. Actually, he brought Nadine to your father."

"That doesn't sound very good," she commented, remembering how Nadine had stayed in one of the empty rooms, mostly keeping to herself. "What – what happened to her? I remember she wasn't there for long and…well, it's not really any of my business, I suppose."

"No, it's not," he agreed seriously, "but I doubt she'd mind you knowing. If anything, it may help you understand why she and Johnny wish to help you and your father." She nodded hesitantly, silently urging him on. "She had an experience similar to what happened between you and Lucky, only she wasn't so fortunate."

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she gasped, dropping her gaze back to her lap. Suddenly everything fell into place; Nadine being so kind to her, so understanding, so determined to make her feel as if everything was alright. "And Johnny found her?"

"Yes," he answered shortly, not elaborating, so she didn't ask any further questions. It was Nadine's secret to keep, and Elizabeth knew that Jason only told her because their situations were similar, and that Nadine probably would tell her eventually herself.

"She was there the same summer as you?" she asked, her cheeks flushing.

Part of her night was spent trying to remember Jason, and she was starting to wonder if he was playing some sort of trick on her because she couldn't remember him at all. She imagined that an accident like his, a wealthy boy losing his memory, would have made the papers in some way, but she hadn't the slightest memory of any of it.

"Yes, she was," he answered with a nod.

"I still don't know why I'm failing to remember," she sighed heavily, shaking her head at the amount of truths that had come out in the last few days.

"Get some more rest," he murmured, kissing her temple as he eased his arm from around her. "I'll wake you a little while before they arrive, and you'll have plenty of time to get ready for dinner."

"That sounds wonderful," she admitted, giving him a tired smile. "Though it'd be better if you were with me."

He laughed, getting up from the bed as she scooted over and curled up on her side. "Then you wouldn't get any sleep."

**********

"So, that's everything?" Johnny asked, rubbing his hands over his face as he looked across the desk at Jason.

"That she told me," he replied, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the edge of the desk. "I don't want to push her into telling me things. She fell apart just from admitting the truth."

"There are still things missing," his friend sighed, raking a hand through his hair.

"I know," he agreed, not wanting to have to question Elizabeth about the pieces missing from her story. He wanted her to come towith him with the bits and pieces as she grew more comfortable; forcing her to talk about this was only going to hurt her.

"We don't have much time," Johnny pressed, raking a hand through his messy hair. "I know this is difficult, but…we have no idea when Lansing is going to follow through. He could decide today and by tomorrow Jeffrey would be…"

Dead.

If they didn't manage to pull the story together, to find a way to prove Jeffrey's innocence without turning in Elizabeth, the man they cared so much to protect was going to die.

"I don't think Lansing wants to kill him," Jason murmured quietly, slumping over the desk and hanging his head. "I think he wants her to confess."

"He knows?" he asked confused.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "but if Lansing has some sick obsession with Elizabeth…" He was disgusted by the thought of that man wantinghaving her, let alone havingwanting her, and he couldn't even think about the possible outcomes.

"The deal he offered Jeffrey," Johnny filled in, sounding as turned off by the entire set up as his friend. "Except that Elizabeth is married to you now. There's no way he can strike some sort of deal for her hand in return for her father's freedom. And could you imagine the scandal this would create in the city? Everyone would know that Elizabeth married him to free her father, and she'd become some sort of twisted-"

"I don't want to think about it," Jason interrupted firmly, his stomach churning. "You are right though – with Elizabeth married, there's no way for him to hold something over her."

"Unless you're correct in him wanting her to confess," he offered exhaustedly. They were both trying to put something together that would make sense. "Elizabeth confesses. Jeffrey is free. And she has to do Lansing's biding if she wants her own freedom."

"She wouldn't do that," he replied flatly. "She'd rather rot in jail, I believe, which is why this doesn't make any sense. What is Lansing waiting for if he knows the truth?"

"That's if he knows," his friend murmured, scrubbing his hands over his face. "We don't have a choice, Jason. I know you want to make this as painless as possible, but we have to talk to her."

Nodding, he got up from the desk and walked to the door, already regretting going along with this. She was terrified enough of Jason's friends seeing her as some kind of murderer and if Johnny started questioning her…

"I'll ask the questions, and you can listen as long as she says it's alright. I won't make this any more difficult," he said firmly, opening the door to the study and calling toat Spinelli who was standing at the end of the short hallway. "Can you please ask Elizabeth come down here? If she's not too busy with Nadine."

"Right away," he nodded, turning and heading towards the opposite side of the house.

Jason and Johnny had left the women to keep one another company while they went over things, and even then, he could see the fear in Elizabeth's eyes at being alone with Nadine. He'd hoped being with around her would lessen Elizabeth's worries. Nadine was the least judgmental person he'd ever known, and she would surely be willing to help them in any way after learning what had happened that night.

It was just too close to home for all of them.

"Thank you, Spinelli," he heard Elizabeth murmur softly as they appeared at the end of the hall. She gave him a weary smile before starting towards Jason, her dark blues eyes clouded with the same nervousness he'd left her with. "Sonny said dinner will be ready soon."

"This will only take a moment," he replied, motioning her into the study. He reached out and brushed his fingertips over her hand as she passed, and her mouth curved into a timid smile at his touch. "I know this is difficult, Elizabeth, but we wanted to ask – I wanted to ask you a few questions."

"An interrogation?" she sighed, wringing her hands as she looked between the two men.

"No, not at all," Johnny cut in, before Jason could reply. "We only wish to know about Lansing the night of your father's murder. What he did. What he said. What he knows."

"Oh," she said softly, dropping her eyes to the floor. "Well, I…" She swallowed hard, relaxing only when Jason stepped up beside her, and slipped his arm around her. "Everything happened rather quickly. Honestly, I don't even know who called Richard."

"It's alright, take your time," Jason murmured, running his hand up and down her arm.

"My father came home – it was as if he knew something was wrong," she started, lifting her eyes to Jason's. "No sooner than I attempted to explain what happened…Richard was there, and my father was confessing. Sonny – he pulled me out of the room before Richard arrived, saying that I needed to wash up. It was as if he and my father knew immediately what they were going to do. They didn't even discuss it."

"When I came back to the study, Richard was there, and he looked at me with this…smirk," she continued pulling away from Jasonhim. She walked over to the chair beside Johnny and slowly sank down. "You know that he'd seen Luc – Lucky that night. That he'd gone to the pub and purposely gotten a rise out of him. Richard knew that he'd been drinking – that he would come and see me. He preyed upon his insecurities and those insecurities ended up kill – killing him."

"Does he know that you did it?" Johnny asked, ignoring Jason's glare. He was trying to be patient with his friend, but Johnny was going back on what they'd agreed upon before talking to Elizabeth. "Did you tell Richard or anyone-"

"No," she interrupted, her eyes filling with tears. "You, Jason, Nadine, and Sonny – well, Spinelli, too, I suppose." Shaking her head, she rubbed her hands over her face. "More people are finding out. A secret grows faster than-"

"No one else is going to know," Jason interrupted, kneeling down beside her and reaching for her hand. "We're going to keep anyone else from finding out, but…but we need to know if Lansing knows."

"What do you think?" she asked quietly, staring at her hand as it lay in his. "Why else would my father have acted so irrationally? Anyone who knows Jeffrey Webber knows he would – would die before hurting someone. And Richard – he took one look at the blood stains on my dress, at the faint stain on my hands – there wasn't time to clean me up completely, and I know – I could see it in his eyes."

"I do believe that's why my father stepped in," she continued. "He saw what I saw, and the moment that Richard mentioned making all of this go away.… There was no time to explain what had happened, to claim I was defending myself…My father stepped in, said he murdered him. He all but signed a written confession."

"Did he offer to?" Johnny asked, looking at Jason apologetically when he glared at him again. "Elizabeth, forgive me. I'm not trying to make this any harder on you, but I – but we think that Richard…" He trailed off, clearly not sure whether or not he was supposed to make her privy to their assumptions.

"What?" she asked, turning towards him, her eyes wide. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"He could have taken this to trial immediately," Jason answered hesitantly, "but he didn't. Instead he's leaving your father to rot in prison, and we think that perhaps he's waiting for you to confess. The idea of your father being there is eating at you – we know it, he knows it, and we're thinking that maybe he wants you to come forward because then he'll get what he wants."

She furrowed her brow as his words sank in, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "You mean me. He wants me still, after all this time, after I chose someone else."

"You know that he was willing to exchange your father's freedom for…" It hurt him to actually say the words. "For your hand."

"Yes," she whispered, sucking in a breath. "And I – I would have done it, but my father made me promise not to. You see, when my father first went to prison, Richard allowed me to see him once a week for the first month or so."

"Probably hoping that your father would give in and demand that you marry him," Johnny muttered disgustedly.

"Do you think that's true?" she asked, her eyes welling with tears as she looked at Jason. "Do you think my father knew that was what he wanted?"

"Most families do whatever it takes to secure the family name, line, and wealth," he replied seriously, thinking of his own experiences. "Your father is a rare case because you were everything to him. He'd exchange his life for yours as long as it meant you'd lived the life he always wanted for you."

"So…so what happens now?" she asked, linking their fingers together and squeezing his hand tightly. "If Richard is waiting – I'm married now. Everything that he wanted from me is non-existent."

"Exactly," Jason agreed, taking a deep breath. "Basically, we're waiting on him to strike. He tried to play intricately, using your father and your – well, he has nothing left to use, I'm afraid. He'll never get to you. I won't allow it, but-"

"He can get to me by using my father," she cut in, chewing her lip. "So, we – we're waiting. That's it?"

He nodded, tightening his hand around hers. "For now."

**********

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, lowering himself into the chair beside his wife as they sat on the terrace after dinner.

She shrugged exhaustedly, her gaze falling onto the sleeping child that lay in the crook of her arms. Dinner had gone as smoothly as possible with three young boys sitting at the table. Now they were running chaotically through the house while Johnny and Nadine attempted to gather them up to take home. They'd left Amalia with Elizabeth, who felt awkward and wrong for holding something so pure and innocent in her hands. The same hands thatwho had given them a reason to be together like this.

"Honestly?" she asked, stroking the infant's cheek with the back of her hand.

"Yes," he encouraged, sliding his arm over the back of her chair, his fingertips grazing her neck.

"I'm terrified," she admitted, tipping her head towards him. "This entire incident – it's impacted everyone and everything. Instead of helping me, you should be turning me in."

"You did nothing wrong," he said through gritted teeth, and she couldn't help but to be comforted in knowing he was just as distraught as she was.

"I killed someone," she replied, grimacing at speaking such words in front of a child. It didn't matter that Amalia couldn't didn't understand. Something like this should never touch a child in any way. "My father is taking the blame, and Richard wants me to come forward, and I – I can't imagine what is going to happen. How will this end, Jason?"

"I promised you I would handle this," he replied softly, scooting his chair towards her. Leaning over, he brushed his lips against the side of her face. "You killed someone because he was going to hurt you. You saved yourself and Sonny, and if Richard refuses to see what really happened that's on him, but I won't let him hurt you."

She nodded, trying not to imagine what the outcome was going to be. Jason was so determined to save her that it could possibly ruin him, and she knew that if it came down to choosing between his life and her own, he'd sacrifice himself, and that terrified her more than anything.

"Promise me," she murmured, looking him in the eye.

"What?" he asked, his eyes darkening.

"That if there's no way out – if you cannot free my father," she said, her heart tightening at the horrible thought. "If you can't save him or me, you won't risk yourself in the process."

"Elizabeth, I made a-"

"I haven't asked much of you," she interrupted seriously, shifting the baby in her arms when she cried out in her sleep. "In fact, I feel as if I've been rather understanding of what you want. I'm only asking for the same in return. My father is risking his life already. I won't have my husband doing the same."

"Very well then," he growled, leaning back in his chair and looking out across his land. His face was tighter, his body stiffer than she'd ever seen, and she knew this was hurting him as much as to make the promise as it was her to think about the possibility of him taking the blame. "On one condition."

She should have known he'd give her an ultimatum. "I suppose I'll have to comply."

"No matter what happens," he said, continuing to look straight ahead, "whatever the outcome of this may be, you leave London." Gasping, she started to stutter, but he cut her off before she could start an argument. "I want you to leave all this behind, Elizabeth. You could have a life anywhere else that you wanted."

"But what I want is – is here," she insisted. "How can you-"

"What you want is your father," he interrupted, "and you can have him anywhere."

"Well, yes, but…" She wasn't sure how to explain that she wanted Jason too, that she couldn't imagine being anywhere without him, but she was well aware that regardless of what had happened between them, they only existed for this moment.

"Yes?" he pried, smiling faintly as he dropped his eyes to the baby.

"I can't help but be curious as to, well, to where you'll be," she confessed, gently rocking the infant. It felt odd to discuss the future when the present was so vague. "After everything is over."

"Where would you like me?" he asked roughly, sounding embarrassed by the question.

"I'd like you," she started, "to be wherever you want to be, and if that is with – without me thean-"

"Do you want children?" he cut in gently, grinning as he reached over and ran a finger through the child's dark, silky hair. "I asked you before, when we first married and-"

"I told you things were different, and-"

"You could be with child right now," he pressed, slowly lifting his eyes to hers.

"Jason," she gasped, looking away, a deep blush tinting her skin. Was this something he wanted? Or was it a necessary conversation? A truth that couldn't be denied despite what either of them wanted.

"I know," he sighed, dropping his hand back to his lap, his eyes gleaming in a way that made her uneasy. "We have a lot to figure out."