Страница 43 из 76
"What is it?" His tone was sharp.
"Oh, God. I should have told you this before." She looked up. "Adam and Lizzie know who you are, Pierce. Adam recognized you and told my sister."
Pierce stared.
A
A
A
"An' how are we going to do that?" Louie said. "The staff’ll be up in another two hours, we won't even be out of town by then."
Pierce was grim. His gaze found A
And ridiculously, she felt as if this were her own fault. "You knew the risks," she said defensively.
"I knew the risks," he agreed.
"There wasn't time to tell you sooner," she said. Thinking about why there hadn't been time-because they had been in bed together.
"They're going to catch us," Louie said, pacing. "Even if we make the next train out, when they finger us, they'll be stoppin' the train to arrest us."
"Actually, I am in agreement with you, Louie."
The situation was horrid, and getting worse with every moment. "I will beg them not to say a word," A
"Adam Tarrington has too much integrity. He will point his finger at me the moment Guilia cries theft."
A
"I will run. And with a little luck, Louie and I shall escape."
She was frozen. His words echoed. Unable to restrain herself, filled with dread, she asked, "And what about me?"
He hesitated. "History seems to be repeating itself, does it not?"
She told herself she would not allow even a single tear to fall. "I am an accomplice."
Pierce gave her an odd look and Louie snorted in disbelief.
He wasn't even going to suggest that she run away with him. A
"A
She looked up.
"It would never work."
She inhaled. "Why not?"
His jaw flexed. "The risk of being caught is high now. I ca
"You are taking that risk," she said, her tone oddly fragile.
"I am. But I am different from you. You belong here, with these people, with your family, your own kind."
And tears filled her eyes. Her own kind. The kind who preferred the drudgery and predictability of marriage and society fetes, the kind who loved nothing more than to point and whisper, judge and condemn. Poor, poor A
They were one of a kind! How blind could he be?
"A
A
"Let's go, me lord," Louie cried. "Afore we got no chance at all." -Pierce took her hands in his. "I will never forget you."
A
He stood. Their gazes held. Then he walked out of the room with Louie, betraying her almost exactly as he had done two years ago. But this time, A
Chapter Eleven
The banging on her door was terrific. A
"A
Lizzie was the last person A
"A
Suddenly angry, A
Lizzie gasped. "You are crying? Oh-what has he done now?"
And at her sister's open display of genuine sympathy, A
Lizzie held her. Eventually, A
A
"It was Braxton, wasn't it? Has he run away already?" Lizzie asked.
A
Lizzie blinked. "How would you know that?" But now she was staring at A
"Do you really want to know?"
Lizzie stood, her color shocking in its pallor. "Oh, dear Lord. Oh, please, please, tell me you did not get so involved with him that… I ca
A
"Oh, A
A
"How can he? We have discussed it at length. He and I should have come forward with the truth about Braxton immediately, but we did not, and he is a wanted felon, A
A
Lizzie moaned. "Do not say another word! Do not tell me another thing! Please, do not!"
A
She could not even hate Braxton. All she could do was grieve. She had loved him and lost him a second time.
"A
A
"Yes," Lizzie said. "For your own sake."
Her father arrived late the following day. A
Her father had only just checked in, but A