“After breakfast.”
“And after you speak with Grimes, will you be home straightaway?”
“Unless he gives me reason to stay, yes.” Slayde’s eyes narrowed quizzically. “Why?”
A casual shrug. “Only because I thought perhaps Aurora and I might visit Mr. Scollard tomorrow; he has a way of taking my mind off my pain. But I do want to be at Pembourne when you return, in case you have something significant to report.”
“I see. Very well, why don’t you plan your walk for the mor
ning. I don’t expect to be home before midafternoon.”
“Excellent.” Courtney could hardly wait to get started.
“I should let you rest.” Slayde hesitated, wrestling with his own internal conflict. “Courtney,” he tried, his voice hoarse with strain. “Last night—you gave me a gift more precious than I could ever imagine. I feel undeserving and grateful—and so much more. My feelings—” He broke off.
“You gave me the same,” Courtney replied with quiet insight. “You needn’t assign words to what we shared.”
“There are none to assign. It defied words.”
A heartbeat of silence.
With a sharp breath, Slayde crossed the room and pulled Courtney into his arms, kissing her with more aching emotion than either of them could bear. “Sleep well, my beautiful miracle. And know that I’m reliving every moment, just as you are.”
Eyes closed, Courtney heard the quiet click of the door as he took his leave. She stood, unmoving, savoring his touch, his declaration—all of which strengthened her resolve twofold.
Her lashes lifted, and she waited, biding her time, ensuring that she gave Slayde ample opportunity to retreat to wherever it was he was going.
A quarter hour later, she slipped from her room and headed down to Aurora’s, praying that her friend would be in, rather than taking one of her restless evening strolls through the gardens, or worse, to the lighthouse. The last thing Courtney needed was to have to prowl through the manor and beyond—and risk running into Slayde.
“Aurora?” She knocked. “Are you in?”
The door opened instantly, and Courtney was greeted by Aurora’s concerned face. “Courtney…come in.” Tugging her inside, Aurora shut the door and assessed Courtney from head to toe. “You look better. Did the rest help?”
“No—and yes.” Courtney dropped into an armchair. “No, the rest did nothing. I didn’t shut an eye. But, yes, I look better. That’s because I feel better.” She sat up straight, her eyes glowing. “I have a plan.”
“A plan? I thought you were in your room grieving over the finality of what you and Slayde discovered on the search you just made.”
“I was—in part.” Courtney gripped folds of her nightdress. “But grief was only one of the emotions I was experiencing. There was…so much more.”
Aurora studied Courtney speculatively. “Why do I feel as if something else occurred on this trip?”
“Because you’re very astute.” Courtney leaned forward. “Will you help me?”
“Help you with what?”
“My plan. If I’m successful, Slayde will be a new man, freed from the chains of the past, and ready for a wondrous future—I hope with me.”
Aurora blinked. “ ‘Help you’? To achieve what you just described, I’d move mountains.” She perched at the edge of her bed. “I’m a captive audience.”
“To begin with, we must convince the world that the black diamond is no longer in the Huntleys’ possession.”
“Which it isn’t.”
Courtney had to bite back the truth. “The point is, no one knows that. The ton thrives on rumors; ’tis time we gave them one to savor, one that will eliminate the danger and the black cloud shrouding your family’s name.”
“But my great-grandfather stole the gem. How can we disprove that?”
“We can’t. Nor do we have to. Aurora, my mother was a blue blood—at least by birth. Papa’s told me numerous stories about the ton. He used to say that if scandals decided which aristocrats were to be embraced and which were to be shunned, the fashionable world would consist of an empty ballroom. ’Tis not your great-grandfather’s crime that causes the world to ostracize you, ’tis everyone’s fear of the curse. If we set the record straight, the stigma of your past will remain, but the fear will be extinguished. You’ll be admitted, if not welcomed, by the ton. Truthfully, however, that’s not the end result I’m striving for. My goal is to eliminate the threat to our safety—along with Slayde’s obsession about maintaining his solitary life. Both of these things would be accomplished by convincing the world that the Huntleys and the black diamond have parted company.”