“I’ll Marry the First Man Who Enters,” She Joked — Then the Duke Walked In
Chapter 18
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Bella set the glass down. Her hand was trembling. She folded her arms tightly over her chest, trying to hold herself together. "You were supposed to be safe. You manage the mine; you don't dig in it.""I wouldn't ask a man to go where I won't," Augustus murmured."You are an idiot," Bella snapped, her voice cracking, the carefully constructed dam finally breaking. "You are an absolute, uncompromising idiot! You could have died!"Augustus opened his eyes. He looked at her—truly looked at her. He saw the tremor in her hands; he saw the red, swollen rims of her eyes."We had a bargain," Bella continued, her voice rising, thick with tears. "Security. A partnership. If you die in a filthy hole in the ground, the contract is void! Do not void my contract, Augustus!"Augustus reached out with his good hand. His fingers were wrapped in clean white bandages; he caught her wrist. His grip was weak, lacking its usual crushing power, but it was incredibly firm. He pulled her gently toward the edge of the mattress."It wasn't about the contract," he said, his voice a low, gravelly whisper. "When the roof came down, when it all went black, I wasn't thinking about the title. I wasn't thinking about the coal." He brushed his thumb across her knuckles. "I was thinking about the study," Augustus confessed, his words slurring slightly from the exhaustion and the drugs. "I was thinking about you sitting by the fire, crossing out my arithmetic errors. I was terrified you were going to be cold."Bella let out a shattered sob. She pressed her face into the mattress beside his hip, her shoulders shaking violently. The cynical spinster from the London ballroom was completely gone, burned away by the harsh, unyielding reality of the moors.Augustus's hand moved to her hair, stroking the loose, damp strands with a clumsy, agonizing tenderness."I don't care about the money," Bella wept into the blankets. "I don't care about the estate. I just need you. Do you understand me? I just need you.""I'm here," he promised, his voice rough. "I'm right here."She lifted her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked down at him: he was battered, broken, and smelling faintly of medical alcohol; he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen."No more going down the main shaft," Bella demanded, sniffing harshly.Augustus's mouth twitched. "Are you giving me orders, Duchess?""I'm renegotiating our terms," she corrected, resting her hand gently over his bandaged chest, feeling the steady, heavy beat of his heart. "You are grounded.""Permanently?""You drive a hard bargain," he whispered. His eyes fluttered shut, the laudanum finally dragging him down into a heavy, healing sleep. "But I accept."Bella stayed in the wooden chair until the sun broke over the craggy hills, casting a pale, cold light through the frosted windows. The fire burned down to glowing embers. She rested her head on the edge of the mattress, her hand securely anchored to his: the debt was paid; the ledgers were balanced.They had built a fortress out of iron and soot, and inside it, they were entirely safe.