“I don’t want to see Jacobi,” Violet said in a hard voice. “Never again.”
Daniel took off his hat and dropped it to a dry patch on the ground, letting the breeze ruffle his short hair. “You might not have to see him at all. But I’m going to get you free of him. I won’t stop until I do.”
Violet started to walk a step, but her knees buckled. Daniel caught her and turned her to him.
“You’re so strong, love.” He found the pins of her hat, loosened them, and pulled the hat off to join his on the ground. “You can face this.”
Violet lifted her head. Her eyes were dry, piercing. “If I see him, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ve tried to understand, tried to reason why he would do what he did to me, but I find no reason. I loved and admired Jacobi—I’d have done anything for him—and in return he destroyed my life. He’s still destroying it.”
He was, damn the man. “Jacobi was a selfish bastard who used you to get himself out of a tight spot, and that’s the end of it. He decided he didn’t need to face the consequences when he could shove a girl in front of him to face them for him. I’ve met men like Jacobi before, almost got killed because of one. He doesn’t deserve your understanding.”
Violet’s brows drew together. “What happened to you? How did you almost get killed?”
“It’s another tale of my harrowing adventures. I was meant to take the blame for a murder a man I thought was a close friend did. When the victim’s friends and brothers came for him, my friend was nowhere in sight, but there I was—he’d told them I’d done it. Lucky for me, I had a good knife and was fast on my feet. I got out of the town, out of the country, out of that part of the world.”
“Dear God, Daniel.”
Her eyes were wide with concern. Daniel shook his head. “It was a long time ago. I learned, didn’t I?”
Violet drew a breath. “I’m glad you’re all right. I would have lost you before I’d even met you.”
The worry in her eyes touched him. Violet was starting to care for him, and that warmed Daniel better than the hottest fire.
“But I’m here, lass. I was meant to escape, because now I’m here with you.”
“And Jacobi’s going to take it away from me.” Her bleak look returned. “I’ve finally found a chance at happiness, however brief, and he won’t let me have it.”
“’Twill not be brief.” Daniel gathered Violet against him. “I promise you that. I’m a selfish bastard too.”Violet closed her hands around the lapels of Daniel’s coat. “You say I’m brave, but I’m not at all. I don’t want to lose what little I’ve found.”
“Little? Trying to flatter me, are you?” Daniel pressed a kiss to the tip of her cold nose. “I told you I’d show you life, and I will. Taking the motorcar to the time trials is my excuse to go back to France. You’ll come with me. Not to skulk in a dull hotel while I hunt down your soon-to-be-former husband. We’ll work on testing the motorcar by day, and at night I will show you what it’s like to be the lady of Daniel Mackenzie. I’m going to woo you so hard you’ll run to shove my solicitors down Jacobi’s throat.”
A sparkle of her usual spirit returned to Violet’s eyes. Daniel was glad of it—he hated to see her so broken. “I will, will I?” she asked.
“You will, love. The motorcar will be finished in a few days, and then it’s off to Paris and the races.”
Violet’s hands tightened on his coat. “I don’t know. I thought I’d have more time to think about this.”
Daniel gentled his voice. “I know you did. But trust me, it’s best to face something head on, smash it, and move on with your life. Lingering and wondering, waiting and worrying . . . that kills you.”
Violet looked up at him. “Did that happen to you?”
“I was a boy who thought he was to blame for his mother’s death. It ate at me—I kept wondering what I’d done to make her want to kill me. I resented my father for not telling me sooner exactly how she’d died. I realize now I should have had it out with him and been finished with it. I didn’t understand that Dad had been hurting all those years same as me, and blaming himself. We wasted a lot of time.”
Violet nodded, not answering. She didn’t have to speak. She understood.
The wind slid in with its icy fingers. In the cold, Violet was a thing of warmth, softness to his hardness. Daniel held her closer, parting her lips in a kiss.
She tasted of the winter and the wind that pushed them. At the same time, Violet relaxed under Daniel’s hands, she leaning into him as though seeking refuge from the chill.
When Daniel eased back from the kiss, he saw the fear still in her eyes. Violet’s instinct to run was sharp. Running had been how she’d survived, but Daniel knew she’d only survive now if she stopped running.
He traced her cheek. “I’ll be with you, love. Every step of the way.”
Violet shivered. “I’m so afraid of going back. I never want to go back.”
“It’s not going back. Right now you’re stuck in a mire. This will be you fighting your way out and going on. Facing down Jacobi is moving forward, not back.”
Violet swallowed. The animal-like panic in her eyes flashed out then receded as she sought to suppress it. “You make me out to be stronger than I truly am.”