Her heavy sigh filled the room. Mr. Wetherby had been thwarted, and she had every faith that Mrs. Houston would inform the suitable parties, but instead of planning her future and reveling in the independence she had sought for so long, here she was hiding away again in another cottage. But the loneliness that had once been so constant she’d barely noticed now chafed against her skin, rubbing her bruised heart raw. And there would never be any relief. She wanted something that was beyond money, beyond machinations and subterfuge. She wanted to be needed by a finite heart, even if it meant enduring pain when it ceased to beat. She wanted to give love and be loved in return, even if it meant giving up possibilities. She no longer wanted to live for herself alone, guided only by her own desires, but to be deeply known, like she had once been.

And she could not have it.

Eventually Lottie dozed off, but her dreams provided no respite. Alec was here in the cottage, wrapping her in his strong arms, murmuring her name against her ear. Lottie’s heart ached so badly for it to be real that she was wrenched awake. But, strangely, the dream did not end.

She blinked up sleepily into Alec’s face. “You…you can’t be here,” she whispered in confusion. He was a thousand miles away.

Alec’s eyes filled with hurt and he gave a brief nod. “I’m sorry. I needed to know you were safe. I’ll go.” He began to pull away but Lottie’s fingers dug into his arm, her body already recognizing what her mind could not.

“This is real?” She feared uttering the very words would make him vanish.

A relieved smile broke across his face. “I’m afraid so,” he said. When she pressed her face against his shoulder, she could have sworn he whispered Thank God.

“How,” she gasped. “How did you get here so quickly? Mrs. Houston only just contacted you.”

“I’m not here because of her.” Alec clasped the nape of her neck and she wanted to cry from the tenderness of his touch. “I left Venice the day after you did. I came here for you.” He crushed her even closer. “But when I got to London, I discovered what Mr. Wetherby had planned. Rafe and I came just as the vicar was arriving. I nearly lost my mind when I realized you went through the window.” Alec gently tipped up her chin. “I thought you were afraid of heights.”

“I am,” she said. “But I really didn’t want to marry that man.”

Alec smiled. “I can understand that.”

“But…you knew to come here?”

“I had a hunch.” He shrugged, as if his ability to find her across continents was perfectly normal.

She pressed against him once again as hot joy fanned out from her heart through every limb. “Mr. Wetherby must have been very angry,” she said after a moment.

Alec drew her away from him, his expression grave. “He’s been arrested. Those codes you were deciphering didn’t come from your uncle. Wetherby was selling sensitive information. Rafe wants to charge him with kidnapping in addition to conspiring with foreign agents. He will likely hang.”