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Lily ran up to him next. “Goodness, Thomas, look at your arms.”
Still he felt nothing. Only pure emotional relief that Tricia was all right.
Lady Clementine came hurrying toward them. “Tricia, darling. What on earth happened?”
Tricia swallowed. Her lips felt raw and swollen from the kiss Thomas had just given her.
“Mummy, I don’t exactly know. Someone started a fire in Thomas’s study.”
“But why would you be in his study?” she asked.
Thomas should have been curious about that as well, but he did not honestly care.
The fire wagons from the nearest city came barreling up behind galloping horses, but at that point, servants had the fire contained.
Montague, the Ashford butler, walked forward, a stern look on his face. “The fire has been contained to your study, my lord. No other part of the mansion has been burned, but I’m afraid your study has been reduced to embers.”
“I don’t give a bloody damn about my study, Montague,” Thomas said. “Everything in there can be replaced.” Then he looked at Tricia, who was receiving an embrace from her mother.
She could never be replaced.
And if his arms were scarred, it was a small price to pay.
“I’m not so sure this could be replaced, my lord.” Montague handed Thomas a singed copy of his father’s journal.
“Good heavens, you’re right about that!” Thomas grabbed the journal from Montague. The cover was badly burned, but most of the pages containing his father’s entries were untouched.
He glared in the direction of the Polks. This was the final nail in their coffin. They had clearly set fire to his study to destroy this damning piece of evidence.
“My lord,” Montague continued. “You need medical attention.”
“I’m fine, Montague.” He turned his attention back to his butler. “Has everyone been safely evacuated from the mansion?”
“Yes, my lord. Once we’ve determined that there is no further danger, we will allow them to go back in. I’m not sure how this fire started, but I believe you’re very lucky. It could have easily spread to that whole wing of the house, and then…”
“Yes, Montague, I know. I’d rather not think of it, thank you.”
The butler bowed quickly. “I shall continue to see to the cleanup, my lord.”
“Yes, thank you, Montague.”
Tricia was sobbing in her mother’s arms, and then Lady Clementine began sobbing as well. Trudy brought Katrina to them, and Lady Clementine lifted Katrina in her arms—even though she was a big girl of nearly eleven years—and kissed her pretty face, still crying. “Thank God, Kitty Kat!”
Katrina rubbed sleep out of her eyes. “Mummy, what happened? Someone said something about a fire?”
“Yes, Kat,” Tricia said through tears. “Everyone is fine now. Everyone is all right.”
Lily touched Thomas’s shoulder. “Please, Thomas. Let the doctor look at you.”
Thomas finally nodded, but he did not want to leave Tricia.
“She’s fine,” Lily said to him. “But you do realize you have to marry her now. Her mother saw you kissing her, and so did every guest here.”
“Did Cameron see it?” Thomas asked.
Lily chuckled. “He did indeed. So if you would care for your manhood to remain attached to the space between your legs, I would propose to the girl posthaste.”
“It’s all right, Lily,” Thomas said. “It shall be no hardship to marry Tricia. It seems I’ve gone and fallen in love with her.”
