She shook her head. "We hired a hack."

This didn't seem to please John, and Belle didn't say anything while he hailed down another one. They rode home in absolute silence. She stole occasional looks at his profile and noticed that a muscle in his cheek was twitching violently.

He was furious. She peeked over at him again. The twitch had speeded up. Beyond furious. He was only waiting until they got home so he wouldn't embarrass her in front of the driver.

She supposed she should be thankful for small favors.

The hack pulled up in front of the Blydon mansion, and Belle scurried out while John paid the driver. She raced up the front steps, through the hall, and into the rear drawing room. She wasn't trying to avoid John-well, perhaps she would have tried if she thought she had any chance of getting away with it. But as it was, she was simply trying to choose a room which was as far away from the servants as possible.

John was only a few steps behind her, so completely enraged he was barely limping. He slammed the door behind him. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I was worried about you."

"So you followed me to my meeting with Spencer? Pardon me if I don't commend your common sense."

"But-"

"Do you understand what kind of man Spencer is?" John exploded. "He rapes women. Rapes. Do you understand the meaning of the, word rape?"

Belle crossed her arms. "I hate it when you get sarcastic."

"Deal with it."

She clenched her teeth against his harsh tone and turned away.

"Damn it, woman! You put yourself in a dangerous situation. And dragged along Emma and Persephone in the process. Did you think about that?"

"I thought you might need me," she ground out.

"Need you? Of course I need you. Safe and sound and tucked away in the house. Not wandering around in front of killers."

Belle whirled back around. "I'm not some helpless little miss who is willing to sit at home while you gallivant about town. And if you think for one minute that I'm not going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, then your brain is quite broken."

"Listen to me, Belle," John said in a low voice. "We didn't know that much about Spencer. We had no idea what he was going to do. For all I knew, he might have decided that the best way to get to me was through you. He might have grabbed you this afternoon."

"I thought you said you were sure that Spencer wouldn't try anything in a crowded shop. Were you lying to me? Were you? Were you lying just to keep me from worrying about you?"

"Damn it all to hell, of course I wasn't lying to you. I didn'tthink Spencer would do anything at Hardiman's. All the same, I couldn't be one hundred percent certain, and I didn't see any reason to put you in any danger."

"I'm going to help you, John, whether you want it or not."

"Good God, woman, stop being so stubborn. These things take planning and finesse. If you keeping barging into this without looking where you're going, you're just going to get in the way."

"Oh, please, John. I wouldn't have to barge into anything if you would only include me."

"I won't have you put into a situation from which you cannot extricate yourself."

"Do me a favor, John. Worry about yourself. I can run fast. Faster than you."

John flinched as though he'd been hit. "I had no idea my injury made me so much less of a man in your eyes."

"Oh, John, you know I didn't mean it that way."

Belle flung her arms around him and held him close. "I'm just so scared and so angry, yes angry at this man." Belle paused and caught her breath, surprised by the realization that she felt more fury than fear. "I'm angry, and I lashed out at you, and that wasn't fair. It's just that I love you so much, and-"

"Belle, please."

She let go of him and furiously pushed him away. "Please what? Please don't tell you I love you? Please don't love you?"

"I can't accept it, Belle."

"What is wrong with you?" she burst out. "Why can't-"

"What is wrong with me," he said in steely tones, his hands gripping her upper arms like manacles, "is that I raped a girl."

"No," she choked out. "No, you didn't. You told me you didn't."

"It might as well have been me," he said, unconsciously echoing Ana's mother's words.

"John, don't say such things. It wasn't your fault."

He let go of her with a chilling abruptness and strode over to the window. "I could have gone up to that room a thousand times before I finally did."

Belle's hand crept up to cover her horrified mouth. "Oh, John, what has this done to you?" she whispered.

"Has it made me less of a man? Yes. Has it blackened my soul? Yes. Has it-"

"Stop!" She covered her ears, unable to bear his words. "I don't want to hear it."

He whirled around. "You're damn well going to hear it." When she didn't move, he stalked back to her and wrenched her hands from her ears. "This is the man you married, Belle. For better or for worse. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"When will you understand that I don't care what happened in Spain? I'm sorry that it did, and I pray for that poor girl's soul, but beyond that, I don't care! It hasn't made you an evil person, and it doesn't make me love you any less!"

"Belle," he said flatly. "I don't want your love. I can't accept it."

Before she even realized what she was about, her hand flew up, and she slapped him across the face. "How dare you?" she breathed, her entire body shaking with rage. "How dare you belittle me this way?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I have never, not even once in my life, given my love to another man. And you throw it back in my face like a trifle."

His hand closed around her wrist. "You misunderstand me. It is because I value your love so highly that I do not accept it."

"You don't accept it because you don't want to accept it. You're mired in misplaced guilt and self-pity. How am I meant to build a life with a man who cannot leave the past where it belongs?"

He dropped her hand, feeling like the lowliest of bastards simply for touching her.

"How can I possibly let myself continue to love a man who can never love me back?"

He stared at her, his entire body suddenly feeling rather queer. "But Belle," he whispered. "I do love you."

John wasn't certain how he expected her to respond, but it was certainly not in the manner she did. She stepped back as if hit, and for a moment she was utterly incapable of speech. She pointed a finger out, jabbing it in his direction while her throat worked violently. "No," she finally gasped. "No. Don't say that. Don't tell me that."

He merely looked at her, every emotion he had ever felt for her clearly written on his face. Love, guilt, hope, longing, fear… They were all there.

"You can't do that," she said, each word a hoarse little stab of pain. "You're not allowed. You can't say that and not let me do the same. It isn't fair."

He reached for her. "Belle, I-"

"No!" She jumped back. "Don't touch me. I- Don't touch me."

"Belle, I don't know what to say." He looked down.

"I can't talk to you," she said wildly. "Not now. I can't talk to you. I… I… I… " Her words jumbled in her throat. Her entire body was so overtaken with emotion that she could no longer speak. She swallowed convulsively, pulled open the door, and flew from the room.

"Belle!" John called out. She didn't hear him. He sank into a chair. "I love you."

But the words sounded pathetic, even to him.

Chapter 20

Belle had no idea where she was going when she left the room, but when she bumped into Mary, her maid, in the corridor, she knew what she needed to do.

"Put on your cloak, Mary," she said, her voice uncharacteristically sharp. "I need to go out."

Mary glanced out the window. "It's quite overcast, my lady. Are you certain your errand cannot wait until tomorrow?"

"I don't have an errand. I just want to go outside."

Mary heard the choking sound in her lady's voice and nodded. "I'll be right back."

Belle clutched her own cloak to her body. She'd never even had a chance to take it off after she and John had stormed home from Hardiman's Tea Shoppe.

After a moment Mary came scurrying down the stairs. Belle didn't even wait for her to reach the bottom before pulling open the front door. She needed fresh air. She needed to be outside.

They strode along Upper Brook Street to Park Lane. Mary immediately made to turn south. "Don't you want to go to Rotten Row?" she asked when Belle kept heading west without her.

Belle shook her head furiously. "I want to get away from the crowds."

"I wouldn't worry about that, my lady." Mary looked about. All of fashionable London was scrambling to leave the park. The heavens looked as if they might open at any moment. "I really think you should consider going home. I'm sure it will rain soon. And if s growing dark. Your mother will have my head. Or your husband."

Belle whirled around. "Do mention him."

Mary took a step back. "All right, my lady."

Belle immediately let out a contrite sigh. "I'm sorry, Mary. I don't mean to be so short with you."

Her maid placed a consoling hand on her arm. They had been together for several years now, and Mary knew her employer well. "It's all right, my lady. He loves you very much."

"That's just the problem," Belle muttered. She took a deep breath and forged further into the park. How far they walked she wasn't sure. Probably not very far, but the wind and the cold tired her. Finally, she turned around. "Let's go home, Mary."

The maid breathed an audible sigh of relief. They trudged for a few moments until Belle suddenly slammed her arm out in front of Mary. "Hold," she whispered loudly.