She stopped herself as if she’d said something she shouldn’t have.

He shot her a surprised look. “You knew about that?”

And why shouldn’t she? The headstone on Rose’s grave might have been dated before his brother’s death, but she had never lain in that grave.

“A hunting accident. It was tragic. He had no heir, so I inherited the title. How ironic. Had it happened two years earlier, I would have been the Marquess of Thornton. Your father would have consented to my suit.”

“You would have never had to go to war.”

There was so much regret in her voice, it clamped around his heart like an icy cold hand.

He sighed. “We can’t turn back time. And I can’t begrudge my brother those two years of life. I would never be able to live with myself if I even wished it for a second. I’ve accepted what happened. And I mourned him.”

“Is that why you refused the title and made a deal with the new heir to allow your brother’s widow to remain at the estate?”

“You give me too much credit, Rose. I refused the title because I needed to live a life away from the eyes of society.”

Yet the real truth was that he was still mourning Rose. And to see the same kind of pain reflected in the eyes of his brother’s widow made him want to soothe that pain in whichever way was possible, knowing he couldn’t soothe his own. Throwing her out of her home that housed so many happy memories would have only added to her grief. Besides, the title and its holdings meant nothing to him anymore.

So he simply became Quinn Ralston, no title, with only a small property to his name—which of course, by today’s standards, represented considerable wealth.

“I met Amaury at a bar brawl on the Lower East Side of Manhattan just a few days after my ship had docked at New York harbor. He made his job sound like a great adventure. So I signed on. I haven’t looked back since.” He paused. “But then, you know all that, don’t you?” he fished.

Slowly, she nodded. “I knew where you were, but I didn’t pry into your life, if that’s what you mean.”

The confirmation that she would have had no trouble contacting him whenever she wanted hurt. But he didn’t allow himself to make a comment about it, because if he did, it would only widen the gap between them that still existed.

The vibration of his cell phone saved him from having to come up with an appropriate response. He pulled it out and read the text message.

“There’s activity outside.”

Quinn crossed the distance to the door and flipped the light switch, drowning the room in darkness. Then he stalked to the window, aware that Rose was at his side. From the corner of his eye, he noticed her gloved hand tucking a silver chain into her jacket pocket.

He peeled the dark curtain aside by an inch and looked outside. All appeared quiet.

“Do you see them?” Rose asked from behind him.

He shrugged and let the curtain fall closed again, stepping away from the window. “Maybe at the front of the house. Stay close to me.”

By the time he and Rose reached the corridor and ran along it toward the back of the house, Quinn already heard the curses of his colleagues. Why they were cursing was evident when he reached a window overlooking the front garden and sidewalk: several youngsters were setting off illegal fireworks right in front of the house, joking and laughing as they did so. Beer cans in their hands, they gave off the impression that they were drunk.

Quinn recognized a diversion when he saw one. “Looks like Keegan hired a few kids to throw us off our game.”

“Or is using mind control on them,” Rose added drily.

Considering the few things he’d heard about their opponent so far, he was inclined to agree with her.

Turning toward the staircase he called down, “They’ll be attacking from the back.”

“Already figured that,” came Zane’s response from a floor lower. “You joining in on the fight or are you planning on cozying up to your girl instead?”

While Zane’s remark would have warranted a fist fight at any other time, Quinn let the words slide by him and headed for the stairs instead.

“We’re taking the tradesmen entrance.”

“Somebody has to keep an eye on the front,” Rose cautioned as they rushed down the stairs, meeting Zane on the first floor. “Keegan is too crafty to go for a simple diversion like that. I know him too well. And he knows that.”

How well Rose knew Keegan wasn’t exactly something Quinn wanted to contemplate right now. The very thought of them having been lovers turned his insides out.