by Emma Brady
"Lady Sarah shouldn't be allowed to wander off alone."
"She is hardly alone." Eloisa wondered why she enjoyed his discomfort so much. "I believe Lord Powell is keeping her company."
Lord Bittleby’s head snapped up and he glared across the garden. When he located them standing near the garden wall his eyes narrowed.
"You trust him to be alone with her?"
Eloisa looked over at the couple. They were standing close, but not near enough to be touching. Sarah was animated as she spoke, waving her hands in front of them. Thomas had his head tilted towards her while he listened. Everything was proper and decent.
"They are well within our line of vision, so there isn't much to worry about." Lord Stanhope said, giving the disgruntled lord a pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure she would appreciate your concern though."
He nodded but continued to glare as the couple. "Perhaps I should go and join them."
"I would rather you stay and keep me company." She ignored the look of shock on Lord Bittleby's face as she attempted to give him a flirtatious smile.
He gave a few rapid blinks that brought him back to the moment. "Of course."
Letting her hand continue to rest on his arm, she tilted her head up at him as she had often seen other ladies do. She was an astute observer of human behavior and talented at imitating others. A slow sweet smile was the finishing touch.
"I had been hoping to enjoy your company myself." Her voice was softer than normal.
Lord Bittleby struggled to recover from the shock of her change in behavior. She was more than willing to wait while he collected his wits to respond. Like a fish, his mouth bounced up and down.
"I never knew," he finally stuttered.
"Of course not." She lowered her eyes to look up at him from beneath her lashes. "A lady never wants to let a gentleman know her thoughts, since the mystery is much more interesting."
Watching the lord's reaction brought her a giddy sense of satisfaction. The man was at a complete loss again due to her assault of charm.
"I believe Lord Stanhope is giving them a tour of his maze. That should be interesting," said Eloisa. "Would you be willing to escort me?"
She could see that he was confused by the change in her behavior. The young, chubby-faced lord hadn't been out in London when Eloisa had her season and she had acted like the proper chaperone while he courted Sarah. Now she flirted with him like a well-experienced courtesan. It took him a few minutes to respond with a reluctant nod.
With April securely at his side, Lord Stanhope began leading the group into the cool shade of the garden maze. The shrubbery walls were well tended and towered well over seven feet tall. Eloisa could imagine getting lost in such a place and it was an appealing idea. She closed her eyes for a few minutes to enjoy the silence of it.
Opening her eyes again, she found that they had fallen behind the rest of the group and were now alone in the aisles of the maze. If it had been any other man, such as Thomas, Eloisa might have been worried about her virtue. Lord Bittleby gave her no such anxiety.
"Are we friends?" he asked as they turned another corner, going deeper into the cool shade of the maze.
The question was so unexpected she almost tripped over her own feet.
"Friends?"
"I know that you have tried to be kind to me in my courtship of your cousin, but I had hoped that we had also become friends." He stopped them, turning to face her with a solemn expression. "The kind of friends who are always honest with each other."
Her stomach flipped as she stared into his earnest face. She could guess what direction this conversation was going to go and desperately wanted to avoid it. It just wasn't in her to be the one who broke his heart with the truth. Before he could ask the dreaded question about Sarah's affection Eloisa pulled away from him.
"We should find the rest of the group before they notice we are missing," she said and started to walk briskly away from him.
Eloisa could hear the sound of Lord Bittleby's feet crunching the ground as he tried to catch up. Even in the tight confines of her skirt, Eloisa moved quickly through the aisles. She focused on getting past one turn and then another without looking back to see how close he was. When she felt his hand close around her arm, it jerked her to a stop.
"What the devil is wrong with you?" Lord Bittleby yelled as he whipped her around to face him. "You just took off while I tried to speak with you. It was about an important matter."
"I didn't know that."
"I'm fairly certain you did."
His hand tightened around her upper arm enough to become uncomfortable. She tried to pull away but he wouldn't release her. Her heart thudded inside her chest but she tried not to let her expression change.
Keeping her voice calm, she said, "If you have something to ask me, you are more than welcome to ask me now."
"I'm not sure if I can trust you to give me an honest answer now."
"I guess the choice is yours then."
She lifted her eyebrows and looked at him with a chilly stare. It was a challenge she threw at him. His lips opened and closed a few times before he spoke.
"I want to know if Lady Sarah is sincere in her affections for me."
Eloisa could still feel him squeezing her arm, so she had to be careful of her response. "I'm not gifted enough to read the mind of my cousin, so anything I say will simply be a guess on my part."
The color brightened in his cheeks and his eyes narrowed. "Then give me your best guess about her feelings for me."
Lying had never been something Eloisa was good at. Her face always gave her away. She was now certain if she tried to lie Lord Bittleby would know. That would only enrage him further.
"I believe my cousin is fond of you, but not more than any of the other gentlemen she has met."
The grip on her arm tightened to the point where she couldn't help but gasp. With his mouth pressing tightly into a thin line, Lord Bittleby pulled her closer. She could smell the tea he had with breakfast this morning.
"I had been led to believe I was more in her favor than the others." The words were forced through his clenched teeth.
"Not by me or my cousin." Eloisa became more and more frightened of the man. "If you took her polite behavior as more, then you can only blame yourself."
Raw anger flashed in his hazel eyes and for the first time Eloisa wondered if she might be struck by a man. Her fear must have shown because a sick smile slid onto Lord Bittleby's face. It was a smile she had never seen on him before. It was the closest thing to evil she had witnessed.
"Both you and your heartless cousin encouraged my pursuit." His lips moved but his teeth never parted. "It must have been amusing for you both to watch me make a fool of myself. I can only imagine the hours you spent laughing at my expense."
His own sharp laughter bit the air. It made Eloisa wince. "How long would you have continued to string me along? Through the entire season or even longer than that?"
"We were not stringing you along, at least not intentionally." She was sure his hand would be leaving a bruise as he squeezed tighter. "We didn't mean to hurt you. You are a friend to us."
The bright red in his cheeks bloomed as a loud hiss escaped through his lips. The way his eyes bulged made him look like a mad man, which was what he apparently was. The words she had hoped would calm him only enraged him further.
"Friend? I'm to be just a friend?"
With each word he jerked her arm and it made her teeth rattle. "It is not friendship I am looking for."
"Then you will be disappointed."
The man had lost control of his sanity and could be dangerous to her, but she still couldn't help her remark. Being a victim was not a role she was comfortable with and her instincts compelled her to stand up to him. If she couldn't do so physically, she would have to rely on her verbal skills.
The last thread of his restraint snapped and he began to shake her violently by both arms now. She would have tried to call out for help but she was af
raid if she opened her mouth she might bite off her own tongue.
"You will regret this. I will make sure both of you regret this."
She was already regretting a lot of things, but mostly her choice to be trapped in this maze. She never should have let them get separated from the rest of the group. If Lord Bittleby decided to do something violent, there was nothing she could do to stop him.
With a jerk, he pushed her backwards against the sharp shrubbery and pressed his full weight against her. Even through the thick fabric of her jacket and dress Eloisa felt the sharp branches stabbing at her. There was a wetness against her shoulder and she worried she had ruined her dress with blood. There was barely enough room for her to breath, so she couldn't get enough to scream.
"You are not even close to your cousin in beauty, but you aren't without charms." Lord Bittleby moved to hold both her arms with one hand above her head and the other slipped down to her ribcage. "I might enjoy venting my frustrations on you. You might even enjoy it."
She flinched when he moved his hand up under her jacket.
"Everyone knows spinsters have hidden desires." He said.
His hand came into contact with the underside of her breast and Eloisa reacted swiftly by bringing up her knee. It made solid contact if his grunt was any indication. Having the wind knocked out of him made Lord Bittleby release his hold on her in order to double over. Eloisa knew it was an unseemly place to hit a man, but clearly effective. Before he could collect himself she had taken off at a run.
She didn't hear anyone following her but she didn't dare slow down until her lungs were burning for air. Within the confines of her clothing she could barely breathe. When she finally collapsed on the edge of a stone fountain her legs tingled beneath her skirt.
She had been running, choosing her path without thought and now she found she was lost. The only sounds she heard were the gentle rumble of an oncoming storm. She looked to see dark clouds forming overhead quickly. It wouldn't be long before the rain started, but she had no idea what to do.
Chapter 10
"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN in love, Your Grace?" Sarah's voice was soft and wistful.
This could be the perfect opportunity for Thomas to declare his intentions to her with the promise of love. He'd done that with more than one woman before and it had never bothered him. They were just words after all. He opened his mouth but the words were caught in his throat. Then he felt her hand come to rest on his arm.
"It's an extremely personal question, I know." She moved closer to him and he could hear her more clearly above the wind. "But you have so much more experience with the world than I do."
"I might have had more experiences but none that have led to falling in love. In that regard, you and I are both inexperienced." He wasn't sure why he would be so honest with her but that was the only answer that felt right.
"You aren't at all what I expected."
"Oh? Am I even better-looking in person?"
Her laughter was soft and bubbly, but didn't compel him like the deeper, richer laughter of Eloisa. Once again his mind wandered into thoughts it shouldn't.
"That wouldn't be possible considering how handsomely you are described." He was happy that she hadn't removed her hand.
"Really? What do they say?"
"Mostly foolish nonsense about you being a golden beauty. It is an outlandish description for a man."
"Perhaps I started such a rumor to feed my own struggling ego."
"I have never seen an ego more robust than yours."
Again she laughed and Thomas began to feel quite pleased with himself. Teasing was a good sign that affection might be growing between them. That was worth the slight sacrifice to his ego.
"You are much easier to get along with than I had expected." Sarah's voice was light. "All those stories painted you in a bad light."
"How so?" now she had caught his interest.
"They made you sound vain and dismissive, which I would never approve of." He forced his face not to flinch as her words came so close to the truth. "I had expected you to be impossible to talk to, but this has been nice."
That should have made him feel happy, but it didn't. Instead he felt something he suspected might be guilt. Having never felt that before, he wasn't sure. This strange feeling made him say things he normally wouldn't.
"The things you've heard about me." He wanted to stop his words but he couldn't. "All those horrible stories are true. I was a cruel man, who was given everything and appreciated nothing. You wouldn't have thought I was nice then."
"Since I didn’t know you then, I can't make a distinction." She removed her hand and he felt a loss. "I can only judge you as you are now.'
"Which is?"
"A mysterious charmer."
"I'm glad you find me charming since you did not have such an opinion of me when we met."
"I'm afraid I judged you too harshly based on what I had heard." His heart leaped as her hand returned to him. "Can you forgive me for that?"
"I think I could forgive you anything."
Slowly, Thomas reached his hand out to catch her cheek. He felt the warm soft skin under his palm. In his mind, he attempted to paint a picture of her based on what he knew. It was blurred and undefined. The details wouldn't come into focus.
"Are you going to try to kiss me now?"
Sarah's voice held a note of longing in it that he was familiar with. Before his accident women were often speaking to him in that tone. He had become indifferent to it. Now it made his blood pump faster in his veins.
He used his hand to guide her face closer. When he could feel her warm breath he parted his lips to capture hers. He swallowed her gasp as they kissed. Keeping in mind that they were still in a public place, Thomas allowed the kiss to linger a moment before pulling away. The skin under his hand grew warm from her blush as he removed it. It felt good to know he could still have such an effect on a beautiful woman. He was only disappointed that his own reaction had been less passionate.
"That was ... interesting." She had difficulty catching her breath. Thomas smiled at the compliment.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Enjoyed what?"
Thomas hadn't heard Lord Bittleby come up from behind him.
"Lord Stanhope's lecture," Thomas replied smoothly. "I believe Lady Sarah has found a new interest."
"A woman's interests are always so fickle." There was something snide in the man' tone that Thomas didn't like. "You can never be sure if they are telling the truth."
"That's a rude comment to make." Thomas felt obligated to chastise the man. "Especially in front of the lady herself."
"I meant no harm, but was simply stating my new-found opinion.”
"Where exactly did you find such an opinion?"
"In the maze, while keeping her cousin company."
Thomas hadn't noticed the sound of anyone else's footsteps approaching. When he sniffed the air there was no citrus scent in it. "Where is Miss Noble?"
"Still in the maze I imagine."
"You just left her there?" Thomas poked the Lord in the chest with one of his fingers. It brushed across a twig that clung to his coat.
"Lord Bittleby looks like he had some kind of battle with a bush," Lady Sarah commented. "It looks like the bush won."
"It wasn't the bush that put up a fight."
Thomas heard the crack of Sarah's palm across Lord Bittleby's face. He was grateful that her action saved him from hitting the man, which would have been much more damaging. It was easy for him to figure out why Bittleby was covered in shrubbery and it made his temper flare.
"It looks like every female in the family is uncontrollable," Lord Bittleby spat out.
"You should go inside before the rain comes," Thomas said to Sarah, not wanting to leave her alone with the snake of a man. "Find my mother and let her know I have gone to find Eloisa, but don't let her alarm anyone."
Leaning in close enough to smell the sweat and fear on Bittleby, Thomas whisper
ed so that only he could hear him. "You better hope I find her unharmed or you will be stabbed by more than a few twigs."
He shoved the man aside and entered the maze alone. Even with the oncoming rain, it didn't take him long to pick up her scent and follow it through the twists and turns. As he got closer he heard her crying. Not little sniffles but full sobbing. There was even a hiccup.
Following the sound of her crying was easy, since it was so unrestrained. He made a few wrong turns, but managed to keep going in the right directions. It was a wonder that nobody else had gone in to find her. As he turned a corner, a twig snapped under his foot and the crying stopped.
"Hello?" Eloisa sounded frightened. "Is somebody there?"
Knowing the petulant Lord had already treated her badly, Thomas didn't want to frighten Eloisa further by sneaking up on her. "I'm certainly somebody."
He heard the rustle of fabric and knew she attempted to compose her appearance. A silly idea, since he couldn't see her, but he didn't stop her. As he moved closer, he felt cool stone brush against his leg through his trousers. This was where she sat, so he lowered himself down beside her. His hand slipped over the edge and into the water of the fountain.
"Were you looking for Sarah, Your Grace?" she said between staggered breathes.
"No, she sent me in to find you." He was careful not to get too close to the fountain's edge. "It might rain soon and she was concerned you would get caught in it."
A loud crack of thunder punctuated his words. He felt her jump beside him. Thomas reached out to steady her without thinking. She pressed up against his chest, tucking her head under his chin.
"Is this fear? I never would have thought you were capable of that." He reached up to stroke her back.
"I'm just so relieved it's you."
"Who else might it be?"
"No one, just someone."
Thomas didn't like it that she was so clearly rattled by what happened with Lord Bittleby. That meant it must have been more than a simple disagreement. Reaching his hand up to her cheek, he could feel her tears.