“That's it?” she demanded, her mouth opening in surprise. “We share a kiss, and all you can say to me is ‘I'll show you out’?”
John took another calming breath. “I know you wish to speak about what is happening between us, Catherine, but I just can't right now. I need to sort through things in my head before we can talk.”
Her head snapped back as if she'd been struck. “I didn't realize that it was so complicated you needed to think it over so carefully, John.”
“You didn't realize . . .” He broke off. “Do you remember how we argued last night? Then today you come here, acting sweet as cream, and we end up in each other's arms again.” He shook his head. “How can you not find all of this complicated?”
“Because I don't fight my emotions, John; I just feel them.”
The glimmer in her eyes looked suspiciously like tears. Dear God, if she started crying now, he was done for. “I'm willing to feel my emotions as well . . . but I have to understand them first. All I'm asking for is a little time to sort through everything.”
“And put it in a neat, orderly fashion, where you can control everything you feel and when you feel it.” Catherine's lips began to tremble. “Sorry, John, but life doesn't work like that. You can't help how you feel any more than you can stop the sun from setting.” A tear slipped down her face. “Because, believe me, if I could stop myself from falling in love with you, I would do it.”
His breath got lodged in his throat at her quiet admission.
Lifting her chin, she looked at him with disdain. “So when you're finished sorting through your emotions, John, you may call upon me. And perhaps, just perhaps, I might still wish to see you.”
And with that parting line stinging in his ears, he watched her walk out of his study . . . and wondered if she was walking out of his life as well.
15
A knock on the door of her workshop broke Elizabeth's concentration. Unwittingly, she wiped her oil-covered hands upon her gown as she bid the servant to enter.
“Blast!” Elizabeth exclaimed the moment she caught herself smearing oil all over her skirts. She smiled ruefully at their butler. “I'm forever ruining my clothes this way. Terribly careless of me, isn't it?”
She could tell from his expression that their butler didn't know how to reply. Laughing, Elizabeth waved her hand. “Just ignore me, Tibbs. Now, what can I do for you?”
Holding out a tray, he announced, “You have a caller, Lady Elizabeth.”
Not wishing to stain the card with oil as well, she nodded toward Tibbs. “Who is it?”
“A Lady Serena Cole,” he announced.
Just dandy. “Is my sister home yet?” Elizabeth asked, praying Catherine had come home from her meeting with Lord Wykham.
“No, my lady.” Tibbs lowered the tray. “The young lady asked me to mention it was a most urgent matter.”
Elizabeth knew she couldn't avoid seeing Lady Serena. “Very well, Tibbs. Please inform her I shall be along momentarily.” Glancing down at her hands, she explained her delay. “First I'm going to try and wash off some of this grease.”
“A most daunting chore, my lady,” Tibbs remarked with a nod.
All of the servants had witnessed Elizabeth's past attempts to remove the stains from her hands. She'd tried everything from lemon juice to tea leaves, yet nothing seemed to easily remove the oil from her skin. “Very true, Tibbs, but I can hardly entertain her like this.”
Tibbs’ mouth twitched. “Indeed not, my lady.”
“I only wish I had time to change my attire,” Elizabeth muttered as she glanced down at the large oil prints now discoloring her pale blue gown. Ah, well, she thought. Lady Serena can't call unexpectedly and expect her to be suitably dressed, Elizabeth decided with a nod. “Please arrange for tea and refreshments to be brought into the parlor, Tibbs.” After all, she didn't have to be completely unsophisticated.
“Very well, my lady,” he said before bowing and heading out the door.
In her washbasin, Elizabeth scrubbed at her skin, trying to remove as much of the oil as possible, until she finally managed to get the discoloration down to a dull gray. Shrugging, Elizabeth headed into the house for a dreaded visit with Lady Serena. Again, Elizabeth tried to put her finger on what she'd disliked about the young woman, but the answer evaded her.
As she stepped into the parlor, Elizabeth prayed she could handle this meeting with composure. “Lady Serena,” she said in greeting, gliding forward to take a seat opposite the pretty blonde.
In a stunning pale rose walking dress, Lady Serena was the very essence of feminine grace and beauty, making Elizabeth even more self-conscious about her oil-smeared gown and stained hands.
“I'm so thankful you could see me,” Lady Serena said in her breathy voice. “I . . . I . . .” A cry broke from her as she buried her face into her hands.
Good Heavens! What was she supposed to do now? Elizabeth wondered, completely at a loss as to the best way to handle a weepy stranger. “Can I get something for you? Tea? A handkerchief?” she asked, grasping at anything.
“No, no,” murmured Lady Serena as she straightened, dabbing at the corner of her eyes with her glove-covered fingertip. “I'm so embarrassed.” She fanned herself with her hand. “What you must think of me . . .”
“To be perfectly truthful, I don't know what to think,” Elizabeth admitted.
A tearful laugh burst from Lady Serena. “I thank you for your honesty, Lady Elizabeth.”
The surprise in Lady Serena's voice made Elizabeth wonder if she'd made yet another faux pas.
“I'm sorry for my outburst, but it's just that I've been under such pressure lately,” Lady Serena explained, twisting her hands together. “Since you're acquainted with my brother . . .”
Elizabeth held up her hands . . . then snatched them back down again when she remembered the stains. “I couldn't claim having an acquaintance with your brother, my lady. We were merely introduced.”
“Oh.” Lady Serena blinked twice. “From the way my brother spoke to you, I thought you knew each other.”
“Yes, well . . .” Elizabeth stammered, uncertain of how to reply to that comment. Instead, she tried a weak smile. “You were mistaken.”
Elizabeth knew from Lady Serena's flinch that she'd been too blunt yet again.
“It seems I was,” Lady Serena finally murmured. “Oh, dear, this makes it even more awkward. For you see, I thought, if you were acquainted with my brother, then perhaps you could understand the reason for my fabrication that day in the park.” She pressed a finger against her lips. “You see, my brother loves me, but sometimes he . . . frightens me,” she finished with a whisper.
While Elizabeth had found Lord Morrow offensive, she hadn't thought him violent. “Frightens you in what manner?” Leaning forward, Elizabeth laid her hand upon Lady Serena's forearm. “I promise I won't betray your confidence.”
She offered Elizabeth a wavering smile. “No, I don't believe you will.” Closing her eyes briefly as if to draw strength to continue, Lady Serena finally lifted her lashes and met Elizabeth's gaze. “I was the lady your sister saw the other night,” she confessed softly. “Please don't think ill of me. My brother forbade me to see my lover, so I was forced to sneak out in secret. When your sister recognized me in front of my brother, well, I had no choice but to deny her claim.”
“I understand,” Elizabeth said reassuringly.
A relieved sigh escaped Lady Serena. “Thank Heaven. I knew I was right in coming here. I just couldn't have lived with another lie.” Determination hardened her delicate features. “It's time to end all this deception. When next I meet my lover, I shall . . .”
“Oh, no!” Elizabeth exclaimed as she remembered the reason why Catherine had been so determined to find this woman. How was she supposed to look this woman in her innocent, blue eyes and tell her that the man she loved had been kidnapped?
Lady Serena gripped Elizabeth's hand. “What is it?”
“It's . . . you s
ee . . .” No matter how she tried to begin her explanation, the words seemed to freeze upon her tongue. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth tried again to find the words. “After you left your gentleman friend that evening . . .” Elizabeth broke off at the sound of their butler greeting Catherine. “Oh, thank God,” she murmured. “Excuse me for one moment. My sister has come home and, as she was the one involved, I believe she would be far better at explaining everything.” Squeezing Lady Serena's hand reassuringly, Elizabeth rose and hurried toward the door to beckon Catherine inside.
“What is it?” Catherine asked as she strolled into the parlor. “I've just . . . Lady Serena!” Dropping her gloves onto a sideboard, Catherine hurried forward with outstretched hands. “What a surprise.”
As Lady Serena burst into tears again, Elizabeth sent thanks winging upward that Catherine was here this time to deal with the weeping. Without hesitation, Catherine wrapped her arms around Lady Serena, offering her comfort in a way Elizabeth never would have thought to do. Feeling out of place, Elizabeth nonetheless took her seat opposite Catherine and Lady Serena.
Pulling out of Catherine's hold, Lady Serena dabbed daintily at her eyes. “Oh, there I go again,” she murmured brokenly. “I vow I'm a veritable watering pot today.”
“You have every right to be,” Catherine said soothingly. “Hearing that someone you care for has been abducted is an awful thing to experience.”
All the color drained from Lady Serena's face. “What?” she rasped, her voice darkened with confused panic.
Catherine's gaze flew toward Elizabeth. “Didn't you tell her?”
Wishing the floor would open and swallow her whole, Elizabeth shook her head. “I hadn't the chance yet.”
Catherine scowled fiercely at Elizabeth before returning her attention to Lady Serena. “After you left your . . . friend that night at the theater, two men set upon him, dragging him off down an alleyway. My companion, Lord Wykham, tried to stop them, but one of the brutes attacked him, so we were unable to help your young man.”
Tears rolled from horror-stricken eyes. “My Isaac? They took my Isaac?”
“Yes,” Catherine murmured compassionately. “I know what a shock this must be for you, but rest assured, we're already doing all we can to find him. In fact, we have a Bow Street Runner investigating the case right now.”
Lady Serena snapped her head toward Catherine. “You do?” she asked in a strained voice.
Something about the sharpness of Lady Serena's tone struck Elizabeth as odd. It almost sounded as if all of her other responses had been tempered, while this one was unabashedly honest. “Why are you so surprised?” Elizabeth asked, unable to hold in the question.
“Well . . . because you are . . . were total strangers,” stammered Lady Serena as her eyes began to fill once more. “I'm simply stunned that you would go to such lengths for someone you don't even know.”
Sending Elizabeth a quelling look, Catherine patted Lady Serena's arm. “We're only doing what anyone would do,” she said with a shake of her head. “Are you up to answering a few questions?”
Lady Serena drew in a shaky breath. “If it will help my Isaac, then yes.”
Nodding, Catherine asked the obvious question. “What is Isaac's full name?”
“Isaac Burnbaum,” Lady Serena supplied. “Mr. Issac Burnbaum.”
“Where is he from?”
“Here in London.”
Picking up Catherine's lead, Elizabeth asked a question of her own. “Is he the son of a nobleman? Someone we would have met at a social affair?”
A delicate pink hue tinted Lady Serena's cheeks. “No, you wouldn't have met him,” she admitted quietly. “He's a . . . a merchant's son.” She pressed her hands against her stomach. “I know that sounds quite scandalous, but please try to understand how it was for me. I met Isaac when I accompanied my brother to the wharf area, and I fell in love at first sight.” Her eyes glazed over as she lost herself in memories. “He was so gentle, so sweet, so charming that I couldn't resist him at all. When he delivered the items my brother had ordered, I had another opportunity to speak with him, and enjoyed myself so much that I agreed to meet him again in secret.”
As Catherine sighed romantically, Elizabeth shook her head, knowing her sister was now lost within the story and would be of little help uncovering any other facts. “Where does Issac live?” Elizabeth asked, thinking they might learn more by speaking with Isaac's parents.
“I . . . I don't know,” Lady Serena stammered. “I never met his family.”
“If you didn't even know where he lived, how would you arrange to meet?”
Lady Serena twisted her handkerchief. “I would wait for a note from him, telling me where and when to meet.”
“And what if you couldn't make it at that time? How did you let him know?”
“I would ask my maid—who is completely loyal to me—to meet Isaac. I'd give Lucy my appointments and have her make arrangements with Isaac for our next meeting.” Lady Serena's smile grew dreamy. “Then I would wait breathlessly until the day arrived when I could see my Isaac.”
Elizabeth tried to garner more information from Lady Serena. “With all the times that you met and spoke with each other, surely you must know more about his life than simply his name.”
Lady Serena nodded eagerly. “I knew he was honorable, loyal, and a true gentleman.”
Biting back a frustrated exclamation, Elizabeth tried again. “But what of his life? Did he tell you were he worked? What he did for a living? You said his father was a merchant. Did Isaac work for his father? Or did Isaac ever mention where his father's shop was?”
This time Lady Serena shook her head. I know his father sells linens and that his shop is near the wharf. I don't remember exactly where though. I never concern myself with mundane details.”
Elizabeth barely managed to keep her mouth from dropping open in surprise. She hardly considered knowing where a person lived a mundane detail. “You never spoke about your personal lives?” she said, pleased her voice didn't betray her disbelief.
“No,” Lady Serena replied without batting a lash. “We only spoke of love.”
That brought another sigh from Catherine, while it was all Elizabeth could do to keep from rolling her eyes. Good Heavens! Lady Serena claimed to love Isaac, but how could she love him, really love him, if she knew nothing about him? Having witnessed the close, unshakable bond between her parents, Elizabeth knew that true love was more than stolen kisses and claims of passion. True love meant being best friends, having someone who understands you almost better than you do yourself, knowing that your mate will stand beside you, support you, when you need it the most.
When you love someone, you feel connected to that person in a way you've never known before. Even when you're angry with the person you love, you work together to overcome your differences. Much as she had with Richard.
Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat. Dear God, it couldn't be. She couldn't be in love with Richard. She just couldn't.
“Are you all right, Elizabeth?” Catherine asked, concern in her voice.
“Y-y-yes,” she stammered, thrusting away her disturbing thoughts and refocusing her attention onto Lady Serena.
“I love my Issac with all my heart,” Lady Serena sobbed as she pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. It was a gesture that would have earned her accolades if she ever took the stage.
Elizabeth didn't know what Lady Serena had with her Isaac, but she doubted very much that it was even close to being true love. Still, her opinion was hardly the sort of thing a crying woman needed to hear. Elizabeth smoothed her skirts and stood. “Thank you so much for coming to us, my lady.”
Taking the gesture for what it was, Lady Serena rose as well. “I should be the one thanking you, for your forbearance.”
Catherine stood as well. “No, please, Serena, don't consider it forbearance.” She placed her hand over her heart. “My Heavens, that was the most romantic story I've ever heard.
To be able to help reunite true loves is reward enough. Neither Elizabeth nor I want your gratitude,” she assured her. “I'll keep your card and will send around a note as soon as I hear anything.”
Lady Serena hesitated. “While I'm willing to do anything to help my Isaac, it would be better for me if you could refrain from speaking to my brother about this entire matter.”
“Of course,” Catherine replied without hesitation. “I shall pass along Isaac's name to our runner, Mr. Lewis, and see if he can't find Isaac's parents. After all, how many merchants named Burnbaum can there be in all of London?”
Elizabeth had no idea, and from Lady Serena's helpless shrug, it appeared she didn't either.
Undaunted, Catherine answered the question herself. “Not many, I'll wager.” Placing a hand upon Lady Serena's arm, she guided her toward the door. “I think it might be best if you go home and rest now. This news has been quite a shock to your system.”
“Yes . . . yes,” she murmured vaguely, before impulsively leaning forward to press a kiss upon Catherine's cheek. “Thank you so much for your help.”
Elizabeth stood perfectly still as Lady Serena repeated the familiar gesture with her. “We haven't done anything yet,” she remarked, feeling uncomfortable.
“Not only have you hired a runner to find my Isaac, but you also listened to my problems, the problems of a total stranger.”
When phrased that way, Elizabeth could see why Lady Serena would feel grateful, but that didn't make her any more comfortable with the situation. “I just hope that we are able to find Isaac for you.”
Bidding farewell to Lady Serena, Elizabeth remained in the parlor while Catherine saw her out. As soon as her sister returned, Elizabeth sank down into a chair. “Thank you for your timely arrival, Cat. I didn't know how to handle Lady Serena's crying . . . and I hadn't even told her the worst of it yet.”
Catherine smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, poor Serena will have a lot more tears to shed if our suspicions prove correct.”
“What suspicions?”
“As you know, I was meeting with John and Mr. Lewis.” At Elizabeth's nod, Catherine continued, “Mr. Lewis mentioned that Lady Serena's brother is in a dire financial situation.”
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