As long as he didn’t come upon any canoodling couples. It was a lover’s lane. People snuck away to have some moments alone. If they got caught, there were repercussions, but quite a few didn’t mind being watched. It was a weird thing to find attractive, to be watched while touching a woman intimately. Gerard didn’t see the attraction.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t meet anyone who wanted attention. Or who wanted a fight because of what he stumbled on.
Then Gerard heard some shouting. It was close by. One of them sounded like a woman. And she didn’t sound willing.
Gerard broke into a quick trot in the direction of the shouts.
Chapter 2
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Beth grumbled, scowling out of the window.
Flora had managed to convince her that this was something they needed to do, that they wouldn’t have another chance like this to find a husband. Beth had initially agreed it was a good chance, but as soon as she had said it, her sister had dragged her out of her chair and into the house, barely stopping to grab her gloves and hat. Now they were in a carriage that Flora had flagged down and they were on their way to Vauxhall Gardens. The gardens themselves were huge, and the celebrations would fill the entire place.
Beth wished she had been brave enough to fight back and say no. But then who would keep an eye on Flora so she didn’t make a fool of herself again?
Sitting across from her, Flora huffed and glared at her younger sister.
“Would you just stop worrying, Beth? Things are going to be fine. It’s not for very long. We’ll go and have a look around and go home before Mother and Father know we’ve been out.”
“What about the servants?”
“They won’t say anything; I know that much.” Flora’s eyes twinkled. “Then we can go back later and make the most of it. From what I heard, this celebration is going to go on for a very long time.”
A bit over the top for a battle in France, but Beth knew if the Prince Regent was in charge of celebrations, they lasted as long as he wanted them to. Hopefully, they wouldn’t bump into him. Beth hadn’t met him yet, and she had no desire to. The man sounded like an odious, pompous drunk from all the newspapers and from the mouths of those who knew him. Beth had more important things to do with her time than converse with Prince George.
“You might be able to have some fun,” Beth grumbled. “But you know I won’t.”
“Then why did you come at all?”
“To try and keep you out of trouble.” Beth gestured at the world outside as the carriage trundled along the cobbles. “Every time someone calls you names or says something about your scandal, you look like you want to start a fight. Which you have done a couple of times, and that’s just made the situation worse. We can’t afford any further scandal because you can’t take the repercussions of your actions.”
Flora bared her teeth.
“You would be the same if you were spoken to in that way.”
“I wouldn’t have got myself into that position.”
“Neither would I if I’d known he would desert me!” Flora shouted. She sat back and took a deep breath. “Look, it’s a celebration. Society will be there, those that matter. And unlike a certain high and mighty lady sitting across from me, I want to pick myself up and make my life better.”
Beth squared her shoulders, trying to keep her composure.
“Don’t call me high and mighty.”
“You are, aren’t you?” Flora sneered. “You think you’re better than everyone else.”
“I’m not better than anyone else, Flora. I’m just trying to remind you of your current predicament.” Beth tightened her hands in her lap when what she really wanted to do was hit her sister. “You committed a sin, and you’re not the only one paying the price.”
Even though Beth was sympathetic to Flora’s situation, her sister did seem to forget that it wasn’t just Flora who had had to deal with the fallout to her mistake of running away with a man who wasn’t her husband. Her family had suffered, too. Flora seemed to believe it was all about her; it wasn’t. It was about all her family.
Flora huffed and patted her hair into place.
“Well, once I’ve found another gentleman who sees past what I’ve done, realizes that I’m not the one to blame for someone else’s actions, things should be all right again. We’ll be able to get back on the footing we once had.”
“I don’t think we will. A scandal like that isn’t easy to ride out when you’re as far down the social ladder as we are.”
“Oh, ye of little faith.” Flora snorted. “I will ride this out, and I plan to, Beth. No one is putting me down and getting away with it.”
She was so determined. Beth knew that Flora had been devastated at the betrayal of her young man, but she had never expected Flora to be so angry about it. She was willing to do whatever it took to bring herself back. The problem was, running off with the son of a duke made it a big thing, and that wasn’t easy to walk away from. Flora clearly thought you could, but Beth had other opinions on that.
“You’re going to ride it out and better yourself, fine.” Beth sat forward. “But are you willing to ruin the family more while you do it?”
Flora growled. She jabbed a finger at Beth’s face.
“For once in your life, Beth, don’t think about the family and think about yourself. Only yourself. Which is what I’m doing. I’m getting out of this family with a marriage, whether our parents like it or not.”
Beth stilled. Flora had always been strong-minded. She always wanted to go out and get whatever she had set her mind to. The problem was, a strong-minded woman in their current days was not a good thing. Women like that were considered troublemakers. Women were supposed to be meek and mild and do what their father or husband said. They weren’t supposed to have minds of their own.
Beth didn’t like it, but she found it easier to go along with. Flora did the opposite; she wanted something for herself, and didn’t care who knew it.
Maybe that was why she had run away with Lord Thinesley. Flora had decided she wanted marriage, even if it was with someone of a much higher status. It was her choice and not her father’s. Unfortunately, Lord Thinesley hadn’t felt the same way and had run away after ruining her. Flora was still hurting, which might explain why she was talking about going to visit a fete to find another potential husband; she wanted to put it all behind her and build things back to the way they were.
Considering how cruel people were in Society, that was going to be a very hard task.
The carriage stopped on Tyers Street. The noise from the fete was loud, the people involved almost spilling onto the street. Beth could feel her ears ringing from the noise. She flinched and went to put her hands over her ears. Then she saw Flora had flung open the door and was stepping out onto the street.
“Flora …”
“Don’t try and keep up,” Flora said with a scowl in her sister’s direction. “You’ll only ruin everything.”
“Flora!”
But then Flora was gone, running across and into the crowds. Beth leaned out and tried to catch sight of her, but there were so many people milling around that she had no idea which direction her sister had gone in.
She had been the one to make Beth come out here to find a husband, and now she had decided to desert her as soon as they got here. Why did Flora even bring Beth along in the first place if she said that Beth was going to ruin everything? Beth had no idea what was going on now.
But the carriage driver was looking at her with a scowl, gesturing at her to get out. Beth sighed and did so, using the little money she had to pay him. The driver barely gave her a nod of thanks before driving off, nearly toppling Beth onto the pavement. She straightened up and glared at the retreating carriage. So much for getting home.
Then again, she did need to make sure Flora didn’t make more of a fool of herself. She just needed to find her sister and get her away without causing a scene.
Easier said tha
n done.
Beth looked around. Everyone around her was enjoying themselves, all of them dressed up in extravagant gowns and suits. Nobody took much attention to her, milling around her and even knocking Beth’s shoulder as they walked past. Beth could feel her chest squeezing – she hated being in crowds – and ducked past them into the gardens.
The gardens themselves were huge. There was no chance of finding Flora, even if she combed every part of the place. They could cross paths, and Beth wouldn’t even notice.
But she did know that the pleasure gardens were off to her right. From what Beth remembered of the announcement in the newspaper, the party would start there. Flora would more than likely head in that direction; everyone who was anyone would be there before filtering out into the rest of the gardens. The only problem was if the servants noticed her. You had to pay to get in, which Beth’s father had scoffed at, and if they knew she hadn’t paid, then Beth could be thrown out before she found her sister.
She had to be sneaky about it.
Beth had walked through Vauxhall Gardens when she was a child and knew pretty much all of it. There was a pathway near where she was to the pleasure gardens that was, essentially, a shortcut. It was secluded, and not many people knew it existed.
Well, they did, but it wasn’t used for walking. It was a known lovers’ lane, and those who wanted some quiet time away from their chaperones and other prying eyes sneaked down there. Beth remembered her parents telling her to keep a wide berth. ‘You never know what you could come across down there,’ her mother would say.
It was the quickest way to the gardens, and that was Beth’s starting point. Taking a deep breath, she headed into the enclosed path. This was going to take a while.
It was a hot day in July, and even in the lovers’ lane it was still warm. Trees spread their branches overhead, blocking the sun from those wanting privacy, but it didn’t keep the heat out. Beth could feel the sweat tickling her forehead and trickling down her back. She was feeling a little lightheaded – if she did anything beyond just sitting out in the sun, she often felt unsteady on her feet. Her parents had said it was a genteel disposition that made her like that, which made Beth grimace. They made her sound like she was made of glass.
Beth was not made of that. But she wished she had resisted Flora and stayed home. Then again, Flora would have come out regardless, and she would get into trouble alone. Beth knew she would need to get Flora home.
Her sister could get angry at her later. Right now, she was more concerned about getting Flora out of there without making more of a fool of herself.
Beth was so engrossed in looking for Flora that she didn’t know that someone was behind her. When something warm and soft touched her arm, Beth gasped and spun around, bumping against the hedge. A tall, slim young man with a somewhat scruffy coat and mismatched trousers loomed over her. A flat cap was on his head of blond hair as he gave her a lopsided smile. Handsome young man, certainly, but he wasn’t nobility. No one in Society would have gone out in a flat cap and mismatched clothes that hadn’t seen soap in a while.
Beth tensed. She needed to run, but she couldn’t move.
“Hello there, miss.” The young man looked her up and down. The smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. “You shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s not safe.”
“I figured that much,” Beth shot back.
She tried to move away and hurry on, but the young man grabbed her arm and pulled her back, pushing her against the hedge.
“Not yet.” He reached into his pocket. “I want a little something from you first.”
Beth tensed when she saw the knife in his hand. She tried to maintain her composure as the blade neared her face, glaring at her attacker.
“I’ll scream,” she said. “Someone will hear me.”
“I don’t think so.” The blade waved just inches from her face. “You scream and you’ll get a little reminder of why you shouldn’t.”
Beth felt the fear grip her. She had never been cornered by a pickpocket or a brigand before. It was just something that didn’t happen in her part of London. No doubt, he was lured here by the idea of sneaking a bit here and there from unsuspecting guests caught in clinches or meeting with someone they shouldn’t. A lot of blackmail could be had in Lovers’ Lane.
Panicking, Beth reacted. Grabbing his wrist, Beth pulled the knife away from her face. Then she bit his hand. The young man yelped loudly and dropped his knife, bouncing into the undergrowth. Beth kicked him in the knee, which had him falling to one knee with another yelp. Resisting the urge to apologize – she hated hurting someone – Beth staggered away and started to run towards the noise and the music.
“Help! Someone help me! Please!”
She wasn’t an invited guest, but there was a good chance someone would help her. Then Beth stumbled as the young man tackled her from behind, knocking her to the ground. She landed awkwardly, pain shooting up her wrist and her ankle screaming at her. The pickpocket flipped her onto her back and straddled her waist. Beth tried to get out from under him, only for the pickpocket to slap her across the face.
Hard.
Beth was so stunned that she froze. She had never been hit like that before. The pain was like a hot wave over the left side of her face, the stinging making her want to cry. Then the pickpocket leaned over her, gripping her throat.
“You little witch!” He hissed. “You’re going to pay for that.”
He raised his other hand. Beth tried to scream, but his hand was pressing on her throat. Then she heard some shouting. Shouting that had Beth want to cry even more.
“Let her go! Now!”
Thank God. Someone was coming to help her. Beth gasped as the pickpocket stood and let go of her, air rushing back into her lungs, stalking towards the newcomer.
“You want to fight, sir?” the pickpocket sneered. “I’ll give you a fight. But I’ve got what I wanted.”
“Not yet, you haven’t.”
Beth heard a scuffle and a few grunts. She managed to roll onto her side and sit up. Her throat was sore, the side of her face felt like it was on fire, and her head hurt. Her knees were scraped, her ankle throbbed, and her wrist had gone numb. Right now, all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry.
Then she saw the scene nearby. The pickpocket was on the ground, clutching his nose with loud moans. Standing over him was a gentleman. A high-ranking gentleman, judging from the cut of his cloth. Beth knew things in Society, and she knew that the cloth his clothes were made out of was one of the most expensive in London. Sleek and perfectly made in dark blue, framing a man with a slim waist and broad shoulders. His skin was lightly brown from the sun, his hair dark and cut short, while his eyes were practically glowing at the youth at his feet.
Beth felt a shiver down her spine. Whoa. Of all the people who could have rescued her, why did it have to be a man who looked like he had modelled Greek statues?
The gentleman leaned over, grabbing the pickpocket by the hair and lifting him up.
“Give me what you took.” He held out his other hand. “Give it to me. Unless you want another fight. Maybe we can reset your nose at the same time.”
“All right, all right!”
The pickpocket reached into his jacket and withdrew a purse. Beth stared. It was hers. In the panic and trying to get away, she hadn’t noticed that he had easily taken it off her without her noticing. And yet he had decided to lay his hands on her even after stealing from her.
She felt nauseous at the thought.
What A Wicked Duke Demands (Historical Regency Romance) Page 3