The Secrets of a Lady tj-1

by Jenna Petersen

  And with that realization, she went limp.

  ***

  “Why the hell are we stopping?”

  Griffin wrenched the carriage window open and immediately saw the reason. A wagon carrying barrels of ale had flipped over on one the narrow streets and the gutters were now filled with the sweet alcohol. Several men from the local pubs had come out and were taking their spirits directly from the drains.

  Griffin pulled his head back in with a shiver as he tried not to contemplate what else rolled in those gutters. He snapped the curtains shut.

  “No wonder disease is rampant in this city.”

  The carriage was quiet except for the calls of his driver to the driver of the cart. Occasionally he heard the whoops of the drunken men. But it was quiet enough that his mind could wander away from his current location.

  Where it took him was dangerous. It wandered, as always, to Audrey.

  Audrey curled up in his arms, her red hair spread over his chest and her warmth filling him. Audrey dancing with him, smiling up at him with eyes shining as she laughed.

  Or worse, Audrey in Douglas Ellison’s arms, dancing with him, her eyes shining even though it was a ruse. But Ellison was dangerous and bold. Whether or not Noah and Audrey would admit it, she was in danger each time she got near the man.

  Growling in his throat, Griffin attempted to think of something else. Anything else.

  And failed.

  For whatever reason, the image of Audrey in Ellison’s arms remained in his mind, torturing and tormenting him to the point of frustration. She was alone with the man at this very moment.

  “Ridiculous,” he muttered to himself. “Noah wouldn’t let her go anywhere with Ellison without an escort.”

  And yet… Noah had lost track of his sister more than once, allowing his faith in her ability to do her job overshadow his instincts about her safety. The incident in the park a week before had been proof of that. Audrey also had a troubling tendency to put her assignment over her security. Even if Noah was able to keep an eye on her, she would undoubtedly give him the slip if she thought his watchful stare interfered with her plans.

  A nagging dread troubled Griffin and the restlessness in his heart grew. He looked out the window again. The wagon was nearly cleared away from the road.

  “Henson!” he called out to the driver.

  The burly man appeared at his window in moments, shaking his head apologetically. “I’m sorry, m’lord. I’m tryin’ me best to move this crowd, but they was half drunk to begin with. I promise you…”

  He raised his hand to interrupt the man. “It isn’t that. I want you to take me back to Burlington House.”

  “Back, sir?” the other man repeated in confusion.

  “Yes,” Griffin said. “I left behind something of great value there.”

  ***

  Griffin elbowed his way through the crowd at Burlington House, ignoring the outraged gasps of the women and glares of the men. All that mattered now was Audrey. He had to find her.

  The place was so crowded he’d been unsuccessful so far. Hell, he couldn’t even find Noah, and at half a head above the rest of the throng, usually he was simple to find.

  “Damn it.” He moved past the musicians in one corner, hidden behind an exotic screen. He peeked behind, but didn’t see Audrey or her brother.

  “Griffin?”

  He turned to see Noah coming toward him and relief flooded him. “Thank God. Where’s Audrey?”

  “What are you doing here?” Noah asked with a worried frown. “I thought you went home.”

  “Where is she?” he repeated, not in the mood for his friend’s laissez-faire attitude. The feeling of dread about Audrey was growing in his stomach.

  “I haven’t seen her for a bit, but this place is crowded. Besides, I’ve been catching up on some work. Why?” Noah set his champagne flute on a tray as a servant passed by.

  “I have a bad feeling. We need to find her. Now!” Griffin straightened up to scan the room again.

  Noah wrinkled his brow. “A feeling?”

  Griffin turned back to his friend to grasp the lapels on his jacket. “Don’t argue with me, help me find her.”

  “Hey, hey!” Noah said as he pulled away and glanced around them. “I’ll help you. Let’s split up. I’ll take the party since I already know where I haven’t seen her. You take the grounds. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” Griffin called over his shoulder as he moved back into the crowd.

  His head spun as he slammed the veranda doors open and the cool air hit him with a shock. There were couples swarming all around the terrace, escaping the tight, uncomfortable pressure of the ballroom with its many guests. He hurried from group to group, scanning each face, but didn’t see Audrey among any of them. At first he walked to keep from drawing attention to himself, but eventually he abandoned that completely and broke into a full bore run as he hurried down the steps. The people around him stared at his utter lack of propriety.

  “Audrey?” he called out, looking around him in gazebos and beside hedgerows. “Audrey, where are you?”

  There was no answer. By now his heart was throbbing, aching with fear. Why the hell hadn’t he stayed?

  Further and further down the path he went, moving from bright lights into deeper and deeper darkness. Up ahead he saw a little, closed-in gazebo and raced toward it.

  “Please Audrey,” he whispered to himself. “Please…”

  “Please!”

  He heard a weak cry that mirrored his own and raced forward. It was Audrey’s voice, begging for mercy.

  Rounding to the front of the building, he bounded up the stairs three at a time, then skidded to a halt. Douglas Ellison had her pinned against the back wall of the gazebo. Her arms were flat against the wall, held by one of the stronger man’s hands. His other hand cupped her breast while he nuzzled her neck. The moonlight sparkled off the tears on her face, though her eyes were squeezed shut.

  “Stop,” she whispered.

  “Hush,” Ellison said against her neck. “You’ll like it well enough once you cease your struggles.”

  With a roar so primal it startled even him, Griffin leapt forward and wrenched Douglas off her.

  Ellison flew backwards, hitting one of the benches with a thud. Griffin didn’t allow him to regain his breath, but lifted him with one arm and slammed a fist into his nose. Blood spurted onto Ellison’s cheek and Griffin’s knuckles as the injured man howled.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Ellison asked, yanking himself from Griffin’s grip as he stumbled away. He put his fists up like a pugilist, but Griffin saw the fear sparkle in his gray eyes.

  Griffin repositioned himself so that he blocked Audrey from Ellison’s view. “I came back for something. And I’m glad I did. Now get out!”

  “You have no right…” Ellison began, his voice wavering.

  “And neither do you. How dare you compromise her?” he interrupted with a roar. “Get out!”

  The other man hesitated a fraction, then bowed to Audrey. “I’m sorry, my dear. I will call on you later to make amends for my overzealous behavior.”

  She didn’t answer and Ellison left, clutching his bleeding nose as he hobbled up the pathway.

  Griffin spun around to look at Audrey for the first time since he’d come in. Her blue eyes were wide and her face pale, making her look very innocent in the moonlight streaming through the gazebo.

  “Audrey?” Griffin reached out his hand.

  She stared at him, her chin lifted in defiance and her jaw set. But then the tears began to slide down her cheeks and her bottom lip trembled wildy.

  He caught her in his arms.

  “Shhh,” he whispered. “It’s over now. He’s gone. I’ll never let him near you again.”

  She pushed away from his chest to look up into his face. “Don’t you see? It isn’t over at all. I still have a job to finish. Even you realize that or you would have simply pummeled him to a pulp right here.”

&
nbsp; Griffin wrinkled his brow, but had to admit she was right. His instinct had told him to beat Ellison into unconsciousness for what he’d done. But another, more rational part of him had held back, knowing that destroying the man would only prove more difficult for Audrey and Noah.

  “You don’t mean to tell me you’ll finish this case?” He wiped away her tears. “After what he just did?”

  A little shiver wracked her, but Audrey nodded. “I must. If we bring in another agent it will look suspicious. She’ll never get enough information before it’s too late.”

  Smoothing her skirt, Audrey began to fix her hair. “Douglas will come to me tomorrow. He’ll apologize, say his emotions got the best of him. I’ll accept. I’ll even imply that I…”

  Her hands faltered and her voice broke.

  “I’ll even imply that I approved of his advances.”

  Griffin made a sound of disgust in his throat, but said nothing.

  “We’ll continue on as we did before, and I’ll find the information we’re looking for.” She sighed. “He was so close to giving me a name tonight. So close and then he…”

  “He tried to rape you,” Griffin snapped, speaking plainly to shock her with the truth.

  “But he didn’t.” Her retort held just as much heat. Then her face and voice softened. “You came.”

  The fear he’d tamped down earlier in the evening erupted. It returned two fold as he realized what he had barely averted. The image of Audrey broken and defiled was too much for him.

  “Audrey, I was… I was…”

  “I know.” She lifted two trembling fingers to his lips. “When I saw you, I knew everything would be all right. You wouldn’t let anyone hurt me.”

  Griffin shut his eyes as he pondered how much Audrey had already been hurt because of him. First it had been Luci and her cruelty. Then he had hurt her, himself, making love to her with no promises he would take care of her. Even his proposal of marriage had hurt her. She wanted love, an emotion he was sure no longer lived in his heart.

  His thoughts were shattered when he felt the gentle sweep of Audrey’s lips against his. His eyes flew open and he looked down at her. Her face was upturned, her eyes locked with his. Slowly, her hands wrapped around his forearms, steadying herself as she leaned up again.

  This time he took her kiss with no hesitation, driving his tongue between her lips and tasting her like a man deprived of drink and food for far too long. Her sigh was followed by the total relaxation of her body in his arms. Her surrender was as sweet as her giving mouth.

  After a long moment, he pulled away. “Anyone could see us here, then where will you be?”

  For a moment she didn’t seem to understand him, just blinked at him with a satisfied smile on her face. Finally, she shook her head.

  “Yes, of course. I don’t know what I was thinking,” she murmured. “Do I… look all right? Not like I was…”

  “Nearly ravished… er, twice?” he supplied, eliciting a weak smile from her swollen lips. “No. In fact, no one will even notice as long as we’re careful how we re-enter the throng.”

  With a forced smile, he held out his arm for her and she took it after a moment’s hesitation. The electricity crackled between them even at this slight touch. As they exited the gazebo and made their way back up the pathway to the main garden, Griffin stole a glance her way. Though her eyes were clouded with remnants of her earlier fear, she was more beautiful than ever. And Griffin was reminded, more than ever, how much he didn’t want to lose her.

  Except the only thing that would make her stay, was the one thing he couldn’t give her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Even before she closed her chamber door, Audrey dug her fingers into her hair and began wrenching out the pins. She felt dirty, as if Ellison’s cold fingers were still on her skin. Even Griffin hadn’t been able to completely erase the ugly feeling that seemed to exist all the way down to her bones.

  “Hannah?” she called out into the dimly lit room, raising the lamp light on her dressing table as she sat down to remove the last of the pins from her hair.

  “Home already, are you?” Hannah bustled into the room as she closed the book in her hand with a smile. “I didn’t expect you back for hours yet.”

  “ Douglas had to leave the party early,” Audrey explained with a grim frown. “So there wasn’t any use in staying past a decent hour. Noah is still there.”

  As she came around behind Audrey, Hannah grabbed the brush from her dressing table. “Ellison left the party early? Why on earth did he do that?”

  Audrey closed her eyes, enjoying the smooth motion of the brush moving through her hair. “That’s divine, Hannah,” she sighed, before opening her eyes. “Ellison left early on account that I believe Griffin may have broken his nose.”

  “What?” The brush hit the ground with a clatter, pulling several strands of Audrey’s hair out with it.

  She rubbed her scalp as Hannah stooped to pick up the brush and stared at her in disbelief.

  “Well, he did attack me.”

  Hannah grasped Audrey’s shoulders and turned her around. “Ellison attacked you? Are you injured?”

  “No.” She gave Hannah’s arm a gentle touch of reassurance. When the look of alarm had faded from her companion’s face, she continued. “He only frightened me nearly to death. And made me feel distinctly greasy.”

  “I’ll have the maids prepare a bath for you right away.” Hannah pursed her lips as she went to the door to ring the bell.

  “That would be heavenly,” Audrey said. “Though you may have to burn this dress. I doubt I’ll ever feel a desire to wear it again.”

  Hannah nodded her agreement as she opened the door. The maid outside listened to her directions then disappeared.

  “Now then.” In a few short steps, Hannah was back at her side and had returned to her brushstrokes. “Tell me all about it.”

  “I was so close, Hannah!” With a sigh of exasperation, Audrey hugged herself. “I know he was about to tell me a name or two. And then he had to get himself all… all… aroused…” She blushed at the thought, then shook her head. “And he ruined it all. Everything happened so quickly. One moment we were exchanging confidences and the next he was on top of me in an abandoned gazebo.”

  “And the next Griffin Berenger was pulling him off and pummeling him within an inch of his life,” Hannah finished for her with a soft smile.

  She took a quick glance at Hannah’s face in the mirror. “Something like that. Griffin showed remarkable restraint, considering. He could have easily killed Douglas and with just cause.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t, after what’s gone on between you these last few days.” Hannah brought the back of the brush down on the crown of Audrey’s head with a gentle tap.

  With a glare at her friend, Audrey said, “That’s over now.”

  “You keep saying that.”

  Audrey shook her head. “This time it’s true.”

  With a tilt of her head, Hannah set the brush down. “You look sad.”

  “I am a little sad,” she admitted, too tired emotionally and physically to pretend she wasn’t hurt. “I suppose I’m realizing all I’m giving up by turning down Griffin’s proposal of marriage.”

  “He proposed to you?” Hannah screeched and Audrey’s brush bounced off the floor a second time.

  Lifting her hands to cover her ears, Audrey turned to her friend with a scowl. “You needn’t bring the whole house down. He did, a few days ago.”

  “And you turned him down, even though you’ve been in love with the man for more than five years?” Hannah dropped down on a chair by the window with thump. Her mouth was partly open as she stared at Audrey. Her green eyes demanded an explanation, but it wasn’t one Audrey was sure she could give.

  “It would be a marriage for the wrong reasons. ‘Companionship’, as Griffin put it, and desire aren’t love.”

  Her friend’s eyes grew even wider with disbelief. “They’re certainly the see
ds of such an emotion. And it’s better than most marriages. You care for him and he for you. That much is obvious from the way the man charges like a bull every time Douglas Ellison comes near you.”

  “But it isn’t love,” Audrey repeated, stubborn in her refusal to hear anything else. The last thing she needed were more regrets about Griffin. “If I wanted to marry for quiet companionship I’d have married Squire Teetle when my parents asked me to.”

  Hannah began to laugh, a rich throaty sound. But Audrey saw no humor in her current situation and sat staring evenly at her friend.

  “And what is so funny?”

  Wiping her eyes, Hannah said, “I don’t think you’d ever have quiet companionship with Griffin. You should know that much by now.”

  With her ire rising, Audrey straightened in her chair and put on her best haughty frown. “Just what do you mean by that?”

  “Well, I know you’ve spent at least one evening in his bed since you gave him your virtue in the carriage,” Hannah replied with an arched eyebrow and a pointed look.

  An embarrassed blush replaced Audrey’s haughtiness. Tearing her eyes away from her friend’s face, she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  An unladylike snort of laughter escaped Hannah’s throat. “I’ve known you a good many years, Audrey Jordan, don’t you forget that. You and Griffin have made love more than once and you can’t stop thinking about it. The reality is, it troubles you to be so out of control of your feelings and actions.”

  The blood that had made her face so hot now drained away from her cheeks as Audrey lifted her face to Hannah’s again. There was no use denying the facts to her hawk-eyed friend.

  “Does Noah know?”

  “No. But it’s affecting his friendship with Griffin nonetheless.”

  Audrey sighed as she closed her eyes with a nod. That much was obvious. In all the years the two men had known each other, Audrey had never seen them exchange more than a few playful jabs. Until this case. Until her. Since she’d come into the picture, they’d had several heated arguments and nearly come to blows.