by Wolf, Bree
“No,” Louisa called out before the young woman could slink away. She shook her head and inhaled a deep breath, then stepped forward. “I’m sorry, too. To be quite honest, you surprised me with your request. Yet, it is not unwelcome. Although I still find myself struggling, I am more than happy to assist you in any way I can.”
Lady Agnes beamed at her. “Truly?”
Louisa nodded, feeling strangely light and unburdened. “Truly.”
“Louisa!”
At the call of her name, Louisa turned around and spotted her two younger sisters rushing toward her. Alarm stood on their faces, their eyes wide and full of urgency. “Louisa, you must come! Quickly!” Harry exclaimed, not even glancing at Lady Agnes. Then she seized Louisa’s hand and began dragging her away, Chris by her side. “Come quickly!”
Louisa frowned, looking from one sister to the other. “What is this about? What did you do?”
Chris shook her head, and her golden curls danced wildly through the air. “We did nothing,” she assured her, the look upon her face suggesting something most alarming, nonetheless. “But it seems Sarah and Phineas have gotten themselves into a bit of a bind.”
A jolt went through Louisa’s heart. “Phineas?” Her steps quickened. “What happened?”
By now, they were all but running down the corridor, the distant sound of voices drifting to their ears. “I insist that you marry her,” Louisa heard Lady Hartmore’s rather shrill voice as they pulled to a halt outside the conservatory.
Many guests were assembled in the doorway, blocking their view, and it took some time to wind their way through the crowd.
“I will not,” Phineas said in a dark voice the moment Louisa and her sisters managed to fight their way through. “Nothing happened. We merely had…something to discuss.”
At that, Sarah nodded, her tear-streaked face unusually pale. “He speaks the truth, Mother,” she replied, the tone in her voice strangely accusatory. “We only talked. Nothing else happened.”
Lady Hartmore scoffed, “I find that hard to believe,” she replied, her eyes sweeping over the assembled guests, most of whom were whispering most intently amongst themselves. “I came here with the sole intention of showing this beautiful conservatory to my dear friends, and what do I find here? My darling daughter alone with a most disreputable rake.” She shook her head in disapproval. “Indeed, what mother would not insist they marry? My dear, you have your reputation to consider.” She turned hard eyes on Phineas. “As do you, Lord Barrington. I suggest you think long and hard before you answer.”
Louisa stared at the scene in bewilderment. She could see anger in Phineas’ eyes, not guilt. How on earth had this happened?
Clearly refusing to be intimidated, Phineas drew himself up to his full height as he glared down at Lady Hartmore. “Perhaps you ought to do the same,” he said in a menacing tone, his dark eyes appearing almost black. “Do you think so little of your daughter that you feel the need to trap her into marriage?”
More whispers arose from behind Louisa, but she tried her best to ignore them, her gaze fixed on Lady Hartmore’s face. “I feel nothing of the kind,” she exclaimed heartily. “Why would you ask such a thing? Especially after you’ve already kissed her? Do you deny it? That you kissed my daughter in this very house only a year ago?”
To Louisa’s utter shock, Phineas gritted his teeth and said, “I do not. However—”
“Then why would you refuse to do the right thing? Are you not a gentleman?”
Phineas’ words hit her like a punch to her midsection. She almost groaned in pain, her knees growing weak. Was this true? Of course, it was. After all, Phineas had just admitted to it. Had he truly kissed Sarah while chasing after her, Louisa? Had she misunderstood him? Had whatever had been between them been nothing more than a flirtation? Could she have been so utterly wrong?
Overwhelmed, Louisa longed for solitude. She was about to whirl around and fight her way out of the room when a familiar wrinkled hand settled upon her arm. “You need to hear this, my dear,” Grandma Edie whispered beside her, her grip strangely strong for such an old woman.
Blinking, Louisa looked down at her, wondering where she had come from and how long she had already been standing there. “Grandma?”
Giving her a warm smile, Grandma Edie patted her hand. “Listen.”
Reluctantly, Louisa turned back to look upon Phineas, her grandmother’s iron grip giving her the strength she needed to remain where she was and listen.
As though he could feel her eyes upon him, Phineas looked up in that moment and saw her. He tensed, a muscle in his jaw twitching, and his teeth ground together. Wild emotions stood in his dark eyes, and for a moment, she thought he might stride forward and seize her. He had done so before in these kinds of moments, moments that thudded wildly in his veins as much as in hers. But he remained still, his gaze shifting back to Lady Hartmore. “I kissed your daughter under a sprig of mistletoe,” Phineas clarified, “which I assume you know.” His brows rose, daring her to contradict him.
Displeasure flickered over the lady’s face, but she quickly recovered. “That does not matter,” she stated simply. “The facts remain. You compromised my daughter and are thus required to do the honorable thing.”
Anger emanated from Phineas, and he took a menacing step closer to Lady Hartmore.
The woman flinched and almost took a step back. “Was it not you, who sent my daughter a note asking her to meet him in the library only a few months back?”
Sarah gasped in shock, her eyes wide as she stared at her mother. “How do you know this?” she demanded breathlessly. “I never told you about the note I’d received. I never told anyone, and I burned the note. How do you know?”
Phineas chuckled darkly, “I assume she knows because she was the one who wrote it. Is that not true?” he demanded, rounding on Lady Hartmore. “It is what you wanted, is it not? For your daughter to be compromised? To be forced into marriage?” He shook his head, disgust turning his lips into a snarl. “Do you honestly believe you have the right to manipulate everyone around you as you see fit? Is that not the most dishonorable way of treating one’s family and friends?” He turned to look at Sarah, and the look in his eyes softened. “She’s your daughter, and you’ve treated her without respect. I have no doubt that one day a most fortunate man will call her his wife.” His eyes moved to settle upon Louisa. “But I am not that man.”
Louisa felt a shuddering breath leave her lips as she stared across the small space at Phineas. The whispers in her back receded, and she was barely aware of her grandmother still holding on tightly to her arm.
All she could see was him.
Phineas.
And then Louisa heard her grandmother bring down her walking stick hard upon the marble floors. “Well, I suppose all has been said,” she exclaimed, releasing Louisa’s arm and turning toward the crowd. “Out you go! Out!” And swinging her walking stick in a rather uncoordinated fashion, Grandma Edie managed to clear the room of people in record time.
“I assure you I did nothing of the kind,” Lady Hartmore hissed under her breath, indignation in her voice. Still, her cheeks blazed red-hot, marking her a liar before she turned and fled the room.
Louisa blinked as Sarah suddenly appeared before her. “I’m so very sorry,” her sister’s dearest friend exclaimed, large tears glistening in her eyes. “I had no idea. Never would I trick a man into marrying me. I could never be happy, knowing that his heart was not mine.” She glanced over her shoulder at Phineas, then looked back at Louisa. “And his heart clearly belongs to you.”
Louisa blinked, afraid to believe her ears. Then she looked up and found Phineas standing beside Sarah. “She’s right, you know.”
“Come, dear girl,” Grandma Edie said gently, ushering Sarah toward the door. “You two as well.” Reluctantly, Chris and Harry followed, and then the door closed behind them.
Once again, her grandmother was leaving her alone with Phineas Hawke.
&nb
sp; Louisa could not help but smile. Perhaps her grandmother had been right all along. Who would have thought?
Chapter Thirty-Six
One Down
Phineas inhaled a deep, steadying breath as the room slowly cleared of people. The last one to leave was Louisa’s grandmother, and as she walked past him, her watchful eyes looking up into his, she whispered, “One down. Five more to go.” Then she chuckled and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Phineas grinned after the dowager, who had once more succeeded in locking him and Louisa in a room—alone. In truth, he would not be surprised if she had indeed locked the door.
“You received a note?” Louisa asked unexpectedly, her blue eyes settling on his. He saw uncertainty there as well as the need for reassurance.
Phineas nodded, stepping toward her. “I did. It was months ago.”
A deep frown came to her face. “And you went to meet her?”
Reaching for her hands, Phineas held them tightly within his own. “I thought the note was from you,” he told her slowly, needing her to hear him, to believe him. “It was only a few words, signed with an L. I didn’t think for a moment that it could be from anyone else.”
Louisa remained still, her eyes drifting left and right as she thought, mulling all he had said over in her head. “It must’ve been before you found out that…” She lifted her gaze to look up at him.
Phineas nodded. “I did not know then, and when I found out, I no longer thought of the note.” He moved closer, slipping his hands around her middle. “I had other things on my mind by then.”
The hint of a blush came to her cheeks at his suggestive words, telling him that she understood quite well what he was referring to. “Is that so?” she asked, a hint of the familiar banter back in her voice.
“It is.”
For a long moment, they merely looked at one another, all that had just passed lingering in the air around them. “Are you all right?” Phineas finally asked, still feeling a slight tremble in her frame.
Louisa heaved a deep sigh. “That, I cannot say. Suddenly, this question seems much more complicated than it once did.” Her hands moved up his arms and then drew down over his chest, her fingers curling into his lapels. She gave him a slight tug, her eyes snapping up to look into his. “Tell me everything. Now.”
And Phineas did, leaving nothing out. “I never meant to go behind your back,” he assured her. “Or keep anything from you. I only meant to help. I thought if you knew that you were not the only one who struggled with this…If you knew that there were others…”
“And the kiss?” she demanded, her green eyes blazing with something that resembled jealousy.
Phineas could not deny that he liked the way she looked at him, a possessive twinkle in her eyes. He laughed, pulling her closer, “Jealous?”
“Yes!” Louisa replied, surprising them both.
For a heartbeat or two, they remained still, utterly unmoving, breathing the same air, their eyes locked. Then Phineas said, “Good” and pulled her into a kiss.
And Louisa reciprocated in kind. She did not pull away or resist in any way. No, to Phineas’ delight, she sank into his arms with the same desperate urgency he felt pulse in his own veins.
Only a few moments ago, all had seemed lost. Although Phineas had never had the intention of doing the right thing and marrying Miss Mortensen, Louisa could not have known it. And he, on the other hand, had feared that she might not be able to see past his thoughtless betrayal of her secret.
All had been uncertain only a few moments ago. And now?
Wrenching his lips away, Phineas stared at her. “I need to ask you something,” he gasped breathlessly, delighting in the small noise of discontent she made when he broke their kiss.
“Then ask it quickly,” Louisa ordered before she pushed herself up onto her toes and reclaimed his lips.
Kissing her back, Phineas felt passion flared to life, overruling all rational thought. Need burnt in his veins, only tampered by the deep emotions warming his heart. “You’re a fierce one, are you not?” he chuckled against her lips.
“Don’t act surprised.” Louisa pulled back, her green eyes dark as she smiled up at him. “What did you want to ask me?”
Without another thought, Phineas blurted out, “Marry me!”
Louisa stilled, her eyes going wide as she stared at him. “That’s not a question,” was all she said, looking utterly stunned.
Phineas, too, had to admit that he could have phrased his request differently. “I’m sorry.” He swallowed, feeling an oddly vulnerable smile coming to his lips. “Will you marry me, Lulu?”
For an agonizingly long second, Phineas thought she would refuse him. Indeed, it had been a poor choice to use the nickname she loathed above all others in this very moment. Still, that nickname held a different meaning for him!
“You know you deserve a slap for that, don’t you?” she asked him instead of answering his question. Still, the corners of her lips strained upward, and soon she grinned at him from ear to ear, her eyes aglow in the dim light streaming in through the windows.
“Is that a yes?” Phineas dared to ask, tightening his hold on her as he dipped his head, his nose brushing against hers.
Louisa inhaled a bit of a fluttering breath. “Are you certain? I’ve just made a bit of a fool of myself, revealing to all that—”
“Yes!” Phineas replied, not feeling the slightest hint of doubt in his heart. “I want you. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or thinks; I want you. You!”
Tears suddenly misted in her eyes. “Good!” she replied as he had before, pulling him into another life-changing kiss.
“My own reputation is not sparkling like gold, either,” Phineas warned her as they came up for air. “Perhaps you should consider how a connection to me might impact your life.”
Panting, Louisa clung to him. “It might not be wise,” she mumbled, kissing him again, “but it feels right.”
“Is that a yes?” Phineas asked again, reluctant to break their kiss, but equally determined to have his answer.
“Yes!” Louisa finally said, but then added, “Under one condition.”
Phineas nodded, holding his breath.
“No more lies,” Louisa stated, a strange severity lingering in her green eyes. “No more secrets. No more protecting. No more good intentions.”
“I’m not allowed to protect you?” Phineas teased, wondering if he would ever tire of doing so. He rather doubted it.
Louisa rolled her eyes at him, and Phineas knew he would not tire of that, either. “You know what I mean,” she rebuked him. “People always find excuses for justifying something they know they should not do.” She shook her head. “Let’s not be like them. I want you to trust that I’m strong enough to bear whatever comes our way. Do you not want the same? For me to see you as my equal, a man I can always count on, a man I trust without hesitation, a man I can lean on whenever I need to.”
Phineas knew she would slap him. Still, he could not resist and said, “Of course, I see you as an equal.” He fought hard to maintain a straight face. “However, I might have some difficulties seeing you as a man I can always count on, a man I trust without h—”
As expected, a dark glare came to Louisa’s eyes before her open hand connected rather painfully with his upper arm. Indeed, the woman was not one to hold back, and he loved that about her. “Can you not ever be serious?” she demanded, annoyance in her voice. “How will I ever know when and if you mean what you say?” She was about to say more, but then stilled, the playful spark that had been in her eyes despite the glare she had directed at him slowly extinguishing. Her face became thoughtful, and her eyes distant, her mind no doubt lingering upon something else.
Gently, Phineas placed a hand on her shoulder. “What is it?”
Louisa blinked, and her green eyes returned to him. “Why did you tell Lord Pemberton about me? Why did you not ask me before you spoke to him?” Taking a step back, she crossed her
arms over her chest, then lifted her chin. There was vulnerability in the way she looked at him. Still, her posture spoke of someone determined not to bow her head but to stand tall no matter what.
“As I said before, I only wanted to help,” Phineas said honestly, knowing that the truth was exactly what Louisa had just demanded of him. “After what you told me about the difficulties you faced, I felt reminded of him, of my old friend from Eton.” He shrugged, looking at her with all the sincerity he could. “I admit, I did not think. Yes, it was wrong of me to talk to him without consulting you first. But I meant no harm, I assure you. I simply did not wish to give you hope when I could not be certain that he would agree to lend his assistance, to speak to you and to reveal how he himself struggled with this.” He reached out to grasp her hands once more, relieved when she allowed him. “Will you forgive me for being a thoughtless fool?”
Her gaze softened, and he could see that she was trying hard not to smile. Still, after a heartbeat or two, she lost the battle, and the corners of her mouth drew upward. “I will this time,” she told him, her forefinger raised in warning. “Nevertheless, this is the one and only time I will allow you to get away with such a lame excuse. Next time, there will be severe repercussions.” A devilish smile came to her face.
Phineas laughed “I must say I rather like this wicked side of you,” he whispered to her, pulling her closer into his embrace. “I hope to see it more often.” As she lifted her face to his, Phineas lowered his head in turn, determined to pick up where they had left off.
Unfortunately, before he could reclaim her lips, Louisa jerked backward out of his arms, her eyes wide and a hint of horror coming to her face. “Oh, no!”
A cold shiver ran down Phineas’ back. “What is it? What happened?”
“Oh, no! No! No! No!” Backing away, Louisa shook her head from side to side, her gaze still distant and unseeing. Then she spun around, and pulling open the door, made to rush out.