As though he was not bound to slay her dragons this very evening.
He was all calm confidence as he bid her farewell as though he had not kissed her senseless the night before.
The other girls were strangely silent so she made a halfhearted attempt to jab a needle into her embroidery. She’d likely ruin the thing if she kept assaulting it like this, but what else was she to do with her restless hands as she waited for word that Rupert was all right?
She shifted uncomfortably, all too aware of Prudence’s unwavering gaze.
Prudence knew her too well, at times. And her words still stung. I suppose that means you like him now.
Her friend wasn’t trying to be cruel. She was just honest. She’d never hesitated on calling Delilah out on her moral flaws, and Delilah’s selfish desire for status, power, and yes, wealth—well, it was legendary.
She’d embraced her reputation as the spoiled debutante, and now she was stuck with it.
Because it was still true.
Wasn’t it?
“Delilah?” Addie’s voice was gentle. “Are you all right?”
Delilah lifted her head with a smile. “Fine.”
Addie still looked concerned. “They will be safe, you know.”
Delilah nodded. Tolston was with Rupert, and they had a handful of men, as well. They’d left two men here to guard her and the others, although everyone agreed that with Everley at the docks and distracted by his business, the security was most likely an unnecessary precaution.
As Tolston had said before they’d left. Only a desperate man or a fool would attack Delilah here, tonight when she was surrounded by friends and in a good neighborhood.
And besides... If all went well, she would be back with Rupert in his home by the time the moon was high overhead.
A desperate tightness in her chest stole her breath away. She could not wait to be back home with Rupert safe at her side.
Prudence reached a hand out to cover hers. “Are you so very worried about him then?”
Delilah thought to make a quip, to toss aside her friend’s concern. But in the end, she did not have the energy to feign nonchalance. “Yes.”
The other two girls studied her in silence and Delilah let them. What was the point of pretending?
“You care about him.” Prudence’s comment might have been sweet if she did not so stunned.
Delilah scowled. “Of course I care about him. I just told you that he kissed me, did I not?”
Prudence’s eyes went wide and she looked like an owl wearing those spectacles she only wore when embroidering or reading alone in her room. She might act all morally superior, but Prudence suffered her share of vanity.
“Yes, but I thought…” Prudence trailed off, her lips pursing in an expression befitting a peeved governess.
Addie leaned forward, stepping in as the peacemaker. “I think what Prudence meant was that she thought…that is, we believed…” She cleared her throat, casting a quiet look of desperation in Prudence’s direction.
“We thought you allowed him to kiss you because you’d learned of his status,” Prudence finished.
Delilah blinked as the words struck her chest. Of course her friends would think that. They would undoubtedly believe that she would only allow a man to kiss her so scandalously if she thought him to be proper husband material.
She had a sudden flash of Rupert’s eyes—so warm with affection, his arms around her so secure and stable, his voice so low and amused even when she was saying all the wrong things. The type of things that typically drove people away.
He would be wonderful husband material, but not because of his honorary title.
Because of him.
She bit her lip as unexpected tears filled her eyes causing her friends to lean toward her with alarm.
“Dee?” Prudence said, shock replacing her judgmental scowl. “Are you all right?”
No. She was not all right. Because the man who’d kissed her, the gentleman who was at this very moment riding off into the night to fight her battle, the man who’d held her and comforted her and who seemed to understand her as no other ever had…
He had proposed the other night.
Sort of.
In a manner of speaking.
And she’d rejected him.
She blinked rapidly to try and push the unshed tears away but only managed to make them trickle over so she was swiping at her eyes in dismay.
“Delilah,” Addie said slowly, gently. She shifted Reggie in her lap and used the same tone of voice she used when she was attempting to make her younger brother eat his peas. “Did you kiss Mr. Calloway before you knew he was the son of a marquess?”
Delilah hesitated and then nodded.
Prudence let out a gasp more befitting a melodrama at the theater.
Delilah frowned at her friend. “Really, Pru, it is not that shocking.”
Pru’s wide eyes begged to differ.
Delilah huffed. “He kissed me before last night as well,” she said. For some reason the truth was just pouring out of her tonight, and it was a relief. Focusing on Rupert and her feelings for him was better than wondering where he was now and what sort of danger he might meet upon his trip to the docks.
“When you believed him to be some sort of hired investigator?” Addie asked.
Delilah rolled her eyes. Was it really that difficult to understand? “Yes.”
“Because you…” Prudence looked around the room as if searching for an answer. “Because you felt so indebted to him for saving your life?”
Delilah frowned at her friend. Prudence was going to make her say it aloud. “No, you ninny. Because I…” She swallowed. “Because I like him.” She cleared her throat. “Quite a bit, actually.”
So much so that the word ‘like’ felt completely wrong on her tongue. So mild and unfeeling as to be meaningless.
“I see,” Prudence said.
It was clear that she did not.
But Addie did. The other girl was giving her a soft, sympathetic smile that spoke of understanding and empathy. “It is awfully overwhelming, is it not?”
Delilah shifted in her seat. “What is?”
“Falling in love.”
Delilah’s lungs stopped working. Her heart, on the other hand—her heart decided this was the moment to prove how hard it could work. It seemed like the organ might explode within her chest if it beat any harder.
Love.
Was this love?
She let out a long rush of air. Yes. That was precisely what this feeling was—the sensation that she’d forgotten herself entirely.
Or maybe that she’d found a new part of herself that she hadn’t known existed.
All she knew was that it was terrifying, this sense of suddenly needing another human being. But it was also…rather lovely, in a way. Not the needing, and not the fearing for his safety, but the knowledge that she could care about someone so thoroughly and completely. So blindly.
More than that, that someone could look at her the way he did, as though she were perfect, even with all her plentiful flaws.
Whenever she acted badly, he seemed to find it amusing, like he could see right past her sharp tongue and her harsh words to the heart of her. Like he knew her so well that try as she might, she would never scare him away.
He looked at her like she had true value. Like she was priceless, even if she did not have a fortune to give or a plot of land to bestow with her dowry. He held her in his arms as though he could honestly care about her and…
Well, she hoped that meant he loved her.
He did, didn’t he? He would not have kissed her, or offered to marry her, or taken such sweet care of her if he did not.
Right?
“Have you…” Prudence cleared her throat and shifted in her seat as though this talk of emotions made her ill at ease. Likely true. Prudence was not one to talk about romance or love. Unlike Louisa who was smitten with romance novels, and Addie who’d been smitten with Tolston sin
ce she’d arrived at the school, Prudence was distinctly uncomfortable with all talk of love. She tilted her head to the side with feigned composure. “Have you discussed the future?”
Delilah winced as if her friend had struck her. “Not quite.”
And right now that fact was killing her. Rupert had not mentioned marriage again after her disastrous response that first time.
And yet she’d let him kiss her.
And then she’d kissed him back.
Without a thought for her reputation or her future.
“Of course they haven’t,” Addie said with a sigh of exasperation. “Who could be concentrating on the future when Delilah’s very life is in danger.”
Delilah straightened at that and even Prudence looked a bit chastened at the reminder of what they were all doing here.
Waiting.
Delilah stood up with a start. “I cannot just sit here and embroider while Rupert is in danger.” She shot Addie and accusing glare. “How can you be so complacent?”
Addie sighed. “I am not. I’m terrified, but I know that Tolston and the others are well armed and they have the advantage of surprise.”
“Everley is not such a big man and he won’t be traveling with an army if he wishes to remain inconspicuous.” There were times when Prudence’s teacherly voice grated on Delilah’s nerves, but right now her didactic tone was reassuring.
She was right, of course. She and Addie likely had nothing to worry about.
It was just that Delilah would feel so much better when she saw Rupert again with her own two eyes.
And then she would demand that he marry her.
The thought struck her at once and was both ludicrous and…rather perfect, really. He ought to know better than to kiss a young lady without making promises. And she’d be sure that he did.
A nagging sensation in her gut told her she didn’t wish for him to propose because he had to or because he was morally obliged…
But she did wish him to propose.
It did not matter how or why, merely that he did.
She scowled down at her toes. If he did not love her yet, she would just have to make him, that was all.
Her hands clenched into fists. She would make that man love her if it was the last thing she did.
“Oh, Delilah, there you are.” Miss Grayson’s normal calm elegance was nowhere to be seen as she rushed into the room, her skirts whipping around her legs with her quick pace. “There’s a message for you from your home.”
Delilah took the missive from her with a frown. A message from home? It had to be from her stepmother. A quick look at the penmanship confirmed it but the unusually messy scrawl had her pulse quickening with alarm.
“Your family’s footman is waiting in the hallway,” Miss Grayson murmured, her pretty features tight with concern as Addie, Prudence, and even Reggie came to their feet to watch her read it.
“It’s my father,” she said through lips that had grown numb. “He has taken another turn for the worse.”
“Oh my heavens,” Miss Grayson said.
She heard Prudence murmur a prayer under her breath.
For Delilah’s part, a cold numbness swept over her as she waited for tears that did not come. “She’s asked me to hurry home, in case…”
She could not quite finish the sentence. In case he dies tonight. It was a strange emotion that clogged her throat and made speech temporarily impossible.
Sadness, yes. Grief, of course. But more than that it was regret.
Regret that she might lose her father this very night and she still only knew him as well as she might a distant uncle. Her memories of him accumulated to a handful of cold, loveless images, sounds, and interactions.
She looked down at the ground as she took a deep breath. But, even so, he was her father. And she would be there for him in his time of need.
“I must go,” she said, already hurrying toward the door.
“Wait,” Miss Grayson called out. “I cannot let you rush off alone. I will come with you.”
“No, please,” Delilah said. “You ought to stay here with the others. I will be safe in my own home.”
Addie was frowning in concern as she worried her lower lip. “At least take one of Tolston’s men as a guard. A precaution,” she said quickly as Delilah went to protest.
Delilah hesitated. “But there are more of you here, and Everley believes that I am with you and—”
“Please.” Miss Grayson reached for her hand. “As you said, there are more of us. If danger arises, we can battle Everley ourselves. But I don’t like the thought of you alone on the road again with only your family’s footman as your companion.”
Delilah swallowed. Truth be told, she didn’t like the thought of being on the road without Rupert. She only felt safe these days when he was at her side.
As if reading her thoughts, Addie gave her a small smile. “Do it for our sake. I don’t believe Mr. Calloway would ever forgive us if we let you leave here without a guard.”
Delilah choked on a laugh that was inexplicably mixed with tears.
Strange how she couldn’t quite summon tears for her father’s imminent death, but the mere thought of Rupert’s fear for her safety made her want to weep like a watering pot.
Perhaps because she knew for certain that whether he loved her or not, his fear for her safety was genuine. His feelings for her were sincere and they were deep…whether or not they included love.
Her heart swelled as she nodded. “Yes, all right. I will send word to let you know when I’ve arrived safely.”
Chapter Fourteen
Most stakeouts were a tedious bore interspersed with the odd bit of action.
Luckily for Rupert, tonight was another story entirely.
Delilah’s recounting of that diary entry was proven correct and Everley proved himself to be punctual…even when it came to crime.
“There he is,” Tolston murmured. “Right on time.”
Sure enough, they watched Everley exit an unmarked coach toward the end of the block before disappearing into a warehouse.
Tolston moved to open the door. “Let us get this over and done with so we can get back to our ladies.”
Despite the circumstances, Rupert found himself battling a ridiculous grin. Our ladies.
He thought of Delilah.
My lady.
If she would have him. The thought made him hesitate for a second as he led Tolston and the other men to surround the warehouse in question.
She would say yes. She’d have to. Her reputation would be in tatters once word spread about her broken engagement. Even if the end of their betrothal was not her fault, there was no way she’d escape unscathed. She’d be tainted by scandal no matter how this night ended.
The thought had him growling low in his throat as he drew close enough inside the warehouse to spot Everley and the man he was to meet. A roughened chap—a sailor, most likely.
If he could, Rupert would murder Everley right here and now for what he’d done to Delilah. It was bad enough he’d nearly harmed her, but no matter how badly he paid for his crimes there was no avoiding the fact that Delilah would suffer because of her attachment to him, no matter how brief it might have been.
Marrying a marquess’s son would help, but for the first time since he’d left high society he found himself regretting it. Oh, he loved his life of freedom and intrigue, but his renegade ways would do little to salvage Delilah’s reputation among the ton.
He’d give anything to suddenly have the respect of the society he’d eschewed just so long as his bride received the same respect.
His bride. His lips twitched again with barely concealed giddiness and he was forced to chide himself. Now was definitely not the time to lose his head over a lady.
Even if she was his lady.
Even if she was his love.
He stilled behind a stack of crates as a fear that had been plaguing him struck him anew. What if she did not feel the same?
Oh, he knew that she was attracted to him—not even Delilah could fake that sort of passionate response to his kisses. And he suspected she liked him.
But did she love him?
Would she say yes when he proposed again? And if she did, would it be because she needed him or because she wanted him?
Did it matter?
Yes. Yes, it did.
Tolston’s presence at his side brought him back to the moment. They were here for a job. One that would ensure Delilah’s safety. Everything else could wait until she was safely in his arms, where she belonged.
Tolston gave a jerk of his head in a signal to move closer and Rupert nodded, gesturing for to the men who waited behind them. A separate group would be closing in on the exits on the other side of the building in case Everley tried to run.
“It’s getting harder, my lord,” the sailor was saying as they drew close enough to hear.
Everley—that cold cruel man—he looked utterly unconcerned as he looked over the shipment the sailor had led him to.
“Don’t fret, Myers, it makes you look weak.”
The other man stiffened. “Sir, I’m merely pointing out that my men and I nearly got caught coming all the way into port, and—”
“Yes, as you mentioned with the last shipment,” Everley interrupted. “I told you then that I would handle it, did I not?”
The sailor shifted uneasily and Rupert shared a look with Tolston at Everley’s cold impatience.
“I’ll be inheriting a nice bit of land along the seaside soon enough, and our arrangement will resume under safer conditions.”
Rupert stiffened. Delilah had told him the details of her dowry and it included some land along the coast.
But Everley had said inherit.
“My bride will gift me the land on the sea that I require, and her untimely death will give me everything else I need.”
An icy fear gripped his heart as Rupert put the pieces together. The arranged marriage, his lack of attempt to woo her or even get to know her.
He’d never planned to keep her as his bride.
He just wanted to get the land that came with her dowry and then…what? Just kill her off? But why? Was he so very merciless? So undeniably evil?
The School of Charm: Books 1-5 Page 38
