The carriage came to a stop at the end of a long row of grand houses, all different in style, yet sizeable and imposing.
The doctor popped his head out of the window and ducked back in. “Here we are, Miss Claremont. We’ll not get the carriage up the road I fear. Too much traffic, but this is the street you’re after.” Lilly fished around in her purse to pay her part of the fare but Mr Smythe waved it away. “We have a daughter close to your age. I would hope someone else would show her some kindness too were she in your position.”
Lilly managed to bite back that she hoped their daughter was never in her position. A fallen woman trying to prevent her lover from murdering someone. It was like something out of a novel.
“I cannot thank you enough. I should have been thoroughly lost had I not met you.”
Mrs Smythe gave her an indulgent look. “Just be careful now. There are kind folk to be found but a lot of unscrupulous ones reside in London too.”
With a nod and another thank you, Lilly exited the carriage with the help of the driver. He pointed her towards a great red brick house, ignoring her murmured thanks and climbing back onto his seat. Lilly barely avoided being trampled as she made her way across the street. The drivers certainly seemed to be in a hurry.
Clutching her purse tight to her chest, she smiled as a gentleman tipped his hat to her but she felt her lips wobble. Would it be too late? What if Evan was not there? His staff might not allow her entrance to the house. None of them had met her though they likely knew about her thanks to Mrs Hargreaves. But who was to say they believed her?
Her heart jolted as a familiar figure strode up ahead. Was that Evan? There were so many well-dressed gentleman here it was hard to tell but she recognised his long-strided walk—one of determination. She clutched her skirts and hurried along but in the confines of her dress, her pace was no match for his.
He turned the corner and her heart climbed into her throat, making breathing difficult. Her ribs pressed urgently against her corset but with nowhere to go, she quickly grew breathless. She would lose him entirely if she was not careful.
She fell into a run—or at least as quick a pace as she could manage. Passers-by gave her a startled look and one woman cried out when she accidentally brushed her shoulder. Gaze intent on the corner Evan had disappeared around, Lilly barely gave her a glance and didn’t have time to apologise.
Rounding the corner, Lilly didn’t slow but swung her gaze around. On this street, the houses were close together and the cobbled road was narrower. Several groups of people cluttered the path, forcing her onto the road and nearly into a pile of horse excrement. A little thrill trilled inside her when she spotted Evan’s hat and broad shoulders across the road.
“Evan!” she called, aware her shout garnered many stares. “Evan!” she tried again.
He paused and turned slowly. She saw him scan the crowd and she waved frantically. He looked as though he had not spotted her so she snatched her skirts and hastened across the road, calling his name again.
When she got closer she heard him shout her name and he motioned with his hand. Too late, she realised he was not greeting her but signalling a warning. A carriage bore down on her, the rattle and thud of hooves almost deafening. She squealed and leapt back only to feel the breeze of another carriage behind her. Something caught her and scraped along her back, pulled her to the ground. Disorientated and aching, she found herself facing the cobbles. Her palms stung as she tried to push herself up.
In a trice, Evan was beside her and scooping her up. He carried her quickly to the other side of the road and set her on her feet. Pedestrians gaped but Lilly couldn’t bring herself to care. Her hands trembled as Evan lifted them to study her palms. She saw they were red and bleeding.
“What are you doing here, Lilly?” he asked. His voice sounded thick.
“What?”
“Why are you in London? What in the devil were you thinking?” He turned her around and she felt his fingers on her back. “Your dress is damaged,” he muttered, “but it will not draw attention.”
The touch made her aware of a sharp pain in her back. She fought to focus on his words but her head swam and blood rushed through her body too quickly. It made her legs shaky and her heart beat impossibly fast. She struggled to fill her lungs.
Concern softened his dark eyes as he turned her to face him and he clutched both her arms. “Deep breaths now,” he said softly. “That’s my girl. Let us get you home.”
Home. Funny how the word conjured up the image of Rushbourne House in Oxfordshire and not her mother’s house any longer. And of course, Evan was included in that picture. Sitting at the breakfast table, or lounging back in his office chair, or even sitting by the stream.
One hand to her elbow, he escorted her back to the red house. An older man opened the door and raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Have Mary bring up some warm water and tea. This is Miss Claremont and she’s had a shock.”
Evan led her upstairs and settled her on a carved mahogany bed. The furnishings here were grander than at the cottage yet they were also quite old fashioned. Not at all what she imagined. With its austere red curtains and gold flecked wall paper, it had an oppressive feel. The vase of flowers under a glass dome on top of the cast iron fire place did nothing to soften the room. Lilly shuddered but couldn’t be sure whether the decor was the cause. Evan kneeled in front of her and took her hands in his.
A young woman, perhaps only a few years older than her, with dark hair tucked under a cap entered with a tray. She set it on the table next to the bed.
“Do you need any help, my lord?”
“No, I’ll call you if I need anything, thank you, Mary.”
Once the maid had left, he began dabbing at the scratches on her hands. She might have been amused at him playing nursemaid but shock still coursed through her and the cuts stung.
“What were you doing?” he asked. This time his tone brokered no disapproval.
“Trying...” Lilly scowled when her teeth chattered. “Trying to catch up with you. Trying to stop you.”
“Stop me?”
“Yes. Mrs Hargreaves told me... she told me about what you did for that woman.” His brow furrowed and his expression darkened. “I know about Eleanor. Please, Evan, don’t do anything foolish.”
His lips tightened and he set aside the cloth. “You know then what her husband did to her?”
“Yes.” Lilly wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Then you know that I was the cause of that and I must put it right.”
“No!” She leaned forward and took his hands in hers, ignoring the stinging it caused. “You must not. You are not to blame for his behaviour. You cannot control another man’s actions. It’s a horrible, horrible thing to have happened but at least Eleanor knew not all men are like that. At least someone showed her some kindness. Don’t be like her husband.”
She heard his teeth grind and she waited, only the ticking of a clock and her breaths breaking the silence.
“I shall call him out for a duel. There is no dishonour in that.”
“And if you die? Who should continue to help these women? And what of the other lady? If you are dead, she will have lost her protection.”
He stood, tore his hands from hers. She winced and tears welled in her eyes. Pain and frustration filled her. How could he not see how important he was to these women? To... to her? She bit back a sob. It was clear now. She loved him. Maybe she had done for a while, it was hard to tell. But he could not die. Nothing would be more painful than that. Lilly would rather he survived and went on to marry a society lady than die from a gunshot.
Evan closed his eyes briefly, shoulders dropping. When he opened them, he sank back down in front of her.
“Don’t cry, Lilly,” he soothed, hands wrapped around her waist.
She sank into him, allowing him to press his head against her chest. She cradled him there but couldn’t be sure who was comforting whom. Her heart b
eat heavily against him and she ran her fingers through his hair over and over, making her wonder when he removed his hat.
“Please don’t do it, Evan,” she begged through a tight throat. More tears welled and this time escaped onto her cheeks.
He sighed audibly. “I will not,” he said against her chest before lifting his gaze to hers and swiping away the tears. “For you, dear Lilly, I will not.”
A bubble of relief escaped her in a nonsensical sound and Evan drew back to fish his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket. He dabbed away the rest of her tears and came to sit on the bed beside her.
“Now don’t be upset.” He put a hand around her and she grimaced as pain speared down her back. He scowled and twisted her so her back was facing him. “That carriage caught you, did it not? Lord, Lilly, you scared me out of my wits. I thought you were going to be trampled in front of me.”
She swallowed hard. The words warmed her regardless of what he really meant. While she loved him, perhaps he only cared for her. She suspected his feelings were stronger than lust now, but it mattered little. Nothing would change between them because her circumstances would never change. Be it weeks or a year, eventually they would part.
“You scared me more. I thought you were going to die or get arrested. I would say we are even.”
Evan muttered a curse and he tugged at her gown. Air breezed over her back and he skimmed his fingers across the sore scratch on her back. “We shall never be even. There is no way you could have been more terrified than I.” Warm lips pressed suddenly to her back and she jolted at the sensation while shivers travelled up and down her body. “No real damage,” he murmured against her skin, “but you shall have a fine bruise.”
His lips continued their path over her skin and he finally worked her dress off her shoulders to press his lips from one shoulder to the other. Lilly’s head lolled back and she surrendered to the delicious heat spearing her core.
She soon found her ordeal forgotten and all the horrors of the day vanished as he helped her remove her clothing and stripped himself of his to join her on the bed. As he pressed her into the blankets and united them as one, Lilly knew nothing would be the same again. This time, for her at least, they were truly making love and she poured her soul into him as they crested. From this day on, her heart would never quite be complete.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was a risky business taking Lilly out in Hyde Park. All would spot her and the gossip would circulate before long. Everyone would question who this mysterious woman was and someone likely knew the answer. He was going to expose Lilly to a vicious and horrible world.
But when he glanced at the beautiful woman beside him, her curls fluttering in the breeze as he guided the carriage past the statues and delicate spring blooms, he could not regret it. Her eyes were wide with delight and her lips parted. He had spent so much time in London, the excitement of being in the busy city had long since waned but through Lilly’s eyes he began to see it for the vibrant, exhilarating place it was.
Still, he intended to take her back to Oxfordshire as soon as possible. Once he had spoken with a magistrate he knew on the likelihood of opening an investigation into Eleanor’s death, they could leave. If only Whitley stopped taking so long dallying around the country with his new bride. Damn the man. He didn’t wish to risk Lilly being exposed to further derision.
He directed the horse to take them over the Serpentine River. With the fine weather, people from all classes crowded the lake and several other open carriages drove past, their passengers nodding in greeting.
Evan masked a yawn and forced himself to concentrate on driving the carriage. Avoiding the people on bicycles was no easy task. He bit back a curse as one zipped past him. He and Lilly had made love more times than he could count the past few days but that was not what fatigued him. No, a dream had come to him the previous night, or more aptly described as a nightmare. The carriage had struck Lilly fully in his imaginings and she had been nothing but a crumpled mess by the end of it.
The vision still haunted him and stabbed his heart with knifelike sensations. He had come far too close to losing her. He shook his head at himself. All the while, the echo of time passing resounded in his head, reminding him their days together were limited. Inevitably he would lose her and there was little to be done about it.
Lilly’s hand snuck under his jacket and she laid her white glove on top of his thigh. He bit back a groan and glanced at her to see her impish smile. She wore a gown of teal—or so she had told him when he had declared he liked her in green—that made her pale skin lustrous and her coral pink lips divinely kissable. How a mere dress did that, he could not fathom, but somehow she grew more beautiful every day.
Her heavy skirts brushed his legs as she leaned into him. “Thank you for bringing me out.”
Evan felt his heart melt a little. What was the woman doing to him? That she had come all the way to London to stop him from acting rashly still astounded him. Yet, it shouldn’t have. Had he not already learned of her impulsive, bold nature? And inevitably, she’d been right. He couldn’t put Mrs Davenport at risk out of his thirst for revenge.
And he could not be parted from Lilly yet. She acted like a balm to his temper. His annoyance at the bicyclists vanished with her sweet touch. Confident he had the ability to hold it in check with her, he planned to keep her for the year as planned. Frankly, he dreaded parting with her at all.
“We shall return to Oxfordshire in a few days,” he told her, “but I shall endeavour to show you what sights I can.”
“I appreciate that you cannot take me everywhere,” she replied so softly he had to lean in to hear her.
His gut curdled. That society should see this wonderful woman as anything other than special made his lips tighten. And he had done nothing to help her reputation. Not only was she illegitimate but she was now fallen. All thanks to his greed. Still, if anyone could withstand salacious gossip and being snubbed by ignorant folk, it was Lilly.
Evan glanced at the sky and noted the gathering clouds. It might not rain but he would not take the chance. Whether her assertion that she never got sick was correct or not, he refused to risk her getting wet.
Steering the carriage out through the grand arches, he headed back to the house. In spite of the busy roads, it didn’t take long. Kensington was within walking distance of the park but a carriage ride was a superb way of not only seeing the sights but keeping Lilly away from wagging tongues.
He pulled the carriage to a stop and aided Lilly down. A delightful rosy hue graced her cheeks and he found himself longing to brush his lips over them. Damnation, would this desire for her never cease growing?
As she took the last step down a crack resounded through the air and splinters of wood flew around him. Lilly stumbled and fell against him. It took a moment for him to recognise the sound.
“Bloody hell.”
A gunshot. For one God-awful moment, he thought she had been shot, but it seemed she had just been startled into stumbling. He dragged Lilly from the carriage and towards the house. Another bang echoed and he shoved her in front of him as he urged her to walk faster. Stone pinged off the wall in front of them and Evan instinctively ducked, dragging her lower with him so that his body shielded hers.
The front door opened and they tumbled inside. “Shut the damn door, Higgins,” he commanded. “Someone is bloody well shooting at us.”
Door shut, Higgins eyed him with confusion. Evan ignored the look and cast his gaze over Lilly. “Are you harmed?” A tiny streak of blood marred those cheeks he had been admiring, and he drew out a handkerchief and placed it to her skin.
“I’m fine.” She held it in place and allowed him to frantically pat his hands all over her, reassuring himself she was unharmed. “Evan, was someone really shooting at us?”
“I believe so.” Two shots, one after the other and too close to hitting them could not be blamed on a ricochet. He glanced at the butler. “Higgins, have Mary fetch some t
ea. Lilly, you should go to your bed. You’ve had a fright.”
Her eyes hardened. “Don’t be silly, I am fine. I shall sit and gather my breath for a moment. Come, Evan, let us retreat to the drawing room.”
“The shooter may still be out there. I shall not have you in the front of the house,” he pointed out. “Go to the dining room. Higgins, where are my pistols?”
“In the pantry, my lord.”
“You cannot be thinking of going out there?” Lilly declared.
He dropped his grip from her arms and nodded. “If you think I am waiting here for some madman to batter down the door or shoot you through the window, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“Shoot me? Why should someone shoot me?” She grabbed his arm as he turned to fetch his guns. “Don’t go out there,” she pleaded.
“What shall you have me do? Send Mr Higgins?”
Higgins arched a brow, telling him his butler would indeed happily face down a lunatic gunman but Evan ignored the look.
“Stay here. Someone is bound to report the noise to the police. Let them deal with it.” The grip on his arm increased. Her nails dug into him through his jacket.
“You overestimate the London bobbies, Lilly. They are far too busy to attend what someone thought sounded like a gunshot. Now, be a good girl and do as I tell you.” She scowled and he knew he was going to pay for that remark later. If he survived, of course. “I will not come to harm, I swear it.”
He spotted the fear burning bright in her eyes as she nodded. Lilly walked stiffly to the dining room while he escorted her in. He shut the door firmly and strode off to get the pistols. Once he had them in hand, he handed one to Higgins. “Should anyone but me try to enter the house, shoot them.”
Higgins nodded gravely.
“And tell the staff to stay away from the windows.”
“My lord, do you think it is wise—”
“Since when do you question my actions?”
“Since you decided to face down a gunman on your own,” he replied, nonplussed.
“I shall not sit idly by while someone takes shots at my... at Lilly. Now, step aside.”
Tempting His Mistress Page 19
