by Aileen Fish
Lord Downham wanted to see her alone. This must be the moment she was waiting for. He was going to propose.
~*~
Laurence no longer heard what the man next to him was saying. Downham had whispered something to Hannah that made her blush brightly. Then the man walked away, weaving his way through the crowded room and out the doors. A voice in Laurence’s head told him something was wrong. “Excuse me, gentlemen. Enjoy your evening.”
Striding as quickly as he could without jostling people aside, Laurence followed the earl into the hallway. In one direction candles lined the walls, but the other direction was dark. A door opened near the end of that hallway, casting light in the darkness, enough to see Downham slip inside and shut the door behind him.
The hairs on the back of Laurence’s neck prickled. He checked to make certain no one paid any attention and he continued down the hall. A door to his left stood open, the room inside dark, so he stepped within to wait. Only a short time later he heard light footfalls drawing closer. He peered around the doorway.
In the light from the opposite hall, he could make out Hannah’s features. He quickly grabbed her arm, slipped a hand over her mouth to cover her gasp of surprise, and pulled her into the room. He shut the door quietly behind him.
Hannah pounded a fist on his chest. “You frightened me! What are you about?”
“I’m more concerned about what you are up to. Please tell me you took a wrong turn. The withdrawing rooms and the card room are in the other direction.”
She turned away as if he could see her expression. The act alone confirmed what he feared. She’d been planning to join Downham. Hannah moved toward the window where the moon shone brightly. Tugging on a pale ringlet, she said, “I was merely escaping the heat and the noise of the ballroom. What on earth are you doing, sitting here in the dark?”
He wasn’t about to admit to it. “The same. I happened to notice an acquaintance of yours had also left the festivities.”
She turned her head to stare out the window. “Really? Who might that be?”
Laurence closed the distance between them, stopping near enough he could feel the heat from her body. Her lilac perfume drifted up to him, the scent calming some of the anger he’d felt when he entered the room. “Your friend, Lord Downham.”
“Oh, I thought he’d gone to play cards.”
“Your mother has warned you about meeting with men alone, hasn’t she?”
“Do you mean as we are now?”
“You know very well what I mean, Hannah. Men like Downham will take advantage of you more quickly than you can say ‘boo’.” Especially when they stood so close to a beautiful young woman with such a graceful neck and subtle scent. The temptation was too great for most men. Thank goodness she was like family to him.
“I’ll have you know he was going to propose to me,” she argued.
“Did he say so directly? In that case, I apologize for thinking so little of him. He’s spoken to Knightwick already, has he?”
She ducked her head. “If he has, neither Knightwick nor Mama has mentioned it. Perhaps he wished to make certain I’d accept before seeking permission.”
“Or perhaps he had other motives for encouraging you to leave your mother’s side.”
Hannah spun and faced him, her features in shadow. “You, of all men, should know how a man behaves. You’ve never had an assignation at a ball, is that what you’re trying to tell me? You didn’t gain your reputation as a rakehell through paying morning calls.”
His eyebrow raised. “Is that where you were heading? For an assignation? I should drag you back to Lady B’s side and tell her never to let you out of her sight.”
“Oooh, that isn’t what I meant. I told you he only wished to propose to me.”
“A proposal can be done in a lady’s drawing room. You can’t be so trusting. Men like Downham will take more than kisses and lose interest once they’ve had what they want.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “You know nothing about men who are planning to marry. You think they are all like you and wish to flit from lady to lady.”
“Is that what you think of me?” He had difficulty keeping his voice low enough to not be discovered. “Be honest with me, Hannah. Just because I haven’t looked to take a wife, you believe I’m taking advantage of half the ton?”
Peering up at him, Hannah shook her head. The ringlets around her face bounced. “I know you better than that. I’m simply angry with you for treating my like a child. “I’m twenty years old now, old enough to take care of myself.”
“Age and innocence don’t grow equally. I pray you never lose your innocence.”
“I’m tired of waiting. I want to kiss a man. Amelia tells me it’s the most wondrous thing, and after two Seasons I only have her word on it. I admit it—I’d hoped Downham would kiss me after he proposed. Is it so shocking to want a kiss?”
“If it stopped with a kiss, no, it wouldn’t be scandalous, but I doubt he would have stopped there.”
Hannah grunted. “All men aren’t like you, Laurence.”
She thought he had no self-control. She had no idea the control he maintained a the moment. She wanted a kiss, did she? And she didn’t think he could stop with just one? The girl was playing with fire and had no notion of the fact.
“Don’t push me, Hannah.”
“See you admit as much. Let me pass. Let me go speak to Lord Downham.”
If he let her walk away now she’d go straight to the earl and most likely demand a kiss, simply to prove she could. Laurence couldn’t bear the idea.
Before he could think it through, he gasped her shoulders and pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. He sensed her gasp, felt the softening of her lips just before she leaned into him. Her hands were pressed against his chest but not pushing him away. His own tension slipped away as he brought his hand up to cup the back of her head.
Sanity caught up with him. What was he doing? He stepped back abruptly but couldn’t bring himself to apologize. The look she gave him made his gut drop. Confusion, questions… He should be seeing shock, anger. She should slap him, pound on his chest for being so rude, so unforgivably brazen.
He wanted to hug her, to take it back.
Visions of her continuing down the hall to meet that whoreson crept back into his thoughts, annihilating any trace of guilt Laurence felt. He gently brushed his thumb over Hannah’s lower lip. “Now you will have that between you and any other man who tries to kiss you.”
He turned and left the room before he kissed her again.
~*~
Hannah’s fingertips traced over the skin where Laurence’s thumb had stroked her lip. A kiss was nothing like Amelia had described it. Exciting was too pale a word to communicate all the sensations that had rushed through her body. The butterflies, the melting of her bones to the point she thought she’d end up a puddle at Laurence’s feet.
The hunger for something she didn’t really understand.
If he’d tried to do anything more to her she wouldn’t have stopped him. Now she understood why everyone worked so hard to keep young people apart. How easily she’d lost the desire to remain proper.
Would she feel the same after a kiss from Lord Downham?
At the moment, Hannah didn’t care to find out. She didn’t want to share this feeling with anyone else, not even the man she hoped to marry. She didn’t care if that made her wicked and undeserving of a good husband. As she lay on her pillow tonight, she’d run through the kiss in her mind, savor every moment of it, then tuck it away so tomorrow she could waken with a clear mind.
Chapter Eight
Laurence woke to screams and sharp yapping, and thunder like no little feet could possible produce. His heart pounded until he realized those were happy noises. He reached for his pocket watch on the table beside his bed. Ten o’clock. At this hour the only noise that made him happy was the sound of his own snores.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. As he did, his ac
tions of the night before came back to him. Dear Lord, what had he been thinking? To kiss the sister of his life-long friends?
He hadn’t been thinking, that was his problem. These possessive feelings he had for Hannah must be controlled, must be smothered before he did damage to her reputation.
To her heart.
If he were to apologize now, which he couldn’t do without risking revealing their secret, it would be an insult to her. She’d likely believe he didn’t want to kiss her, not that he knew the extreme impropriety he’d forced on her.
Knightwick and David would have his head. Laurence prayed they’d never hear of it. Losing their friendship would be almost as bad as losing Hannah’s. The entire Lumley family would refuse to acknowledge him any more. He’d lose everyone close to him over one foolish whim. One moment’s loss of self-control.
Stupid, stupid man. In a single act he’d threatened everything he held dear.
Another squeal came from the nursery above his room. All right, not everything he held dear. Yet she would be the innocent victim of any backlash that came from Laurence’s actions, if anyone were to learn of it. His reputation as a rakehell would be sealed, and likely not forgotten by the time Louisa was old enough to seek a husband.
He needed to rise and go see the child, and work harder to earn her trust. And maybe consider finding a home in the country, or making the repairs the castle in Oakhurst might need, so the two of them might escape Town. It was becoming quite apparent the was not the best place for Laurence to remain.
As he sat at his dining table—another entirely new experience, breakfast in the morning, at a table—he read the morning paper, briefly skimming over the financial news to be certain his interests fared well. How odd to now be concerned about them. He had enough money to live comfortably through the longest of lifetimes and leave enough behind to see Louisa and her eventual family equally well off.
His butler paused in the doorway. “Lord Knightwick is here to see you, sir.”
“Show him into my study, Gilly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Folding the paper and setting it on the table, Laurence drew in a deep breath. Knightwick knew about the kiss.
Knightwick stood by the bookcase, studying the titles. When he saw Laurence, he said, “You’ve come by quite a collection in such a short time. I never knew you to be a reader.”
“I’m not. Some came with the house, and your mother ordered several she felt would improve my mind.”
Smiling, Knightwick nodded. “That sounds like Mother.”
“Shall I call for some coffee?” Laurence motioned to a chair before he sat behind his desk.
“No, I have errands to run. I must to speak to you on a certain matter of some urgency.”
Here it came. Laurence waited for the dressing down. He was surprised at the calm demeanor Knightwick was able to maintain, when the situation gave him leave to come to blows with no one thinking ill of him.
“Mother says you’ve been seen at more than a few assemblies of late.”
“Yes. It would seem I’ll go to any means to appear respectable.” Laurence waited for the outburst.
“I was surprised to hear it. Yet it serves me well.”
Was it possible Knightwick didn’t know about the kiss? “How can I help you?”
“I will be away for two weeks,” he said as he sat. “Mother has mentioned Lord Downham is making his attentions quite obvious, and she suspects he might not have the best of intentions.”
“I’ve thought that very thing. In fact, I’ve said as much to Lady Hannah.”
“You can’t be seen spending an excessive amount of time with my sister, of course, but it would ease my mind if you would keep an eye on her while I am not here.”
Laurence gritted his teeth to keep from laughing aloud. Knightwick had no inkling he was asking the fox to watch over the henhouse. “I’m more than happy to do so. I’d half a mind to ask you why you weren’t attending the balls alongside her. Not that it’s my place to tell you your duty to your sister.”
“Quite so. Mother says they are to attend a theatrical at Vauxhall tonight with Lord Downham. There are too many opportunities there for Downham to take advantage of Hannah. Will you go in my place? Is there someone you might ask to accompany you with so little notice?”
“I will send a note ‘round to Mrs. Turner.”
Knightwick’s gaze came up. “Do you think that a good choice? Given your past relationship with her? Mother might feel insulted, and will certainly think it casts a dim light on Hannah.”
“No one thinks ill of Mrs. Turner when she appears at an assembly. I spoke to her recently at Lady Kettlemore’s ball.”
“That’s quite a different situation. Regardless, I think Hannah would be suspicious of your presence if you brought Mrs. Turner among their party.”
“I could escort Lady B.” Laurence gave him a wry grin.
“She’d never have you.” Knightwick leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over his knee. “I am serious, Oakhurst. What have you been doing at all those balls if not meeting the young ladies?”
He wasn’t going to answer that. “How can I improve my reputation if I’m seen flirting with half the ladies in the Marriage Mart and choose not to marry any of them?”
Knightwick shook his head. “I imagine it was foolish of me to think you’d know any respectable single women. Never mind. I know of one who will suit. Lady Susan Yarwood has no inclination toward marriage and her father is a friend of mine. He’s been eager for her to do something other than attend her book readings. I’ll make up some excuse as to why you are in need of a companion at the last minute. Perhaps I can let her in on our secret. I will tell her to expect you, Mother, and Hannah to pick her up this evening.”
“I’ll likely regret this,” Laurence said.
He was feeling the same thing later that night as he danced with Lady Susan to the music the orchestra played. At least here at Vauxhall Gardens, there was enough room to dance without bumping into someone on each turn. He kept one eye on Hannah and Downham while speaking to Lady Susan. “Knightwick tells me you enjoy attending book readings.”
“And do you disapprove?” she asked.
He had to laugh. “That wasn’t the answer I expected. Not only do I not disapprove, I think you and I could be great friends.”
“Oh, do you read a lot?”
“Only the papers. I had in mind your wit. Your refusal to play the demure miss. I am tired of demure misses and I’ve only been attending assemblies for a few weeks now.”
“I would have thought Lord Knightwick would have warned you about me. He’s known me since before I came out into Society. He’s a good friend of my father’s. They can think of nothing but their horses.”
“That’s Knightwick, all right.” Laurence turned them closer to Hannah. At least on the dance floor Downham couldn’t try anything untoward.
When the music ended, the four of them returned to the table where Lady B sat. They drank punch and the ladies fluttered their fans for a few minutes as they rested.
“The gardens are quite lovely at night, aren’t they?” Lord Downham asked.
“Even more so than in the daylight, with the trees filled with lanterns,” Lady B agreed.
“Would you care to stroll the paths with me, Lady Hannah?” Downham asked.
“I’d be delighted,” she answered.
Laurence caught Lady B’s frown. He pushed back his chair. “Excellent idea.” He held his arm out to escort Lady Susan.
She rose. “Oh, yes. Such a beautiful night for it.”
Hannah looked confused as she took Downham’s arm, but said nothing.
Letting the other couple lead the way, Laurence stayed far enough back to give them the appearance of privacy. “This is a first for me,” he admitted to Lady Susan.
“For me, also. I’ve attended a few musicales with Mama and Papa, but never with a gentleman, much less strolling with one in the darkness.”
“Yet I’ve heard tales of young ladies losing their reputations on these paths.”
Laurence cleared his throat. “Outspoken, aren’t you? I imagine your mother hasn’t heard you speak this way.”
“Of course not. Don’t be daft. It’s rather freeing spending an evening without her, now that I think on it.”
“To be honest, I’m rather surprised she let you be seen with me in such a public place.”
“Knightwick assured them both you were nothing like the man you’re rumored to be. As neither of them could think of an actual incident involving you and a young lady, they felt they could trust Knightwick’s opinion of you.”
Hannah and Downham were moving at a faster pace than Laurence and Lady Susan, and with the number of couples walking on the path, he was losing sight of them. He increased his pace a bit. “I beg your forgiveness, but I’m afraid we’re falling behind.”
He tried not to drag Lady Susan along as they wove between the other couples. She was such a good sport to not complain. They passed several side paths that led into darkness, and eventually he had to concede that Hannah and Downham had escaped him. He moved to the side of the path and stopped.
“Where do you think they’ve gone?” Lady Susan asked.
“Unless they ran down this path, they’ve gone down one of those other paths.”
“Then we must follow.”
“I can’t take you away from the crowd. I don’t care if you are unconcerned about your reputation, but I am.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“You have little choice. If you take me back to Lady Bridgethorpe, you might arrive back here too late to prevent anything. Just the fact of our returning without them will be bad enough.” She looked back the way they’d come. “Lady Hannah mentioned she hoped he would propose tonight. Perhaps that’s the reason he’s sought seclusion.”
“A man like him doesn’t seek seclusion to do the honorable thing.”
“Then we must continue searching.”
