Once Upon a Devilishly Enchanting Kiss: #1 The Whickertons in Love

by Wolf, Bree

  “Do you now?” he demanded. “I must say, you did not seem to have everything under control when that miscreant,” she all but flinched at the word, her eyes going wide and staring up into his, “pawed at you. In fact, you looked frightened.”

  For once, Louisa did not argue. Her eyes remained wide, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she looked up at him, the shadow of what had happened passing over her face. Indeed, she had been frightened, and she knew it.

  “You should not have come here by yourself,” Phineas told her, his voice gentler now. “You should—”

  “I’m not by myself,” she suddenly exclaimed, her shoulders tensing once more as she tried to step away from him.

  Phineas frowned, ready to argue, to demand an explanation when he belatedly remembered the dowager’s letter. Indeed, it had not only spoken of Louisa, but of one of her sisters as well. How could he have forgotten? “Leonora?” he asked, not bothering with formalities. “Is she the one who accompanied you here?”

  Louisa’s eyes hardened, and she lifted her chin. “She is,” she replied, the expression upon her face more at ease now that she was collecting her thoughts.

  Holding her gaze, Phineas asked, “And, where is she?”

  A sudden jolt went through Louisa, and he could feel her flinch as she all but rocked back on her heels, his hands upon her arms steadying her. Her eyes remained on his, but they grew wider once again before they fell away, and she turned to sweep them over their surroundings. “She was… She was right there,” she mumbled, her gaze directed toward the wall near the arched entry. “She stood there…taking notes. She was curious, and…”

  “And where is she now?” Phineas asked, feeling a dark sense of unease crawl over his skin. “You don’t know, do you?”

  Slowly she turned, her wide green eyes finding his, and what he found there no longer made him angry or upset or furious. Fear stood in her eyes and shivered over her skin. Suddenly, she looked vulnerable, close to a panic, pale in the dim light of the shrouded room. “I do not.” Her voice was no more than a whisper, and it seared Phineas all the way to his bones.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Behind a Mask

  The magic of the night instantly fell away when Louisa realized that she did not have a clue where her sister could be. Only moments ago, Leonora had been standing by the arched entry, her eyes wide as they had swept the many dancers, her fingers tense upon the pencil she had used to scribble notes into her little book. She had been there; Louisa was certain of it. Again and again, she had found herself looking toward the entry, toward where Leonora had been. Their eyes had met over the crowd now and then, and she had seen a small smile come to Leonora’s face in these moments. At least on some level, her sister had been able to understand why Louisa had needed to come here tonight.

  Not with her head, but with her heart.

  And now she was gone. “Where is she?” Louisa gasped as naked fear slowly snaked its way down her spine, sending cold chills into every region of her body. “She has to be here!”

  “I’m certain she is,” Phineas Hawke exclaimed as he, too, slowly turned in a circle, his tall stature allowing him to see above the heads of the people surrounding them. “What is she wearing? What kind of mask?”

  Louisa frowned, cursing her memory for not remembering; after all, had she not gone to fetch it herself? “I don’t remember,” she whispered frantically, her pulse thudding wildly in her neck. “I don’t remember. How can I not remember?” She spun on her heel and sought Phineas’ eyes. “How did you find me? My grandmother couldn’t have given you details. She never saw me leave. She never saw what I was wearing. She never knew—”

  His hand gently settled upon her shoulder, cutting off the words. “I’d know you anywhere,” he whispered almost tenderly, his dark eyes looking deep into hers.

  A new shiver danced over Louisa’s skin. Only this one did not feel cold or unpleasant or frightening. Well, perhaps a little frightening because it seemed to steal the breath from her lungs and trip up the pulse in her veins.

  Louisa swallowed, her head spinning, and she all but swayed on her feet. Suddenly, she felt exhausted, overwhelmed and frighteningly close to tears. She no longer had the strength to fight, to argue, to worry. “I only want to find my sister,” she whispered, suddenly grateful that he had come.

  Phineas nodded, his right hand reaching out and settling upon her shoulder once more. It felt warm and comforting, and for a short, utterly brief, fleeting moment, Louisa wished he would draw her into his arms and hold her.

  But he did not. “Let us look for her,” he said instead, his hand slipping into hers and pulling her along.

  Together, they went about the large room searching the dancers, every shadowy corner they could find, but came up empty. “Do you think she would’ve left the ballroom?” he asked her, a muscle in his jaw twitching with nervous agitation.

  Closing her eyes, Louisa inhaled a deep breath, trying her best not to panic. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Perhaps if she…” Only too vividly did Louisa remember how absent-minded her sister could be sometimes. “There’s no telling what she might do once her curiosity is piqued.” She looked up at him with wide eyes, feeling tears pooling in their corners. “Where could she be?”

  Phineas’ teeth gritted together, but he squeezed her hand reassuringly. “We shall find her,” he spoke vehemently, almost defiantly, as though daring fate to root for a different outcome. “Come.”

  Together, they rushed back into the entry hall where fewer people lingered. The sounds grew dimmer, and Louisa could all but hear her own heart beating loudly in her ears. Her eyes swept over a corridor leading off to the side before she turned and glanced down another. “Which one? How do we know?”

  Suddenly, Phineas tugged on her hand. “There!”

  Before she could turn to look in the direction he had indicated, he pulled her forward and, stumbling over her own feet, Louisa followed. They strode no more than a few steps down a corridor leading off to the back of the house when she spotted Leonora heading toward them like a shadow separating itself from the darkness lingering around it. “Leo!” Louisa exclaimed, releasing Phineas’ hand and rushing forward. She wished for nothing else but to embrace her sister and know that all would be well now.

  But then her eyes fell on Leonora’s pale face, upon her tousled hair as well as her ripped sleeve, revealing white skin marked by darkening bruises.

  Louisa froze in her step, staring at her sister as she hobbled toward her, her right shoe missing…as was her mask. “Oh, no.” It was no more than a breathy gasp, but it was enough to make her realize what her night of freedom had done to her sister.

  Tears pooled in her eyes as her feet suddenly surged forward, no longer able to keep still. Her hands found her sister’s face, brushing aside loose curls before trying and failing to mend the deep tear in her sleeve. “What happened? What—?” Words failed her, and her heart broke into a thousand pieces as she watched her sister slowly crumble to her feet.

  Together, the two of them sank down to the floor, Leonora sobbing helplessly, her hands clutching Louisa’s arms. Louisa stared past her sister’s head as it rested against her shoulder, not knowing what to do, terrified to move, to speak. Was this truly happening?

  And then warm hands settled upon her shoulders, a strong presence drawing near, soothing and calming. “Who did this to you?” Phineas asked, his question directed at Leonora while his gaze sought Louisa’s. His tone was calm, but the look in his eyes was nothing short of murderous. “Tell me his name.”

  Staring up at him, her sobs quieting, Leonora shook her head. “I don’t know. He wore a mask. He… He…” Tears streamed down her face, and the breath caught in her throat before new sobs wracked her body.

  Louisa did not know what to do. Her mind, her heart seemed frozen, unable to think, even unable to feel. And so, she allowed Phineas to take charge, to decide and tell them what to do. From the mere fact that she would never
under normal circumstances have allowed him to dictate her actions, she knew how deeply shaken she was.

  “Let me take her,” Phineas said, urging Louisa to release her sister. “Here, put your arm around my shoulder.” Gently, he lifted Leonora into his arms, then stood and met Louisa’s gaze. “Come.”

  Louisa nodded, and then followed him back into the entrance hall and out the door. Silently, they walked down the few steps and then stepped into his carriage, which was waiting only a few paces away by the curb.

  All but dropping onto the bench, Louisa watched as Phineas settled Leonora next to her. Her sister’s eyes were staring into nothing, wide and unseeing. Her sobs had died down, and suddenly it seemed as though she was no longer there, her body an empty shell.

  “She’s in shock,” Phineas told her gently, his jaw tense, but his eyes held compassion as well as anguish as he looked from her sister to her. “I’ll take you home, but that is all I can do.” He swallowed hard, the muscle in his jaw twitching once again, whispering of the helplessness he, too, felt. “She will need you,” he told her then, his hand suddenly reaching out and grasping hers. “If she tells you who…who did this to her,” he paused, his lips thinning dangerously, “you’ll tell me. Promise me.”

  Staring at him, Louisa nodded, grateful beyond words that he was here, that he was taking care of her, that he was taking care of Leonora. Oh, what had she done? “I’m so sorry,” she whispered into the sudden stillness. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I never thought…” Tears spilled over and slipped under her mask. She felt their cool wetness against her heated skin, and anger began to burn in her heart.

  More than anything, Louisa wanted to rip the mask from her face for it no longer represented a night of freedom, but only the foolish thoughts of a foolish girl. Her need to forget, to distract herself had put Leonora in danger. Louisa did not dare think about what had happened to her sister tonight, but from the ghostlike expression upon Leonora’s face she knew that it was nothing her sister would ever forget.

  “I will speak to your father,” Phineas said as the carriage swayed slightly on the cobbled street. “I will explain—”

  “No.” Leonora’s eyes blinked, her voice no more than a whisper, but still strangely strong and determined. She pushed herself up in her seat, one hand reaching to brush a damp curl from her forehead. Then she blinked and lifted her head to look at Phineas. “Say nothing. Nothing happened.” A shadow fell over her face, but her jaw hardened in determination as she forced it back. “There is no need to worry Father.”

  Louisa did not know what to say. Her gaze drifted to Phineas, who looked equally confused. “But he needs to kno—” Phineas began; Leonora, though, cut him off, her lips set in a hard line and her head shaking vehemently.

  “No.” It was all she said. One word. But it was enough, for the look upon her face told them all they needed to know. She had made up her mind, and sharing what had happened this night with their father would go against her wishes.

  “But—”

  Louisa squeezed Phineas’ hand, stopping his words, knowing there was no point. Her fingers felt warm as they lay settled snugly in his large hand, and suddenly, she dreaded the moment he would release her.

  His gaze moved to hers, lingered there, and she could see beyond the shadow of a doubt the thoughts that ran through his head. She saw doubt and anger and the need to object, the desire to do something, the longing to make it better, to help. Louisa understood all these emotions for they reflected her own. Still, one look at her sister’s fallen face told her that right here and now there was nothing they could do.

  When the carriage finally pulled to a halt outside their home, Phineas helped them both alight. The night air felt ice-cold to Louisa, prickling her skin. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and then helped Leonora do the same.

  Glancing up and down the street, Phineas rushed them toward the back entrance. “I do not like this,” he whispered to Louisa as she opened the servants’ entrance. “I should speak to your father. He needs to know what happened tonight.” His gaze was imploring, and even though Louisa felt ill at the thought of breaking her father’s heart, she would have done so without a moment’s hesitation…if only Leonora had not begged her to remain silent on the matter.

  As her sister stepped inside, her footsteps hollow on the floors, Louisa turned back to Phineas. “I shall speak to her,” she promised him as much as herself. “Perhaps…”

  Holding her gaze, Phineas nodded. He inhaled a deep breath, and for a moment, she thought he would say something. Then, however, he took a step back and then another, the night slowly swallowing him up as though he had never been there.

  Quietly, Louisa closed the door, then hurried after her sister.

  Once again, Leonora’s gaze was distant, empty. She moved slowly, almost like a ghost hovering in the air. Her feet seemed to barely touch the floor, her movements fluid, and yet, reminding Louisa of a puppeteer they had seen once, the way he had moved his puppets, their arms and legs controlled by strings.

  Fortunately, no one came upon them as they made their way upstairs. Without hesitation, without pausing, without stopping to look at Louisa, Leonora headed to her chamber, opened the door and stepped inside. Louisa followed, completely at a loss. What was she to do now? How could she possibly help her sister?

  “I’m fine,” Leonora said quietly as she turned around, her pale blue eyes finally looking at Louisa. “Go to sleep, and I shall do the same.”

  For a long moment, Louisa stared at her sister. “What happened tonight?” A part of her did not wish to know, but another knew that she had to.

  Leonora’s features tensed, and her arms rose to wrap around herself. “Nothing,” she replied breathlessly, her jaw clenched.

  Louisa did not know what it was. Perhaps it was the pain in her sister’s eyes, the anguish and terror. Perhaps it was the vulnerability her movements betrayed. Perhaps it was that one simple word that spoke more to how deeply her sister had been wounded than tears and cries ever could.

  Whatever it was, Louisa suddenly grew angry.

  A red, hot ball of fire burned in her belly, its flames slowly snaking their way through her veins into every region of her body, fueling her words and chasing away the passivity she had felt before. “That is not true,” she all but snapped, taking a step toward Leonora. “Why are you lying to me? Tell me what happened.” With a huff, she ripped the mask from her face, tossing it across the room, wishing it had never come to hide her face.

  For a moment, Leonora’s eyes closed, and Louisa felt certain that her sister would finally break down and share with her the horrors of this night. Nevertheless, when her eyes opened once more, Louisa saw there was no vulnerability there, but defiance. Leonora’s gaze hardened, and the hands she held clasped upon her arms tightened, her knuckles standing out white. “Do not speak to me like this,” she said in a quiet voice. “You of all people have no right to speak to me like this.”

  Her sister’s words felt like a stab through the heart, and Louisa almost crumbled to the floor, fresh tears shooting to her eyes. “Leo, please. Let me help you.” Of course, if she had not been so foolish, so stubborn, so selfish, none of this would have happened. Her sister was right to blame her!

  “I have my secrets,” Leonora said calmly, her blue eyes locked upon Louisa’s, open accusation in them, “and you have yours. Do not demand of me what you are not willing to give of yourself.” She swallowed, sudden fatigue falling over her face. “It has been a long night, and I’m tired now. Please, leave me be and go to sleep.” Without another word, Leonora turned away, her fingers moving to unfasten the cloak upon her shoulders.

  Torn about what to do, Louisa finally took a step back, knowing that no matter what Leonora truly needed she would not accept help tonight. Not from Louisa.

  With a heavy heart, Louisa left and returned to her own chamber. She, too, unfastened her cloak, then slipped out of her dress, her fingers moving without thought as
her mind lingered on the painful memories she had gained that night. When she finally slid into bed, her eyes once more brimmed with tears before they rolled down, soaking her pillow. What had she done? Oh, dear heavens, what had she done?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Calling on Friends

  Sleep would not come the night of the masquerade, and Phineas continued to pace the length of his bedchamber until dawn finally broke. Again and again, he relived the moment he had arrived at Hamilton House, the moment he had seen Louisa pulled into another’s arms, the moment she had glared up at him and then the moment when she had realized that her sister was missing. The naked fear in her eyes had almost brought him to his knees, and his hands still trembled as he recalled it.

  Raking a jerky hand through his hair, Phineas once more spun around when he reached the end of his chamber, his legs carrying him back down the way he had come. “Why did I not hurry more?” he moaned, remembering how Leonora had staggered toward them out of the darkened corridor. Never would he forget the paleness of her skin, the way her eyes suddenly seemed different, horrors reflected there that he never wished to know about. And yet, he did, for a murderous fury burned in his veins and he longed to rush out into the night and seek out the blackguard who had dared harm her.

  As he spun around once more, his gaze fell on the dowager’s letter. Indeed, she had asked him to look after her granddaughters, and he had failed her. Guilt burned a hole through his heart, and he wished more than ever that he could go back and do it over, protect them from all the evil in this world.

  But he could not.

  It was simply not possible. Neither could he do anything else. Leonora had all but asked him to keep this night a secret. It had been clear that she did not wish to speak about it. She did not even want her parents to know. Of course, regarding her reputation, it would be best if this night were forgotten as though it had never happened. Any rumors would damage her prospects.