Ruined by Moonlight (20 page)

It took a moment to assimilate. While he’d wondered if he might find the
ton
’s most notorious couple together after all, he hadn’t really expected it. There was also the question of how to approach them quietly without alarming them and therefore the armed guard.

This entire evening,
he decided at that moment,
is hardly going as planned.
He’d missed dinner with his wife, no doubt losing whatever ground he might have gained. Now he was not just hungry and ankle deep in dew-soaked grass, but also about to risk being shot at if the fleeing couple was startled enough to alert the guard.

“My lord,” Altamont said urgently, pointing.

“I see them,” he replied drily. “This will be the tricky part. Follow my lead.”

R
an put out a cautionary hand behind him, making sure he was far enough in front of Elena that if there was actual danger he would be the first in harm’s way. After all the trouble taken it was unrealistic to think they could just walk away, and just as he suspected, that possibility appeared unlikely.

However, he had to admit he was puzzled.

The guard—the bewhiskered one with the belligerent attitude and the pistol, stepped into the slanting moonlight as he strolled, unconcerned, back up the path toward the house. He was armed now as well. For the first time in five days Ran could smell the grass and the sweet night air, and hear the ordinary call of a night bird, which on a normal basis would not be something he even acknowledged but would never take for granted again.

As satisfying as it was to have escaped, he did wonder who the devil the two men were standing in the shadows, also watching the guard walk away. It was too dark to see them properly but he had no doubt they were aware of his presence and Elena hidden behind him.

There were times when a man could simply feel danger. It was there in the prickles along the nape of the
neck, a sudden sweat on the palms, and even a deep twist in the stomach. None of that was happening, though, because he sensed the interlopers were just as anxious as he was to not be discovered.

Both were tall. At least his height, and one could be a few inches more. They were very still, not speaking, but he’d already discerned they were simply waiting.

For what?

“That looks like remarkably like Ben.”

He turned, admittedly confused by the soft whisper. “Ben who?”

Elena’s lips brushed his ear as she stood on tiptoe to whisper in response, which was quite a pleasant sensation. “It is difficult to tell in the uncertain light, but I have fairly keen vision…I think it is my cousin’s husband, the Earl of Heathton.”

Benjamin Wallace? Ran might have pointed out he thought it was
impossible
from this distance to discern the features of either of those two indistinct figures, but then one of them stepped forward, the clouds tore open for a moment, and he also recognized the earl with a singular jolt in the fleeting light.

Hadn’t Heathton worked for the War Office? He thought that was true, and what that might have to do with his presence on the grounds Ran wasn’t sure, but perhaps this was not the time to debate the whys and wherefores but to leave as quickly as possible. He’d wondered all along just how he and Elena were supposed to return to London with no coin whatsoever and clad only in their dressing gowns. He’d counted on his ability to improvise, but this was much, much better.

Surely, if Elena was his wife’s cousin Heathton would help them.…

Yet he was reluctant, he decided, to risk her safety in any way. As the entire kidnapping had been beyond the realm of normal experience, was it logical he should trust a man he only knew in passing?

This needed to be handled quite carefully.

His arm circled Elena’s waist and he drew her to the side. “I want you to stay here.”

“Lord Heathton knows me.”

“And perhaps that is good—or bad,” he argued quietly. “We have no idea who was behind the abduction.”

“You can’t think he—”

“I don’t know,” he said in a steely voice. “Why is he here? Who is that with him? Let me go talk to them. Stay right in this spot. If it doesn’t seem to be going well, run back to the house. LaSalle will keep you safe.” He smiled crookedly. “Or at least well fed.”

“I am hardly going to run off,” she said with vehemence, even though she was speaking in nothing but a hushed whisper. “You aren’t even armed, and, besides, I may not know him well, but Heathton is
no
t behind this. If anything, he is here to help. Alicia adores him and she is not a fool.”

Trusting the judgment of romantic young women was hardly a prudent choice, but Ran found himself not having much latitude, especially as the earl and his companion were now coming toward them, soft-footed across the grass.

Not to mention the delicate fragrance of Elena’s hair was distracting and he was loath to let her go, her body warm where it rested against him, the familiarity both comfortable and arousing. He was used to contact with women, but it occurred to him even as he tightened his arm protectively around her that this felt very…right.

All of her, from her head to her dainty toes. And it wasn’t just the perfect size of her full breasts or the dip of her waist or the length of her slender legs. When this was over, which it possibly was at this moment, he would miss her company and not just in a physical sense.

He’d never felt quite such a sense of companionship with a woman.

Not the most opportune moment for that sort of revelation.

“Elena. Lord Andrews. I hoped I’d find you here.” Heathton nodded formally but his voice was so low the words were barely audible.

Considering the circumstances it was a rather calm statement, not to mention they were both wearing dressing gowns and nothing else. Ran responded urgently, “Shall we discuss this elsewhere?”

“A capital idea,” Heathton’s companion agreed. “It isn’t like our friend with the gun won’t be back. His lordship has a carriage waiting.”

The earl looked at Elena. “Are you well? Alicia has been very concerned.”

Under other circumstances, Ran might have taken umbrage since Elena had been with him the entire time, but he understood. They’d been missing for nearly a week and, in truth, they were essentially undressed. Elena nodded. “I’m unharmed. Do not worry.”

Thus reassured, Heathton seemed to agree action was the best course. “This way. I’ve already unlocked the gate.”

“Unlocked how?”

The tall, dark-haired one said with a cheeky smile, “With a picklock. Like his lordship had been raised in the gutters of London his whole life. Took him about a wink of an eye. I admit I was impressed.”

Ran didn’t actually care about the earl’s questionable talents, but that was interesting, and still not
as
interesting as being able to decamp as soon as possible. “The guard is armed.”

“So we saw. Are you that dangerous, Andrews?” Heathton at first sounded flippant, but then Ran realized he was more posing a contemplative question out loud. “And as for armed, so am I.”

“I was in the war,” he answered quietly, “and I’m a good shot.”

“And you like Blaven whiskey, which led me here.”

That was certainly a point to ponder, but at a later time…when there wasn’t a man prowling the grounds with a gun.

“Lead us out of here now,” Ran muttered, “and I will be forever in your debt.”

It was almost too easy.

After being locked in a tower for the better part of a week to simply be ushered through the gate and to a waiting carriage seemed absurdly simple, though it was ominous to think her cousin’s husband was carrying a weapon, not to mention the guard she’d clearly seen patrolling the grounds was also armed.

If anyone was hurt…

Not to mention she should be embarrassed. After all, there she was with three men, clad in nothing but a dressing gown, her hair loose. Never mind if she was politely handed into the carriage as if they were departing from a formal ball; the fact remained the situation was highly irregular.

The Earl of Heathton’s companion suggested, “I’ll ride up with the driver in case there is pursuit.”

Ben nodded. “Good idea.”

Arranging her skirts demurely, Elena tried to ignore that two very tall males took up most of the space as they lurched away and considered the requisite explanation for not only her absence, but also being in the company of Randolph Raine at some obscure estate, wearing nothing but a dressing gown.

Nothing glib and believable came to mind.

The surreal effect of the past week was like a residue she couldn’t wash off, but Elena heard the swift clop of the horses’ hooves on the road in an echo that reflected relief as they started away.

Home
. She was on her way home.

Five days. She’d never even thought about how much five days might change someone’s life. In her case,
irrevocably
.

Her bare toes were visible. Hardly the normal venue in a young woman’s life, but neither of the men seemed to notice. Instead they eyed each other with wariness and a strange sort of calm, male adversarial acceptance that she caught but didn’t quite understand.

The dynamics were tense, she realized that.

Why was another matter.

“You traced me through the Blaven?” Ran quirked a brow, lounging back on the seat next to her, unshaven and rumpled, his presence protectively close.

Ben took a moment to respond. Elena had never been sure what to make of her cousin’s standoffish husband and this moment was no different. He was actually quite handsome, with even features and a pair of truly vivid hazel eyes, but he tended to not put himself forward, and before now she’d not thought of him other than as an aristocrat who was unremarkable aside from
his title and fortune. However, a glance at his set face belied that assumption, and when he spoke his words were weighted.

“It is an unusual choice in drink, I’m told.”

Ran’s mouth curved into a smile. “So I understand. Don’t ask me why I favor it but I do. How did you hear of it?”

“Your mutual absence along with that of Elena’s was noted.”

“Yet I doubt, no matter how bored the
ton
might be, that my taste in whiskey was ever fodder for the gossip mill.”

“Your aunt mentioned it.”

“Janet?”

“Yes. She was also adamant you would never leave your sister voluntarily.”

“She’s perfectly right. Lucy is very important to me and I take my responsibility as her guardian seriously.”

Elena knew it was true. Through conversation and his concern over what his sister might be thinking over his absence that had become very clear to her.

It made him rather more attractive and that was not needed in the case of the magnetic Lord Andrews. Even now, in contrast with their companion, who was not formally dressed but certainly wearing more than a dressing gown, he seemed comfortable with himself, which might be, she acknowledged silently, a great deal of his charm. He didn’t apologize for who or what he was. She would never say he considered it beneath him, but she might venture that he was not bothered with protocol.

All fine and well if a person was male, privileged, and wealthy, but she had more stringent parameters on her behavior. “We are both concerned over our families,”
Elena said firmly, bringing their focus her direction. “What has my father told everyone?”

Benjamin Wallace regarded her with his usual enigmatic expression. “He hasn’t said much publicly about your sudden absence, but I can tell you personally that he’s been quite beside himself with worry.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” She smiled but had a feeling it was a bit wan. “He appears much more detached than he actually is.”

“I agree. Now, then, we’ve two hours back to London barring any interference in our departure. I’d appreciate it if you would recount to me what happened step by step.”

“We were both drugged and kidnapped,” Ran answered with unswerving vehemence. “It was meticulously planned, if you ask me. Neither of us recalls any of the actual abduction.” He then proceeded to briefly outline the general tedium of their captivity—leaving out those memorable moments spent in each other’s arms—and concluding with LaSalle’s aid in their escape.

When he finished, Ben said neutrally, “I would guess it would have to be a clever plan to take you off guard, but you wouldn’t be expecting it. Would you?”

It took a moment for Elena to register the barely veiled accusation. It wasn’t precisely unfriendly but it wasn’t cordial either. Next to her Ran didn’t move a muscle. “If you are inferring that it might have been due to a personal dispute, I am going to say to you what I said to Elena right after we realized our predicament. Why would anyone seek to punish me by locking me in with a very beautiful young woman?”

That didn’t seem to faze Ben, his brow merely elevating a fraction. “Because they know you better than most?
Because they realize that if the circumstances warranted it, you would marry her rather than ruin a young lady’s reputation? Let us keep in mind that the same person knew an intimate detail such as your preference in whiskey.”

Would he marry me?
Elena was not as sure, and from the expression on Ran’s face he wasn’t either. He’d flat-out said he wouldn’t but that was when he’d thought she might have been party to his abduction. Responsibility was one thing; coercion another. In a hard voice he said, “I cannot think of someone who knows me that well who would ever put me in this position.”

“Then we need to explore the possibilities of who you might
not
know so well—or think you don’t—that would want to remove you from the whirl of London society for a short while. Though we actually can’t be sure how long your stay at the castle was planned, you tell me the chef was due to be released after a week, which gives us a time frame of sorts. Tell me, what was supposed to happen in your life during your absence?”

Ran narrowed his eyes. “Nothing significant that I remember.”

Elena chose to put in. “Lord Andrews seems to think this was more directed at me than him.”

“Yes, I get that impression,” Ben murmured. “It is possible, of course, that some sort of retaliation against your father is involved. He has been under some considerable emotional duress not just over the possibility his daughter might have come to harm but the general implications of your disappearance. And, if you will forgive me, at times he can appear a trifle pompous, especially when it comes to his political views. And let us not forget your fiancé.”