The Wedding Runaway (19 page)

That he had likely looked long enough to satisfy his curiosity
,
when he stripped her of her clothing
,
emboldened her. The flesh had healed
,
but the wound had been more than that. She didn
'
t know how she knew that
,
but she knew with a conviction deep inside her.

She leaned up and pressed her lips to the mark. His taste was heady
,
slightly salty
,
all male. Her stomach fluttered and what she
'
d meant as comfort and an apology for her reaction of horror turned into much more.

Yet
,
his palpable tension made her unsure. Had she erred in treating him to such gross familiarity? Did he find her attention distasteful? Was her kiss an imposition? She reached to be sure the nightshirt was still covering her
,
while ducking her head down.
"
Do you have many scars?
"

"
With such treatment
,
would that I could claim more.
"

That brought her head up
,
and his face was so close to hers
,
his breath brushed across her lips.

He ran his fingertips across her bared shoulder.
"
Does that mean I am forgiven for shooting you?
"

"
I
'
m not sure.
"
She wasn
'
t sure at all what it meant.

He slid her slit sleeve down over her elbow. A welter of anticipation and fear and a deeper unnameable expectation curled down her spine. His dark eyes held hers. He reached and eased her other sleeve down
,
while she clutched desperately at the front of the nightshirt. She clenched her eyes shut
,
knowing she should protest
,
wanting to delay her objection
,
but startled into silence by his blatant removal of her gown.

"
I daresay it is time you told me your name.
"

Chapter Eight

Helena
'
s horse sidled nervously. She smoothed a gloved hand down his neck
,
knowing the animal picked up her tension. The very idea of bribing her grooms astounded her.

"
Yes
,
well
,
I always look for the easiest way about things
,
and it seemed expedient
,"
said Trevor.

"
But...
"
Her two grooms were neglecting their duty to be sure no harm befell her. He must have paid them a great deal if they were willing to risk their positions.

"
You need have no fear that I will attack you
,"
he said.

Her skin heated. He was so blunt.
"
I do not fear that you will behave with any impropriety.
"
She feared that he never would feel an immoral urge toward her.

He gave her a sidelong look from his startling blue eyes.
"
If you are absolutely disinclined to go alone with me
,
then you might ask one of your groomsmen to fetch another horse. We can wait. But I should expect Rotten Row is deserted this time of the morning.
"

She nudged her horse. It was not proper
,
but what could happen while she was on horseback? And a hope that he had actually sought her out because he wanted to be with her threaded a shining strand of optimism through her.

He asked after her parents and sisters
,
while she glanced at windows of houses they passed to be sure that none of her neighbors marked her progress with a foreign gentleman riding beside her. Or perhaps she hoped someone would see her.

She blushed when she told him her sisters were both married.

"
And you are not?
"

"
No
,
although I have been told I cannot shilly-shally anymore. I shall have to choose a suitor this season.
"
Heat crept up her neck. Why had she confessed that horrible
,
awful thing to him?

"
So many men
,
such a hard thing to choose just one.
"

Helena stared at her gloves. Not so hard. And she was not like that. Yes
,
she had received odes written to her shell-shaped ears—weren
'
t everyone
'
s ears shell-shaped—and to her emerald eyes—more a mossy green than jewel-toned—and her lily-white complexion—that actually had a tendency to freckle and required countless treatments of lemon juice alternated with oil of talc. Even now, a swoop of netting from her hat protected her skin
,
but she truly did not set out to make any man admire her. And their admiration was rarely of a personal nature.

After all
,
beauty was only skin deep
,
but few men ever looked past that.

They quickly reached Hyde Park
,
and as he had said
,
it was nearly deserted.
"
I should like to give my horse its head
,"
she said.

"
By all means. I
'
ll watch.
"

She smacked the flank of her horse with her riding crop and the horse smoothly cantered. She would have liked to indulge in a run
,
but that wasn
'
t the thing. Not in the park. So she cantered around the paths
,
feeling self-conscious that Mr. Hamilton watched her.

But for the moment she had his full attention. Had he sought her out
,
or just happened upon her as she was leaving for her morning ride?

After giving herself and her horse a judicious amount of exercise, she trotted back to his side. He had dismounted from his horse at some point
,
making her wonder if he had bothered watching her at all.

"
If you dismount
,
we
'
ll walk your horse so that he might cool down.
"

She stared down at him
,
for once in a superior position to his imposing height.

"
You don
'
t want to stable him like that.
"

Well
,
no
,
but she would hand him off to a groom who would walk him if that was needed. She hesitated
,
because it was totally improper.
"
You are taking your duties as groomsman too seriously.
"

"
Please
,
walk with me. I must ask you something.
"
He held up his arms.

Helena leaned into his grip
,
and he lowered her down with great care. When her body brushed against his on the way down
,
he gave no indication if the contact was intentional. He stepped back quickly and gathered the reins to lead his horse along the path.

She picked up the train of her riding habit and pulled the reins of her horse over his head. With her riding quirt
,
her train and the reins held in her gloved hands
,
she was disappointed that she would not be able to thread her hand into the crook of Trevor
'
s elbow.

They had gone several steps and he said nothing.

"
You wished to inquire about...?
"
She bit her lip
,
because in her fantasy he would ask her for her hand or at least permission to pay his addresses to her
,
but half an hour of being in his company after a five-year absence was hardly a precursor to that.

"
I know I may count on your discretion.
"
He paused.

"
Of course.
"

"
And you know everyone in London.
"

That might be an overstatement
,
but she was brought up to know everyone who mattered in the hierarchy of the Upper Ten Thousand. She inclined her head rather than dispute his statement.

"
My sister is missing.
"

A thousand horrible thoughts ran through Helena
'
s head. Was she abducted
,
suffering a fate worse than death
,
or was she hurt in an accident or...murdered?
"
Oh, my! Oh, how horrible.
"

"
She ran away from home.
"

Helena stared at the ground
,
her alarm winding down a few notches
,
and feeling dim-witted that she reacted so strongly.
"
I see.
"

Trevor
,
Mr. Hamilton that is
,
allowed the corner of his mouth to lift.
"
It seems she had a hard time choosing a husband
,
too.
"

Helena stole a glance at her companion. Was he teasing her?

"
She was to be married last month
,
but before the wedding took place she fled Boston.
"

"
Perhaps she takes issue with the man chosen to be her husband.
"

"
She picked him. No one was going to force her to marry anyone.
"
Trevor shrugged his oh-so-broad shoulders.
"
He thought all was well between them
,
and he doesn
'
t know why she left him at the altar. He
'
s an all-right fellow
,
he
'
s thought handsome
,
comes from a good family.
"

"
Good family
,
hmmm?
"

"
No one would have cared if she picked the green grocer as long as he was responsible and considerate of her.
"

"
I see.
"

"
Do you? Because in America there aren
'
t all these layers of artificial class distinctions.
"

"
Yes
,
you have said so before.
"
And they had argued about it before. While she regretted that she wasn
'
t as free to choose a husband as his sister
,
Helena was what she was.

He stopped walking.
"
I apologize. Here I am asking for your help and we digress into this.
"

"
Ever it is so.
"

He turned to face her.
"
We believe she may be masquerading as a young man.
"

"
Oh!
"
Helena dropped her train and raised her hand to her throat, nearly slapping herself with the quirt. She was shocked
,
horrified. If his sister was such a disgrace
,
his suit would never be acceptable to her parents. Any chance that he could ever...Helena had gone from horror over the fate of this girl to horror over her actions.
"
How could she?
"

"
She
'
s rather tall for a female
,"
said Trevor, taking her question literally.

Helena was rather tall for a female. She swallowed hard against her distaste. If she was to have any hope at all
,
she must help him recover his sister before she created a huge scandal.
"
As tall as I am?
"

"
Taller. And less curvy
;
you could never pass for a man.
"

For a second, both of them focused on her fulsome figure. Her curves were rather lush. A fierce heat fired Helena
'
s face.
"
I cannot imagine any circumstance in which I might try.
"

He turned and looked over the park
,
and she felt bereft of his gaze
,
but then she had probably imagined that his comparison of their figures was anything more than an explanation of his sister
'
s form.

"
So you see
,
discretion in locating her is of paramount importance.
"

"
I agree.
"

"
We have considered whether we should consult a runner
,
or just make inquiries on our own.
"
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"
Either way, I believe we risk drawing too much notice to her situation.
"

"
Oh, then you will want Major Sheridan.
"

"
A military man?
"
Trevor looked skeptical.

"
Well
,
he sold his commission
,
so he is just Mr. Sheridan now. His older brother holds the title. But that is neither here nor there to you. Mr. Sheridan does investigations for the ton. He recovered Lady—well, a certain lady
'
s jewels after her house had been robbed. I believe the runners told her they would just concentrate on catching the felon and the recovery of her heirlooms was unlikely.
"

"
Lydia is not missing jewels.
"

"
Well
,
I don
'
t know the whole of it
,
but he is reputed to have stopped at least one murderer. I know he cleared the name of one of his officers who was thought to have died by his own hand. He also uncovered another attempted murder plot. It was all a seven-day wonder with cursed pistols and a duel
,
but we never learned all the truth of it. He is thought to be quite extraordinary at solving mysteries.
"