The Wedding Runaway (20 page)

"
And discreet?
"

"
Quite so. He has a sterling reputation
,
and he
never
speaks of his investigations. The only things that are known come from those who have enlisted his services.
"

Helena stepped forward. Trevor leaned over and picked up the train of her habit. His blue eyes intent
,
his face hovered mere inches from hers. Her heart quickened.

"
I like your hair like that.
"

Her hair was interwoven into a half-dozen coiled braids instead of elaborately arranged with the liberal application of curling tongs. While not a single braid
,
the style was hardly designed to draw flattery. When the season was in full swing, she would not be outside the house without a more elaborate preparation of her hair.
"
It is hardly fashioned.
"

"
Yes
,
I know. It makes you look human.
"

The sting of his word choice burned through her. He thought her so cold
,
then?
"
I am to suppose I look like a inanimate lump of coal otherwise.
"
She was relieved her voice sounded light
,
mildly amused even.

"
Human
,
fallible
,
not perfect
,"
Trevor said.

She had a sudden horror that one of the braids might have unraveled. She reached up.
"
Has my hair come undone?
"

He caught her hand near her face.
"
Perhaps what I meant was approachable.
"

Time hung suspended in the morning air as his grip on her hand gentled and he stroked his thumb over the base of her fingers. She wished to strip off her glove and feel the light caress on her bare skin
,
but then he dropped her hand.

"
We should go back now
,
before I have any thoughts of
behaving with impropriety.
"

He lifted her onto her horse and she felt opportunity slipping away. Would he disappear for another five long years?

As his hands slid from her waist
,
she leaned over, planting her hands on his shoulders. Her move felt bold
,
although she could claim she slipped and only used him to steady herself. He looked up at her, the corners of his wicked lips turning up just slightly as if laughing at her.

"
Do you ever have thoughts of behaving with impropriety?
"
she asked.

"
I am a man
,"
he answered, as if that explained everything.

"
With me?
"
she whispered.

"
What man wouldn
'
t?
"

She sat up straight and reached for the reins. Was he just being polite? When a lady fished for a compliment
,
a gentleman was supposed to comply.
"
I was not asking about any man.
"

His hand landed on her leg just above her knee
,
and she froze while a blast of heat threatened to burn her from the inside out.
"
All the time
,
Lady Helena
,
but then I am reminded how very much trouble you would be.
"

"
W-what?
"

He nodded toward a lone horseman in the distance.
"
Your groom followed after all.
"
He squeezed her leg.
"
We come from different worlds. And yours is closed to me.
"

Then he swung his leg over his saddle
,
and she was melting into a pool of nerves. But was his world closed to her?

~*~

Trevor didn
'
t exactly get the welcome he
'
d hoped for.
What are you doing here?
, she
'
d said
,
as if he had no business being in London. Then again
,
Lady Helena had always been haughty. But her parting held promise.

Had she thought of him in his absence?

In any case, he had what he was looking for
—
a name and address of a man who could help them find Lydia.

Divine providence
,
because his early morning urge to go by Lady Helena
'
s parents
'
home must have been delivered by God
,
never mind that his desire to see her had a more earthly ring.

Truly
,
he was surprised that she had remained unmarried.

Now he just needed to convince James and Oscar that they should enlist the aid of this gentleman. He opened the door of their hotel room. Oscar slumbered on
,
but James was most of the way dressed.

"
I have learned of just the man to find Lydia
,"
said Trevor.

James gave him a baleful eye and Oscar moaned and flopped over on the sofa where he slept.

"
We can make inquiries on our own. We
'
ll start at the Swan with Two Necks.
"
James reached for his boots.

Trevor shoved Oscar
'
s feet to the side and sat down on the end of the sofa.
"
Here
'
s the thing. This man is known to be a discreet and good investigator
,
and we don
'
t want a scandal.
"

Oscar blinked sleepily at him.

"
What difference does it make if there is a scandal? As soon as we find her
,
we
'
ll just take her home. It can hardly matter what people in London think of her.
"
The bed groaned as James pulled on a boot.

"
The world is smaller than that. If word of her antics gets back home
,
she could very well be ostracized by Boston society. Oscar here
,
will need her reputation to be spotless so she might be a proper hostess.
"

Oscar eased up to a sitting position.

"
Besides
,
we should open up a shipping office in England and a disgrace attached to our name would be an impediment to success.
"

"
We don
'
t need a shipping office in England
,"
said James.
"
You just don
'
t want to be put to any trouble to find her.
"

Trevor was used to his older brothers discounting his opinions
,
so he continued with gentle persuasion.
"
No
,
we don
'
t need an office in England
,
but now that the war is over, it makes sense. With as many of us brothers coming into the company
,
we should be thinking of ways to expand our operations and increase profits.
"

"
Who would be in charge of a London branch?
"
asked Oscar.

Trevor started. He would want it
,
of course. He stared out the window. It wouldn
'
t matter. He could be rich as Croesus and he still wouldn
'
t be considered good enough for Lady Helena.

"
Get dressed
,
Oscar
,"
ordered James.
"
We need to start making inquiries.
"

"
Wait. It wouldn
'
t hurt to talk to this man
,
would it? While I should like to get Lydia back as soon as possible
,
I don
'
t want her reputation destroyed.
"
Oscar rubbed his face.
"
We don
'
t want to ruin opportunities here.
"

"
I
'
d rather avoid a scandal
,"
said Trevor.

"
I would hate for anyone to know that my bride went about pretending to be a man for months.
"

Did Oscar care more about retrieving their sister or controlling the damage she might do to the Hamilton shipping business?

"
Lydia might be in trouble
,"
said James.

"
All the more reason to use a professional to locate her.
"
Trevor rubbed his jacket and wondered if he should find a good tailor. He doubted that Lydia was in trouble
,
but he wasn
'
t above using the fear as persuasion. And damned if he could figure out what Oscar wanted in this.

One thing Trevor knew was
,
he couldn
'
t allow any breath of gossip about his sister to reach Helena
'
s parents
,
the Earl and Countess of Caine
,
or he
'
d never have even the ghost of a chance.

Why he wanted a shot at Helena, he wasn
'
t sure. What little time he spent with her
,
between her flitting between one appropriate suitor to the next
,
they ended up arguing. What he
'
d really wanted was to slide his hand under her skirt instead of resting it on top of it. Just to see if she could lose that haughty reserve of hers and come unglued for him.

~*~

"
You are still drugged
,
you know
,
Lenny
,"
said Victor as his guest stared back at him with wide shocked blue eyes. Which may be why she had taken on the new role of innocent temptress. She played it to perfection
,
clasping the nightshirt to her chest as he lowered the sleeves and pulled her arms out of them.

"
Now that you are awake
,
I shall change your bandages. With luck
,
we shall get them on securely, now that you are sitting.
"

"
Oh
,"
she said on an expelled breath that wafted sweetly across his face.

Hell
,
he wanted to kiss her. She seemed willing
,
willing to let him do more than kiss her
,
although her fear was evident too. But more than she was drugged and injured
,
she was under his protection
,
and he wasn
'
t sure he would be able to stop at kisses. Even now
,
he was in such a state that her fake male member could never have achieved.

He
'
d been that way off and on since he
'
d removed her clothes and artificial padding earlier. He
'
d known a gentleman or two to pad their shoulders and calves
,
but Lenny had put a whole different twist on the thing. On one hand
,
Victor had been businesslike about removing her clothes. She was
,
after all
,
unconscious.

But the vision of her endless legs kept intruding into his thoughts. Her body was of a perfection that he
'
d rarely seen. Her waist curved in as it should
,
her breasts were high and perky. She was slender
,
but not as devoid of curves as he would have guessed from her pretense of being a boy. Seeing her naked had convinced him beyond a doubt
,
she was all female.

He shouldn
'
t have looked
,
he should have been immune to the sight of a naked woman
,
but her woman
'
s mound was dusted with light brown curls and that had drawn his gaze more than was reasonable. Her secrets were laid bare in front of him
,
her physical secrets anyway, and he
'
d looked his fill
,
which made him a cad and a bounder
,
and he needed a woman
,
but he wanted her. He didn
'
t even know her name.

He couldn
'
t allow himself to think of what her lips pressed to his shoulder did to him
,
or he would go mad.

He peeled back the cotton and linen pads and pressed new ones in their place. Working slowly to give her the illusion of preserving her modesty, he wrapped a length of cloth over her shoulder and down under her arm
,
so he might put pressure on the wound. Once he had her securely bandaged, he eased her arms back into the sleeves
,
even holding up the front of the nightshirt while she wiggled back into the gown. He took one last lingering glance at her exposed oh-so-kissable back.

Would that he could draw his mouth and hands up and down her delectable spine. But she was not for him. And there were things she needed to know.

"
My valet has gone to fetch your maid. I imagine they must be packing all your things to be taking this long.
"

"
I don
'
t have much.
"

He reached behind her to arrange the pillows and jolted as his body brushed against hers.
"
Lie down.
"

"
I would rather sit up. Perhaps I should go back to my lodgings.
"

"
Not until you heal
,"
Victor stood. He wanted to enfold her in his arms so badly he couldn
'
t stand it. He walked away from the bed.
"
I cannot offer you proper chaperoning
,
so outside of this room you will be known as Leonard Hall. That seems the best way to preserve your reputation. Only my personal servant and your maid shall be allowed in here.
"