Harrison squeezed her hands. “He won’t get the chance. When the Duke of Parneston hears Waverley’s confession, the authorities will have all the proof they need to lock him away for the rest of his life.”
With a great deal of effort, Harrison pushed himself to sit straighter on the bed. “George, you and Spence and Jules take turns watching Waverley. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
“We won’t,” George said. “Jules, go down now and keep an eye on him.”
Jules started for the door. “What should I tell everyone when they ask about you?”
“Tell them I just received a scratch. That I’ll be down for dinner tonight and am looking forward to the evening’s entertainment.”
“Are you sure?” Cassie asked. Harrison’s injury wasn’t severe compared to how grave it could have been, but he’d lost a great deal of blood and that wasn’t something to take lightly.
“I’m sure. Go, Jules. I want Waverley to know his plan to call off the party failed.”
When Jules left the room, Charfield focused again on Harrison. “Having you fit enough to join us for dinner should work to our advantage. Hopefully Waverley will be so furious he’ll let down his guard when Lady Lathamton speaks to him.”
“I’m fit enough. I’m going to come down for dinner and allow Cassie to make a great fuss over me.”
She was sure no one missed the look of affection on Harrison’s face.
“And when the time comes,” Harrison continued, “I want to be the one to give him the option of leaving England and never coming back. Or spending the rest of his life in prison.”
Everyone agreed that this was the perfect way to handle the evening.
“Then perhaps we should leave,” Elly said, “so Harrison can rest for a few hours before dinner.”
They filed from the room, but Cassie stayed. She didn’t move until she heard the door close, then rose from the bed and walked to the window. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t, Cassie. This isn’t your fault.”
“Perhaps I didn’t cause Waverley to do what he did, but I should have told someone what he said. I didn’t dream he was serious.”
“I don’t want you to risk being alone with him.”
She saw the concern on his face and walked to his side. “You have nothing to worry about. Your brothers won’t let anything happen to me.”
“I know,” Harrison answered. “I can’t help but worry, though.”
She smiled. How like him. He was always thoughtful like this. It was one of the traits she loved about him.
“I need to go now so I can practice what to say tonight.” She leaned over and gently kissed him. “And you need to rest.”
“I would rest better with you here.”
She smiled. “No you wouldn’t.”
She walked to the door. “Rest now,” she said, then closed the door behind her.
How had she let this happen again? How had she allowed herself to fall in love with him again?
She remembered the warmth of his hand holding hers, of his lips pressed to hers and she knew she hadn’t fallen in love with him again.
She’d never fallen
out
of love with him.
Elly cleared the papers from the desk in the middle of the small office where her father’s secretary worked and put away anything that might make noise if someone moved it. It wasn’t that the Duke of Parneston was clumsy, exactly, but he wasn’t the most graceful man in the world. The last thing Elly wanted was for His Grace to knock something over and give away their hiding place. That would ruin everything.
She tried to convince herself that tonight’s plan would go off without a hitch, but she couldn’t make the uneasy niggling inside her go away. Cassie was taking a huge chance talking to Waverley alone, but what else could she do? He’d already shot Harrison. Whether his intent had been to kill him or simply warn him away from Cassie didn’t matter. His desperation to possess Lathamton Estate as well as Hollyvine was obvious. And the only way he could possess both was to marry Cassie.
And eliminate the Lathamton heir.
Elly finished making the room ready, then closed the door behind her. The string ensemble was already set up in the music room at the end of the hall. Discordant tones sifted through the closed door as the musicians tuned their instruments. After a slight pause, they struck up a lilting tune that made Elly want to sway in rhythm.
Dancing was the one activity she’d never been brave enough to try. When she’d first been injured every doctor her parents took her to told them she’d never stand. She not only managed to stand, but learned to walk.
Then she learned to ride, even though the doctor told her staying atop a horse was impossible.
Her latest challenge had been to climb the hillside to the east of The Down. She always challenged herself to do something no one thought she could do.
But she’d never been brave enough to attempt to dance. Not only would the turns be impossible, but limping in a man’s arms would embarrass her as well as the poor man who’d been foolish enough to ask her.
She couldn’t help but wish, though, that just one time she could experience dancing in someone’s arms as she moved across a ballroom floor.
The enthralling strains of the music became more enticing. Elly propped her cane in front of her and placed both hands on the ivory handle. She looked over her shoulder to make sure she was alone, then swayed in time to the rhythm.
She didn’t move from her spot in the center of the room but swayed back and forth. As the music became more intense, she closed her eyes and dreamed she had two healthy legs and was in Brent’s arms. She dreamed that the two of them were gliding across the floor.
She wasn’t sure when she became aware that Brent was behind her. Perhaps it was when her flesh warmed as it always did the moment he was near.
Perhaps it was when the skin at the back of her neck prickled with excitement.
Perhaps it was simply when the rapid beating of her heart increased in tempo.
Whatever the reason, she stopped with a start and jerked her head to look at him. The action threw her off balance.
Elly tried to compensate but knew the result was going to be disastrous. She stumbled, then prepared for the floor to rise to meet her.
Instead, she found herself in Brent’s arms.
“I shouldn’t have surprised you.” He held her close. “But I’m glad I did.”
His arms wrapped securely around her waist and his thick, muscled legs bracketed her. She’d dropped her cane and had no choice but to reach out and hold him.
He pulled her closer and smiled down at her. “If I hadn’t surprised you, you wouldn’t have lost your balance and I would have had to search for an excuse to hold you in my arms. I should thank you for being accommodating.”
“Oh,” was all she was capable of saying. She was embarrassed that he’d seen how ungraceful she could be, and yet, she was just as glad to be in his arms as he claimed he was to have her there.
“You were dancing to the music.”
She shook her head in denial. “I don’t dance.”
“Have you ever tried?”
“Dancing isn’t something I am capable of doing.”
“Just like you couldn’t play croquet?”
Elly opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. When she spoke it was to admit something she very seldom said out loud. “The reason I don’t dance is because even if I mastered keeping my balance while doing the steps, which I very much doubt I could, the clumsy way I move would embarrass me as much as it would my partner.”
Brent raised his left eyebrow and looked down on her with a disbelieving gaze. “I sincerely doubt that.”
“Oh, don’t. The poor man wouldn’t know whether to reach for my hand when doing the steps or my cane.”
“Perhaps you’ve never considered doing the right dance. Or having the right partner.”
Elly ignored his comment about having the right partner. “And what dance would that be?”
“A waltz.”
She tried to think of a rebuke that would tell him how foolish an idea he’d come up with, but she couldn’t. She’d always wanted to dance and she’d always dreamed of dancing in the arms of a tall, strong man.
Suddenly, her dreams seemed about to come true. She was in the arms of the strongest, most handsome man she knew. A man with whom she was afraid she’d fallen more than a little in love, and the orchestra had just started playing a waltz.
“May I have this dance?” he asked, bowing ever so slightly.
She shook her head. She couldn’t. He’d been able to accept many of her most ungainly actions, but dancing was something he wouldn’t be able to ignore. He’d feel every jerky step she took.
“Trust me, Elly,” he whispered. “The music is playing and we’re all alone. No one will see you.”
“You will,” she whispered as softly as he had.
“I don’t count.”
Oh, he counted. He more than anyone.
“Please,” he whispered.
Her gaze locked with his. Suddenly dancing in his arms was more important than any degree of embarrassment she might experience.
She slipped one hand to his shoulder and placed the palm of her other hand in his.
“If it makes you feel more secure, you can place your arm around my neck.”
She nodded and wrapped her arm around his neck.
Then he moved.
The first few steps were clumsy and far from the graceful vision she’d imagined in her dreams, but she was dancing.
“Place your other arm around my neck,” he whispered as they moved in time to the music, “and relax.”
Elly placed both arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She seemed to float across the small, open area in the morning room. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to dance in the wide expanse of a ballroom. But here it was magical.
In London, a man as handsome as the Earl of Charfield would never give her a second look. In polite society, a man so sought after would have his sanity questioned if he asked her to dance. Every instinct told her to wonder why he was so intent on escorting her in to every meal, why it was so important to teach her to swing a mallet, and why he’d put himself through the torture of teaching her to dance. But that same instinct warned her not to question his reasons, but take advantage of the experiences he offered her.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and forgot all the misgivings that gnawed at her. Instead, she absorbed every wonderful sensation of being in Brent’s arms and enjoyed the euphoric feeling that she was a whole person.
“The music has stopped,” he finally whispered.
“Oh.”
They stood, locked in each other’s embrace until he spoke.
“Elly?”
“Hmm?”
She looked up and the minute her eyes met his he brought his mouth down over hers.
His kiss was hungry, an all-consuming desperation that begged for something she was eager to give.
She wasn’t sure why she was less in control with every kiss, but she was. His touch, his kisses – everything about him affected her with an overwhelming intensity. She knew allowing him to become so important to her was dangerous. She was living in a dream world and falling in love with a man who could never love her in return.
He was an earl, for Heaven’s sake. He was expected to spend part of every year in London, expected to take his seat in the House, oversee his affairs, attend a required number of social events. He could hardly be expected to be seen in public with a cripple hanging on his arm.
She thought of her jerky motions as she walked across a room. Of the clumsy way she had to climb stairs. How she had to lean against the railing and pull herself up each step. How her foot would drag when she was overly tired.
She was an invalid and all the wishing in the world wouldn’t change what she was. All her dreams combined wouldn’t make her Charfield’s perfect match.
She slid her arms from around his neck and turned her head to break his kiss.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his breathing ragged. He wrapped his fingers around her upper arms to keep her steady and looked at her with a concerned frown on his face. “Are you worried about tonight?”
She didn’t answer him. She couldn’t. Not once had she felt sorry for herself. Her brothers didn’t need her self pity added to their already-overwhelming sense of guilt. But tonight for some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt a deep sense of regret.
“Do you think Cassie will be able to get Waverley to admit he shot at Harrison?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.”
Brent pulled her close to him and she leaned her cheek against his chest and listened to the thundering of his heart.
“I want you to promise me something, Elly.”
His deep, rich voice rumbled beneath her ear and she thought how special it would be to be held like this forever; how perfect it would be to listen to the soothing sound of his voice for the rest of her life.
“What?”
“I want you to stay out of sight tonight.”
She lifted her gaze. “I will. I’ll be with the Duke of Parneston in the small office.”
“Yes, and I want you to
stay
in the office. No matter what happens out here, or what you hear, you are not to step foot from that room until I call for you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but—”
“No. Do you understand?”
Elly took a deep breath then nodded.
“Good.”
He gave her another tight squeeze then held her away from him and looked into her eyes. “Perhaps it would be best if we went in for dinner. I’m sure the first of the guests have already gathered and we don’t want to draw attention to this room. Or to ourselves.”
While Brent bent to retrieve her cane from the floor, Elly looked around the room. A lot would happen here yet tonight.
Even more had already happened that she would never forget.
She took her cane in one hand and slipped her other arm through the bend at his elbow. Together they walked toward the door.
“Elly,” he said before they left the room.
“Yes?”
“You dance superbly. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” she said. "That was something I never thought I’d do.”
“I have a feeling that with the right inspiration there’s very little you can’t do.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
“Oh, I intend to make sure you do,” he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
A rush of molten heat raced through her veins. With him holding her, she could almost believe she was whole, was perfect. But she couldn’t forget that she wasn’t.
When he told her he intended to make sure she didn’t forget that with him she could do anything, he didn’t mean it. Not the way her heart wanted him to mean it.
But even if he did, allowing him to play a part in her life wasn’t something she could contemplate. She was with friends and family here. Everything would be different if they were ever amidst strangers.
He would be embarrassed to have her near him. And she would understand why.
___
Cassie lifted her glass of wine and took a small sip, then set it back on the table, but not before placing her hand over Harrison’s arm and leaning over to whisper in his ear.
“Is Waverley still watching us?” she asked, smiling in a most flirtatious manner.
“His eyes haven’t left you for more than a second or two all evening. All I can say is I’m very lucky he took a shot at me before this evening. From the angry scowl on his face, he’s so jealous his goal wouldn’t have been a warning, but murder.”
“Don’t tease like that, Harrison.”
“I’m sorry.” He placed his hand over hers and tucked her fingers beneath his. “Are you nervous?”
She shook her head and kept a bright smile on her face. “I know I should be but I’m too furious to be nervous. I can’t believe Waverley is so malicious. Did he really think he could force me to marry him?”
“That’s exactly what he thought. He knows how protective you are towards your son. With a few pointed threats to Andrew’s welfare, he could force you to do anything he wanted. A mother will make many sacrifices when her child’s safety is in jeopardy.”