The woman’s cheeks pinkened. “Pardon my impertinence, my lady, but while I appreciate all he has done to help us, he is ill-equipped to be a chaperone.”
With as much confidence as she could muster, Juliana stiffened her spine and straightened her shoulders. “I require baths for myself and Mr. Notley, a satchel of provisions, and our mounts readied. I would like Mona, if you please, and Mr. Notley will borrow Dash. We leave directly.”
Lips thinned, the housekeeper curtseyed. “At once, my lady.” She turned sharply and left the grand space, clearly displeased with Juliana’s decision.
Silence descended, and Juliana could feel Leo’s gaze on her.
“I’ll show you to the peach bedchamber,” Juliana said, starting toward the staircase on the left side of the foyer. “It will afford you some privacy while you bathe and change. I imagine that you will wish to be on your way back to Nottingham as soon as may be.”
They reached the landing, and Leo gripped her elbow, halting her in her tracks.
“I’ll not abandon you, Lady Juliana,” he said gruffly.
She flinched at the courtesy title on his lips. “You are not required to sacrifice yourself on my behalf,Lord Livingston. I—and I alone—will go to London.”
* * *
Leo’s brow turned thunderous,and his chest ached with…Christ, was it disappointment or pain? He feared it was both.
“Think you so little of my character that I would leave you to fight not only the elements, but a murderous blackguard on your own?” He did not trust for one moment that her intention was to see her brother upon arriving in London. The woman had something else in mind, but what, he could not fathom.
Her eyebrows lifted. “Do you believe me incapable of protecting myself, sir?”
“Hardly,” Leo scoffed. “The man is mad to continue his pursuit of you, most particularly after you continue to best him.”
The frown left her face and her shoulders lowered slightly, the praise deflating her anger.
“You will, however, require a travel companion,” he urged. “If unaccompanied, you would suffer the inconvenience of unwanted attention. And I can easily secure rooms, meals, and conveyance with nary a second glance.”
As furious as he was with her, he could not abandon her to the harsh elements or her determined attacker. Tolerable or not, he would keep her safe.
She chewed on her bottom lip, drawing his gaze.Damnation. He’d kissed those lips. And she, the daughter of a duke! God, but he’d blundered, following his cock instead of his head.A duke’s daughter, for Christ’s sake!
Gossip from nearly seven years ago sprang to mind: the Duke of Derby’s harridan daughter sitting firmly on the shelf only two seasons after her come-out. The rags had written that she was unmarriageable, and entirely unappealing to the opposite sex due to her height.
Leo’s gaze sharpened on the beauty before him. Thetonmust be mad. Juliana was fire, passion, determination, and bravery…and a little bit of fear. She was a goddamned Aphrodite.
“Very well,” she said softly, breaking through his thoughts. “But make haste. Lord knows how close our pursuer is after the fire he set, and I hate to think on what he would do to my brother’s estate or the staff if we linger.”
Leo nodded, for lack of a better response, and followed Juliana to his temporary bedchamber, where she left him.
The space was bright and cheerful, contradicting the emotions that roiled within him. Juliana was correct: their pursuer could be anywhere; it would behove them to keep alert. Complacency would be their downfall.
Footmen entered with his bath and water, leaving him to bathe in peace. His wash was perfunctory, despite his desperate desire to lie back and give his sore muscles the opportunity to soak in the water’s heat.
Once dry, he donned the smoke-scented travel wear he’d stored in his saddlebags and retrieved after the fire had been put out. Determination to accompany Juliana to London—and the undeniable feelings that she stirred within him—aside, Leo was incensed over her deception. She’d learnedhistrue identity, the dishonesty for which he’d felt horrible, and yet even after they’d come to a place in which he’d thought they could be honest, she’d withheld the truth.
Striding to the dressing table, Leo used a comb on his damp hair and beard, his gaze snapping upward at his reflected movements. The man gazing back at him through the mirror was one he recognized: a man filled with anger, his skin flushed with guilt, and his mane of hair a disguise. He grimaced, one corner of his lip lifting up to show the tip of his white canine tooth.
For nearly three years he’d hidden behind the unkempt mask, hating the appearance of himself in the mirror and wishing to God that he’d perished in his brother’s stead. If he intended to be the man thatLadyJuliana required for her journey, however, he ought to shed the guise of an animal and once more become a man. He must look the part.
Without a second thought, Leo searched the dressing table’s drawer, withdrew a pair of shears, and began to cut. He made quick work of his hair, using his fingers to judge length and keeping it short. Maintaining his focus and momentum, Leo set aside the shears, readied the implements, and began to shave.
There he was. With each pass of the blade, memories flooded his mind: his days as a carefree young man, the time he’d dedicated to building his reputation as a rogue and a reprobate… It was all there in each strip of clean, pale skin that he exposed.
The base of his spine grew damp with an anxious sweat, and his gut churned mournfully. He’d hidden his face for far too long, accepting the gift of being nondescript, even to himself. It was time that he owned his life for what it was: rife with mistakes, buthis. And if he was to return to London, he’d damned well do so with his head held high—even if it was the very last thing he wanted to do.
He met his own gaze in the mirror, and he flinched.Thisman was still angry, but resigned.
