Matthew shifted in his seat.Truth was, he didn’t know if he could explain things properly.She already hated his family.He had lain staring at the ceiling in the early hours of the morning, trying to figure out what to say to make her understand that he was not a Perrin.That he had only ever presented her with his true self.This man he’d molded himself into.“I will give it a few days.She has a business to run.I don’t want to bother her at work.”
“Sounds like an excuse for cowardice to me, brother.”
He sent her a glare but couldn’t deny the truth in her observation.Instead of replying, he stuffed another piece of bacon into his mouth.
Chapter Twenty
He watched ElizabethHarper emerge from the print shop in Bloomsbury.She had also stopped in on Monday this week.It had been a pleasant surprise to find out that she was the editor of the newspaper that extolled his exploits.Almost made him believe in fate.Certainly, her fascination with his kills was a sign that she was the woman for him.Now, he watched her adjust her hat as the breeze bent back the wide brim.She had a lovely face and an even lovelier body.Soft curves a man could sink into when swiving.
He had been following her all week.After seeing her at the Cheltenham party, he thought she would be his next victim, but the more he observed of her, the more he knew that he would keep her.She may even make a good wife.He needed to be married and have an heir.She was obviously fertile; he had seen her walking with her son in the square on Sunday morning.And she came from aristocratic stock.
His father’s warning echoed in his head.“Never harm a gently bred lady.They are off limits.”But if she belonged to him, he could treat her however he liked.
He ambled after his target.She always walked at a fast clip, with long, purposeful strides.He couldn’t wait to take her and have her wrap those long legs around him while he pumped his seed into her to make his heir.All that porcelain skin would show his marks beautifully.She would make the best pet.But first he needed to find a good opportunity to compromise her, to have a taste.Then he would convince her she belonged to him.
She was walking home.He could tell by their route.Her house was a neat row home in the middle of the block.The sign outside proclaimed it also her place of business.He kept across the street and puffed on his pipe.The fragrant smoke of his special blend of tobacco always soothed his racing mind.Through the front window, he could see her sitting at her desk.A man who worked for her approached the desk and stood too close.He clenched his fist.She’s mine!
The man walked away, and she turned in her chair to embrace the small boy who ran up to her.He grimaced.The boy would have to go.He would be in the way of their new family.He would need her to concentrate on raising his heir.No more newspaper, nothing to steal her time away from him.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I’m glad tosee the old place looking so good,” Matthew said to Declan Howell.“A fresh coat of paint does wonders.”
Howell grinned.“It’s far more than paint.But this old girl birthed my career, and I am rather fond of her.I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy her.”
Both of them stared up at the newly painted façade of the Seven Stars.The brick exterior had been whitewashed and the trim painted black in a dramatic contrast.A new sign, with the distinctive arch of seven stars, hung over above the massive double doors of the entrance.“Those doors are new,” Matthew commented.
“Yes, they were carved in Italy.I had them shipped in.Took months, but I think they make a statement.”Howell shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I’d say.”Matthew walked up to examine the doors more carefully.Famous scenes from Faust, Hamlet, and many other plays had been carved into panels inlaid into the twelve-foot-tall doors.Matthew ran his fingers over a carving depicting the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet.
When he turned back around, he froze.Lizzie stood across the street among a group of men waiting behind a roped-off area.She looked beautiful this afternoon.Her hair was pulled back into her practical knot, and a jaunty facsimile of a men’s hat in blue sat pinned at an angle in her hair.She was speaking to the man next to her, but her eyes kept flicking across at where he stood.Fuck.There was no way in hell he could let her slip away.Stella was right; this was no time for cowardice.
Matthew nodded at the group.“What’s that about?”
Howell glanced over.“Oh, reporters.My publicity man is supposed to talk with them, but he is not here yet.He’s got a spiel about the history of the place, the new show, etc.”He waved a hand around airily.“I am in charge of giving the tour to patrons such as you.”
Over Howell’s shoulder, Matthew saw Stella come around the corner.She barreled toward them at top speed.“I’m here!I’m here.Have you begun yet?”She was breathless, whether from rushing or from excitement, he couldn’t tell.She slid to a stop with a laugh.“I’m sorry to be late.Pitter-Patter got into my wardrobe and made a huge mess of my chemises, trying to make a nest for himself.He is such a naughty boy.”
Howell’s eyebrows shot up.
Matthew sighed.“Declan, let me introduce my sister, Stella Reeves.Stella, you haven’t missed anything.This is Declan Howell, the owner of the Seven Stars.”
Stella pushed the oversized brim of her bonnet back to look up at Howell with a wide grin.“It’s a pleasure to meet you.I am terribly excited to get a tour of your theater.”
Howell looked a bit stunned, but he recovered quickly.“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Reeves.We will get started in a few moments.But first, I must know who is ‘pitter-patter’?”
“Oh, he is my kitten,” Stella replied.“I found him in the rain; hence, the moniker.”
Howell nodded, as though that made perfect sense.Matthew chuckled softly.His attention slid back to Lizzie.She had a small notebook out and was jotting down notes with a pencil.The man next to her still chattered, and she glanced up at him occasionally and nodded.Was he bothering her?Then the man reached out to put his arm around her shoulders and peer down at what she was writing.Lizzie pulled away and shut her notebook.Matthew growled.Lizzie’s gaze snapped up to stare at him across the street, even though she couldn’t have possibly heard him.
“Howell.”Matthew turned.“I have a friend who is one of the reporters over there.She is the editor of thePiccadilly Press.Do you think we could invite her to join us on the tour, as a favor to me?”
“Certainly.”Howell nodded.A carriage rolled to a stop near them.“Go fetch her.I see my other guests have just arrived.”
Matthew glanced at Stella, who gave him an encouraging smile.Then he strode across the street.
Lizzie looked startled at his approach.Then she crossed her arms across her chest.“What do you want, Mr.Reeves?”
