“Come along, Louisa. Allow Miss Wilkinson the freedom to be asked to dance,” she said imperiously. “I have seen several men of your acquaintance in the room, including Lord Duskwood. I do believe he has been asking after you,” she said to Adeline.
Adeline smiled, though the name drew no reaction of excitement from her. The only feeling was a void in her chest.
“That is most considerate,” she said.
She looked back at Winston as Cordelia and Louisa were absorbed into the crowd. He was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Lady Victoria. Adeline looked around hastily. Then she saw him. Not Winston. Her father.
Lord Harston stood near the far archway, tall and stern, his hair silvered at the temples. Time had not softened him. At his side, as if conjured by her worst fears, was Mr. Pike. The investigator from Bow Street. They spoke, heads closed and eyes whipping the room. Two conspirators. Two searchers. The glass of punch in her hand trembled. She set it down and rose, pressing through the crowd before either man could look her way. Her heart pounded against her ribs.
Doors led out to a hallway and then to other, smaller function rooms. Finally, a door in an alcove gave onto a small garden. She slipped through and the cool air struck her like a slap. The rain had stopped, but the paving stones were slick. She drew a shaky breath, gripping the balustrade that surrounded a paved terrace.
Behind her, a footstep. She spun round, the panic rising.
“It’s me.” Winston stepped from the shadows, his face taut with concern. “Adeline, what happened? I saw you practically run from the room.”
She struggled to regain her composure. “I thought…I saw…”
“I know who.”
“You do?” Adeline felt that yawning void within her open, consuming her with aching coldness.
This is it. The end. The denouncement.
“Your fiancé, your former fiancé, I should say. This is just what happened at the theater, all over again.”
Then he stopped, staring at her intently, mouth open.
“That has just come to me. You ran. I did not remember before, but I have a clear recollection now. You ran from the theater and I chased you.”
Adeline nodded dumbly, hunching in on herself, hugging herself tightly.
“I was terrified. I thought I saw him in the audience. But this time I did. I saw him plain as day.”
“Then name him so I can denounce him,” Winston said, seizing her by the forearms.
“No!” Adeline cried, tearing free from his grasp.
Winston looked at her helplessly, perplexed.
“Then I will stay by your side for the rest of the evening.”
“You can’t do that. Lady Victoria…”
“Can go hang.”
“Duty demands…”
“You had better be quiet about duty,” Winston said. “I will not hear it. Tell me his name and I will have him quietly removed. Then I will return to duty.”
“I cannot,” Adeline replied.
“Then consider me your bodyguard.”
Adeline laughed, feeling on the verge of tears but wanting desperately to put herself into his warm embrace. To let him protect her.
“You’ll catch your death out here,” Winston said, shrugging off his coat and flinging it about her shoulders.
“I’ve survived worse.”
