‘I suspect you are being missed,’ she forced coldly, turning before she could change her mind.
‘Wait!’ he entreated hoarsely, his warm breath on her neck as he slid his hands around her waist, drawing her back. ‘Don’t leave, say something…’
She inhaled, every disloyal limb burning to stay and yet somehow, she found the will to tear away and pelt across the dusky gardens towards the lights of Damerel Place.
‘Miss Fairfax, is that you scaring the peacocks?’
Phoebe slowed as two figures loomed out of the darkness – the captain with one of his friends, a stockier soldier with a long moustache, coiled dark hair and gentle eyes.
She inhaled shakily, genuinely relieved to see a friendly face, and tried to assemble her scattered thoughts.
‘Miss Phoebe Fairfax, please may I present to you Lieutenant Kapoor of the East India Company: a friend, a crack shot, and one of the best physicians I know.’
The captain threw his arm around his friend, who shrugged him off with a swift glance. Phoebe smiled politely, pretending not to notice.
‘Captain Elliot, Lieutenant Kapoor, it’s a pleasure to meet you,’ she nodded, bobbing a swift curtsey.
‘As it is you, Miss Fairfax, a delight!’ Lieutenant Kapoor returned, bowing low.
She liked him instantly.
‘Are you in Bath for long?’ she rushed, conscious of the silence behind her.
‘I’m fortunate enough to be staying here at Damerel Place, at the viscount’s invitation,’ Lieutenant Kapoor replied. ‘Until the regiment moves on, that is. Then where the regiment goes, I go, too.’
He looked across at the captain and smiled, and for some reason, he looked faintly apologetic.
Phoebe nodded, conscious her pulse was still racing.
‘And from whom do you run, Miss Fairfax?’ Captain Elliot grinned.
‘Surely no adversary is too great for our intrepid, pirating adventurer?’ He turned to warn off the darkness with dramatic flourish and was rewarded with a screech from the nearest peacock, making them all laugh.
‘I wish I had half the fortitude you imagine,’ Phoebe exhaled.
The captain threw her a brief, quizzical look just as two more silhouettes loomed out of the darkness towards them.
‘Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere!’ Sophie began to remonstrate before she spied her sister’s company.
‘Oh! Captain Elliot, do excuse me for interrupting,’ she exclaimed, flushing prettily. ‘I did so enjoy our dance earlier.
‘Phoebe, where have you been? Aunt is going frantic trying to find you! I tried the buffet and card rooms but you were nowhere to be seen, so I thought?—’
‘The Earl of Cumberland is here, Miss Fairfax!’
Phoebe started as Aurelia emerged from the semi-gloom, a triumphant expression on her face.
‘He’s talking to your delightful aunt, who has just launched intoquitethe explanation for your attendance here this evening. Of course, the earl is an old family friend of the Damerels, so his attendance at a private family dinner is hardly a surprise,’ she added, her eyes glittering.
‘And, I do believe he’s mentioned a dance…?’
She paused to tinkle with laughter, as everyone turned to Phoebe. Phoebe forced a smile, though a strange chill was reaching through her.
The earl shunned the season and socialising – it was his reason for a no-fuss wedding – so why would he choose to be here tonight? And why was the universe insistent on moving in such tiny circles?
She swallowed, inordinately grateful for both her mask and the night.
‘Now, I must return,’ Aurelia added, bestowing her most dazzling smile on the captain, ‘for I’m promised to the viscount for a dance, and in truth, we make such a handsome couple – do we not?’
