He frowned, but was saved from replying when the carriage slowed. He kissed her once more, then moved back to his side of the vehicle. After a moment, the door opened and the footman poked his head inside.
“Where would you like to go now, Your Grace?”
Aiden looked at her, his gray gaze holding hers. “To the servants’ entrance at Grayson Danford’s home.”
The young man nodded, and once again they were left alone. Celia’s eyes went wide. Aiden had caught her in what could easily be seen as a compromising position. Ladies of her rank were not meant to go roaming the city streets without a chaperone. It was well within his rights to take her straight back to her sister and tell all. He would even be able to say it was for her own good.
“Why are you looking at me like I sprouted a second head?” Aiden asked with a chuckle.
Celia swallowed hard. “I was just trying to figure out why you would help me sneak back into the house without my sister knowing what I’d done.”
He held her stare for a moment, then shrugged. “I assume that when you are ready to tell me what you were doing today, you will. Until then, you have the right to your own counsel. Though I will say that what you did could have been dangerous. Next time you want to sneak out, send word for me and I’ll arrange it.”
She wrinkled her brow. What he was saying was that he was willing to be her partner in crime. “You would do that?”
“Yes, and I wouldn’t betray you by involving anyone you didn’t wish, Celia.”
Her stomach dropped. That vow not to betray her cut her to the bone. She had just done exactly the opposite with her grandfather. She’d already kept secrets from this man about her lineage. She’d promised Fitzgilbert that she’d keep doing that. That she’d use Aiden for her grandfather’s self-serving purposes.
The carriage stopped in the alleyway behind Gray’s home and there was a shuffling as the servants moved to open the door. Before they did, she reached across to slide her hand down Aiden’s cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Seeing you made today far better.”
He smiled, and it changed the entire appearance of his face. She realized then how rare that expression was. But it made him look so much younger, so much less serious. How she longed to put that expression on his face daily and for the rest of their lives. But could she do that if she began that future with such deception?
“You will likely have a letter from me waiting for you. And tomorrow I am to call on you,” he said. “I look forward to it.”
She nodded as the servant opened the door and offered her a hand out. She turned and gave Aiden one last look. “Tomorrow,” she said, and lifted her hand to wave.
He did the same, and she turned away, walking to the house. Her mind spun as she did so. She’d just done everything she could to obtain her grandfather’s help, and now she was torn apart by the promises she’d made.
But Aiden would be there tomorrow. And by tomorrow she had to decide if she intended to follow the path she’d started with her grandfather.
Or if she might try a new path. One that took her toward the man she loved, but perhaps away from the father she so desperately wanted to meet.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Clairemont sat in Danford’s parlor the next afternoon, waiting again for Celia to enter. He’d done this several times now, and yet this time felt different.
Yesterday had madeeverythingdifferent.
He’d been going from a meeting with Stalwood back to his townhouse when he saw her walking up the street. He had been shocked. Ladies did not roam about London unchaperoned. Even in good parts of the city, it wasnotdone. Once he ordered his carriage to stop and verified it was indeed Celia, there had been no hesitation in what to do next.
He had to be certain she was all right.
He’d become accustomed to the loveliness of her face, but he’d never fully grasped what made her expression so appealing. But it was her light. There was a joy in Celia that bubbled just below the surface, bringing a brightness that flowed from within and warmed his cold and empty world.
But yesterday, when she climbed into his carriage, that light within her had been extinguished, replaced by a sadness and upset that made his stomach turn. He’d been desperate to heal her, help her, save her.
Of course, she had denied him that ability. She hadn’t been ready to share whatever had caused her odd behavior. But he was a spy, and it hadn’t taken much more than a flick of his wrist to find out that the place where he’d first seen her was just a stone’s throw from the home of her estranged grandfather.
What was she doing with Gregory Fitzgilbert?
It couldn’t be anything good, since she’d hidden it from her sister, hidden it from him. He’d searched far and wide for a reason for their estrangement, but a fight between Danford and Fitzgilbert at the time of Celia’s broken engagement with Stenfax was the only information he could find.
Still, his intuition pricked. And he wanted so much to be able to help Celia.
The door to the parlor opened and Celia entered with Rosalinde trailing behind. Clairemont frowned. With her sister in the room, there was no way Celia would reveal anything to him.
