Nay, not just secrets.
Hannah had entered into this partnership with the intent of destroying Eoin’s family. But even as she’d begun to realizethat Eoin would willingly help uncover his relatives’ perfidy, she also knew for certain that he’d be sorely wounded that she’d tricked him.
And then she’d gone and kissed the man. Or rather devoured him.
She really needed to confess the truth. But how could she at this moment? Eoin was still reeling from the brutality of what they’d witnessed at the Horse and Hen. He believed his mother to be dead, perhaps even from a fight in the ring. And she—Hannah—was his main support in the dark world that he’d just discovered. Could she leave him with absolutely no foundation?
Damn it. She’d made a bloody mess of things.
“A stray thought.” Eoin tapped Hannah’s forehead lightly and brought her from her stupor. To her surprise, an adorable half pout touched Eoin’s lips. She hadn’t thought the stoic man capable of such a petty emotion. “And here you have utterly destroyed my capacity for reason.”
Oh, she was the very devil. The truth behind her original motivations would utterly crush this sweet mountain of a man.
“Perhaps I need to try harder.” Eoin attempted to wink, but he didn’t quite succeed. It was more like a lopsided blink. But his failure only made the gesture more lovable.
Hannah’s mind scrambled for how best to proceed for Eoin’s sake. She did not want to reject him, but she also didn’t want to engender more closeness until she could tell him the truth.
Eoin’s expression seemed to deaden, and Hannah realized the astute man had noticed her hesitation. “Eoin, I—”
Thankfully, the carriage drew to a stop, and the coachman rapped on the ceiling—the signal that Eoin liked his footmento give upon arrival at a destination. Hannah nearly catapulted off Eoin’s lap.
“We best put ourselves to rights,” Hannah said as she tugged on her shirt and patted her shoulder as a signal for Pan to return to her.
At the Black Sheep, it was no secret that she sometimes donned boys’ clothing, so there was no need to rebind her breasts. She just needed to look… well… untumbled. Not that there had been any actual tumbling, which was probably for the best—but oh, what an intense tumbling it would have been.
Eoin nodded and stiffly donned his simple coat. “I hope I did not offend you with—”
“Not at all,” Hannah reassured him, resting her hand on his arm for a few brief seconds. She wouldn’t have risked even that contact if they hadn’t been about to depart the carriage. She didn’t trust herself around Eoin—not with how incendiary their kisses had been.
“I’ve never experienced an intensity like that,” Hannah admitted.
Eoin’s eyes heated, and when he spoke, his normally even voice sounded like a growl. “Nor have I.”
Hannah sucked in her breath.Calm. Now is not the time. You can be calm.
“We’d best go inside.” Hannah turned and pushed on the carriage door. “I’ll send a boy around to collect our friends. Once the Black Sheep closes, we need to discuss what we learned.”
“I am afraid of the conclusions,” Eoin admitted grimly, and then a shadow of a smile touched his lips. “But I am glad you will be next to me.”
Hannah’s remorse skewered her, but a confession now would only ease her guilt and make Eoin feel worse. So she squeezed his arm and nodded.
“I’ll stay at your side, Eoin,” Hannah promised, while silently adding,until you chase me away.
“None of this makes sense.” Sophia tapped an elegant finger against a low table in the back room. They were all gathered on the comfortable furniture, and Hannah and Eoin had just finished recounting what had happened in the bowels of the Horse and Hen.
“Nothing you described is illegal,” Sophia pointed out. “Why would they position a guard at the entrance?”
“And a bear!” Charlotte said, shaking her head. “That poor creature.”
Her husband reached over and patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll either buy it or figure out another way to rescue it. There’s plenty of room at our friend’s menagerie.”
“Illegal operations must be occurring at the Horse and Hen,” Sophia sighed, her fingers beating out an even faster tattoo. “But none of our patrons know anything about it.”
“I haven’t learned anything specific either,” Powys added with an especially theatrical sigh, a hazard of being an actor.
“But you have heard something?” Hannah leaned forward. Beside her, Eoin stiffened. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she had no idea what their relationship was… or would become. And it didn’t feel fair to expose him to the scrutiny of her friends.
“Just about the street in general. It was known for being a hotbed of pro-Catholic activity and then as a center of the gin trade,” Powys explained. “But it was curiously difficult to obtain even that much information. No one seems to want to talk about the Horse and Hen.”
