“My choice?”
“Do not hurt my little brother. If you treat him properly, I believe we may become fast friends. However, don’t even consider playing with his emotions. If you do, I will be the one toying with you.”
“It should be dawn soon.” Eoin broke the silence that had fallen over the carriage ever since they had dropped off Lord Percy at his home.
Eoin drew back the thick curtains to reveal a still darkened London. Only the moon and the light from a few open establishments illuminated the way.
“Yes,” Hannah said, although she only half heard Eoin. She was steeping in her own guilt and debating if she should tell Eoin the truth about her connection to the Aucourtes. After all, he’d found his family and obviously had their support.
Yet should Hannah puncture Eoin’s joy so soon? Shouldn’t she allow him to bask a bit in this triumph?
However, don’t even consider playing with his emotions. If you do, I will be the one toying with you.
Lizzie’s threat echoed in Hannah’s head, but the memory of his mother’s words gave her the most pause. Championess Quick had pulled Hannah aside before she’d climbed into the carriage with Eoin and Lord Percy. The woman’s implacable mien suddenly crumbled, and Hannah had witnessed the decades of heartache.Thank you, Miss Wick, for helping my son. I sense you mean a lot to him. Please continue to keep watch over Eoin. I am afraid these next few weeks will be challenging ones indeed when the truth of our relationship is revealed. I am glad you will be by his side.
“I do not feel like retiring to bed,” Eoin said as the hackney drew up to Aucourte House. “Perhaps I’ll sit in the gardens.”
“Do you wish for me to join you?” Hannah asked, torn between wanting him to say yes and declining.
“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”
“You wouldn’t be,” Hannah said quickly. If Eoin didn’t wish to be alone after tonight’s revelations, then Hannah wouldn’t abandon him.
A shy smile touched Eoin’s lips, and Hannah instantly melted. This man had a way of seeping into her heart.
They quickly debarked from the carriage. Instead of heading to the front door, Eoin led Hannah to the garden gate. She could detect the sweet scent of honeysuckle mixed with the more pungent lavender. “It smells like a cottage garden.”
“My understanding is that my late grandmother planted it,” Eoin said as he stretched out his fingers in her direction, his white glove glowing in the silvery moonlight. “Here, take myhand. There are quite a few plants stuffed into a small space. They’re all overgrown, and the paving stones are uneven and crumbling.”
As Hannah threaded her bare fingers between his, she could feel his warmth. A magical sensation stole over her as they slipped through the fragrant, late summer blossoms. Stems brushed against her stocking-covered legs and her boy’s breeches. It was strange to discover a little of the countryside’s wildness behind the immense townhouse of a duke—especially the former Foxglen’s residence.
“I am surprised that the previous duke allowed such a tangle of flowers on his property,” Hannah said as she brushed her free hand against the foliage. The scent of mint joined the other pleasant odors. “Did he have affections for his late wife?”
Eoin snorted, the sound harsh. “I do not believe that my grandfather suffered from any emotions of the heart. He cared only about his title and the legacy of the Aucourtes. His marriage to my grandmother was strategic. Her family’s lands bordered the ducal estate, and her dowry included a nice plot. He mentioned more than once that he blamed her for my father’s dramatic tumble from grace even though she’d died years before his downfall.”
“Why would he fault your grandmother?” Hannah asked as Eoin stopped in front of an overgrown arched trellis with a crumbling stone bench beneath it.
“This garden is a perfect example of my grandfather’s frustrations with his late duchess,” Eoin explained as he sat down and gently tugged Hannah after him. Although Hannah knew it wasn’t wise, she couldn’t help but snuggle against him. Their conversation seemed random, but Hannah sensed some importance in it—a key perhaps to understanding Eoin’s lonely childhood. “My grandmother planted common Englishposies—even wildflowers—because it reminded her of the small village near her parents’ country estate that she loved to stroll around as a young lady. The old duke claimed such acts of whimsy and pleasure in common things influenced my father to sympathize with those allegedly beneath him.”
“Knowing your grandfather’s temperament, I am surprised that he didn’t raze the plants and erect a formal garden.” Hannah gave in to temptation and leaned her cheek against Eoin’s arm. She could not reach his shoulder, but his broad biceps made a perfect—if hard—headrest.
“I don’t think he wished to expend the money. He had little use for the outdoors. He preferred a domain that he had complete control over. Nature, even organized landscapes, displeased him. After all, pruned bushes sprout unwanted branches.” Eoin’s voice rumbled through Hannah, and she swore she could feel his hidden pain. Hannah suspected that Eoin had been nothing but a piece of shrubbery to Foxglen, and any part of Eoin that had not pleased the duke would have been ruthlessly clipped away.
“You seem familiar with this garden.” Hannah squeezed his fingers and then began to trace his palm with her thumb.
“It was my secret escape.” Eoin laid his cheek on the crown of Hannah’s head—surprising her with the intimacy of the gesture. He was clearly a man who never allowed himself to unbend, but here he was, snuggling with her among the honeysuckle and hollyhocks. “My grandfather did not hear well, and I could sneak away at night. I suspect that the servants knew of my midnight forays, and perhaps even my aunts and uncles did as well. Fortunately, no one ever told him. Even on cold winter nights after I’d suffered through a particularly scathing lecture, I would disappear to this very bench and stare at the stars. I would wonder if my mother and sister were gazing atthe same ones. A trite gesture—but it made me feel closer to them.”
Hannah’s heart flopped in her chest. How did anyone ever call this sentimental man callous?
“I don’t find it trite but sweet. And having met your mother and sister, I would not be surprised at all if they’d glanced at the night sky while missing you.” Hannah moved her head against his chest now, and she could hear the steady thud of his heart.
“They did seem to have missed me.” The wonder in Eoin’s voice caused tears to prick the backs of Hannah’s eyes. This wonderful man had deserved so much more affection than he’d been given.
Eoin bent to whisper his next words in her ear. “Without you, I do not know if I would have ever found them. I am very grateful that you chose to take pity on me that day at the Black Sheep.”
Hannah, however, felt no pleasure in his heartfelt words. Instead, renewed guilt blasted her. “I’m glad to have helped, but it was your own diligence that made it happen.”
Eoin straightened, and his gaze locked on some indeterminate spot among the shadowy, moonlit plants. When he did speak, his normally measured voice alternated between hesitancy and then rapidity as if his words had been dammed up and then came out in a single rush before a new set became snagged once more. “You… you do not need to return to the Black Sheep immediately… I mean to say that you can if you want, but there is no need to rush on my part. I… well… I… well, I enjoy your company, Hannah… and it is good to have you here tonight… with all that has happened.”
