“I trust we have an understanding?” Dominic asked coolly, while Philip retreated.
The viscount nodded effusively. “I will not breathe a word. I swear, I will not say anything.”
“And if anyone should ask about your nose?” Dominic said.
Philip gulped. “I will tell them that… I fell from my horse.”
“Very well.” Dominic waved a dismissive hand. “But, do remember, one single whisper and…”
Philip stumbled toward his mount and clawed his way up into the saddle, before wheeling his horse around and taking off at a clumsy lurch. The man did not look back, and as Frances noticed Dominic’s dark smirk, she had to wonder what on earth he had said.
But as he caught her eye and his smirk softened into a smile, it was an altogether more pleasant thought that crept into her mind, and it went something like:Frances, I love you…
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Considering the late hour and the darkened roads, and the distraught condition of his daughter, Dominic decided that it would be better to stay where they were. He did not say so, he merely walked into the inn and knew that Frances and Harriet would follow. The Running Fox would suffice for the night and, as fortune would have it, Philip had already acquired two rooms.
“He will not be needing them anymore,” Dominic said to the innkeeper, with a warning look that brooked no argument.
“Of course, sir,” the man replied, as he came out from behind the long wooden bar, a set of keys clinking from his belt like a makeshift chatelaine.
There were not too many other patrons, as Dominic let his glance skim across the main parlor. Certainly, no one who looked like they might know him or his daughter, or Frances for that matter. All weary travelers who seemed content enough to mind their own business.
As they headed up a set of creaking, rickety stairs, Frances helping Harriet along, he could hear his daughter murmuring miserably, “I am sorry, Papa. Please, forgive me.”
He did not respond. He could not trust himself to, not yet. Until he had shed the lingering disgust from his encounter with Philip, he did not want to say a word to anyone.
“Here’s the larger of the two,” the innkeeper said, opening the nearest door that lined the somewhat crooked landing.
Dominic nodded. “The ladies will sleep here.”
With a frown at him, Frances escorted Harriet into the room, while he waited for the innkeeper to show him to the smaller room. It was at the very end of the landing, a tiny window offering a smeared view of the darkness beyond.
There, with the door closed, he walked to the narrow bed and sank down, his shoulders hunching as he held his head in his hands. His breaths came in slow, shaky gulps, his heart beating so hard he could feel it pulsing in his temples.
I almost lost her to that beast.
“Does he hate me?” Harriet mumbled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
Frances fluffed the pillows and lit some lanterns, hoping to make the stark room a little cozier for the poor thing. “Of course he does not hate you,” she replied softly. “He loves you, Harriet. You mean everything to him. If you did not, he would not have ridden like a hellion all the way from London, andIwould never know the feeling of truly fearing for my life.”
The faintest chuckle managed to rise from Harriet’s throat. “You have never ridden a horse before?”
“Never.” Frances paused. “Have you driven a curricle before?”
The girl nodded shyly. “Never so far, but certainly around the grounds at Alderwick.” Her face crumpled. “He will never forgive me for this… but I really thought Philip loved me. He must have sent me hundreds of letters, professing that he did. Was I really so mistaken, Frances?”
“There are sly men in this world, Harriet, and not all of them are easy to spot,” Frances replied, as she came to crouch in front of Harriet, who sat in a worn chair by the door. “When we are young, we want to believe in magic and fantasy, we want to believe that wondrous things will happen to us. The viscount used that to his advantage, but you must never lose hope that wondrous things are in your future. And you will assuredly never be fooled again.”
Harriet let her chin drop to her chest. “This must be why Papa did not want me to be anywhere near society. I was safe at Alderwick, and I had no idea. I thought it was a prison.”
“Alderwick is where Philip began his deceit,” Frances reminded her. “And one should not isolate oneself in the name of safety. Indeed, that is too small a life. Youdeserveto experience society, and now you know to exercise more caution; that can only be a good thing.”
“What if Philip tells tales about me?” Harriet’s lip trembled.
Frances smiled. “If his face was anything to judge by, he will not be saying anything about you.”
“What do you think my father said to him?” the girl whispered, as, out of the corner of her eye, Frances saw the door open.
