He gave a nod. “He promised to return.”
“If I do not give her back.”
“Is there anything else from that encounter that you have not told me?”
“No, that is all,” she answered.
“I will check the house myself then see that the footman are in place.”
Benedick then stepped into the corridor, closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall. Why did the only woman he could love have to be a lady—daughter then sister of an earl?
Even if Victoria had developed any deep emotions for him this past summer, she knew as well as he that there could be no future and that he was not worthy enough to kiss her hand, let alone the other parts of her body he had kissed and touched, which was likely why she had immediately shunned him upon learning his name.
That had hurt, deeply, but it hadn’t changed how he had come to care about the woman she’d been while masked.
They had shared a passion that had barely been reined in, but they stopped before any true ruination could occur. It had been important to wait until her identity was revealed. He did not want full intimacy with a woman when he had no idea what she looked like, though he had planned on whisking her away to his chamber once the masks were removed. They were going to spend the entire night exploring the other. He had been so certain of their future. A future that he had been afraid to even suggest when he only knew her by Valerie, and why words of love would not pass his lips until they were both revealed.
When he did see her face then heard her name, and her reaction to his, the best night of his life had turned into the worst.
Three
Victoria blew out a sigh and sank onto the settee. This was going to be a difficult night, or for however long it took to find that man.
Maybe she should have remained at Westbrook House. There was a chamber that she could sleep in and there were guards on the door, except she did not like sleeping there. It wasn’t her home. It belonged to others, even if she and her sister owned it.
Yet, she could have made the sacrifice and now wished that she would have thought of it while she had been there, then Benedick would not be in her home.
Except, if she had remained at Westbrook House, it would have been the same as hiding and she loathed the very idea of that man having such power over her.
She also did not need Benedick or anyone to rescue her from danger, yet she was also glad he was here. That man had frightened her earlier today and Victoria hoped that he was caught soon.
“All is secure,” Benedick announced as he returned to the parlor.
“Thank you,” she murmured then fell back against the settee, surrendering to what was to be, for now.
“I admire the work that you and your sister do, but it is dangerous.”
“We are aware,” Victoria answered. “He was not the first man to have come to our doorstep determined to take back what he believed was his property.”
“Is that why you now have guards?”
Victoria nodded. “Sinclair hired them for the safety of everyone inside.” She rose from her seat and crossed to the sideboard. “They used to only be there at night, in the darkness, but Sinclair thought it best for someone to always be present because it would be a deterrent for anyone who might thing to break in.”
She lifted the decanter of brandy and poured a glass before she turned to Benedick. “Would you like one?”
“Yes, please.”
She poured one for him and then handed it to Benedick before she returned to her seat.
She’d never drunk to excess before but maybe tonight would be a good time to do so. It might even help the pain and pressure in her head.
“I hope that whoever the man happens to be is caught because I am certain that I am the last person you want in your home.” He then lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip, his brown eyes staring at her over the rim, daring her to claim that he was wrong.
Which he was.
“I assumed that it was you who would not want to be here, yet you are,” she returned.
“Why?” he asked. “Because of the way you treated me at the end of Lady Grisham’s house party?”
