Mostly, he wanted distance fromher.
The level of...intimacythey shared (there was no better word) had gone from inappropriate andreckless to something like all-consuming. What had begun like a drizzle now felt like a torrent.
And Helena Lark was completely unavailable to him.
Even if, by some extreme miracle, they thwarted the wedding.
Even if Girdleston did not send him back to jail.
Even if she housed his father and sisters in her idyllic forest.
Declan Shaw was the son of a tailor, a soldier-for-hire by trade, and Helena was the daughter of an earl. She saw him as diverting and exciting but hardly a man she might someday marry.
And he hadn’t even revealed to her that he was also an ex-convict.
They had no future beyond the scheme.
Their intimacy must stop.
He didn’t need a day away, he needed a lifetime.
Today was devoted to a woman called Miss Joanna Keep, who, according to Helena’s notes, passed her time working, improbably, as an apprentice in a medical practice. The doctor was her uncle, Dr. Curtis Keep, a surgeon of some merit in Wimpole Street.
Declan had seen Cavendish Square on Helena’s schedule and made the connection. Wimpole Street, with its flourishing array of doctors, surgeons, osteopaths, chemists, and therapeutic specialists, was just around the corner. They’d devised a plan on the sprint back to Lusk’s Home Farm. At the very least, this potential duchess existed in a fixed spot on the map. No prowlingabout markets or shops. Whether she was suitable for Lusk? They’d learned yesterday that simply finding the girl was no guarantee.
After two laps to observe Miss Keep’s alleged office, Declan returned to the duke’s carriage. It was parked in front of the townhome that contained Helena, her mother, the sisters, and another Lusk cousin. Nettle and the coachman idled in the street, waiting attendance. The call itself was meant to be brief. Lady Linney, the host, was an acquaintance of Helena’s mother but not a bosom friend.
Declan nodded to Nettle. “Any sign?”
The older man shook his head.
He was just about to take another circuit when Lady Linney’s door opened and Helena’s mother and sisters spilled onto the stoop. Declan came to attention, watching them bustle down the steps in a spectrum of autumnal silk and spirited chatter. Helena was last as always—the most beautiful one. Today she wore a rust-colored dress with turquoise trim, ivory lace, and a caramel-colored hat. A small peacock feather extended from the brim, winging the side of her head. The effect was distinctive and arresting, far more stylish than the gauzy, modish pinks and creams of the others. Declan forced an expression of neutral indifference and waited for her to pretend to break her distinctive, arresting ankle. That had been the plan.
She caught his gaze. He quirked an eyebrow. She gave a nearly imperceptible shake of her head.No.
No? No—what?
No, she would not fake an ailment? No, they should not broach the medical office?
“The baroness puts on such a show,” Helena’s mother was saying, shrugging into her pelisse. “Overly solicitous in my view. La, just look at her, waving at us from the door. Her butler must wonder why he makes any effort.” The countess smiled and waved to the house.
“It’s all a bit much,” she said. “ ‘Show deference to the dukedom’—which is appropriate, I suppose. But where is the subtlety?” She tsked at the Lusk cousin, a dour woman named Burris.
“We shall have to grow accustomed to it,” the countess went on, “when we have a duchess in the family. So much posturing.”
“Really, Mother,” sighed Helena, stomping into the carriage, “the baroness and her daughters were simply being nice. Every person you encounter is not vying to impress you.”
“Least of all you,” said the countess, climbing in behind her. “Would it have killed you to answer a single question about the wedding?”
Declan tried again to catch Helena’s eye, but she had disappeared into the vehicle and squabbled with her sisters about seating. He was given little choice but to take up position on the runner and hold on.
The first corner was Weymouth and Wimpole. Dr. Keep’s surgical office was halfway down the street. They were there in a matter of seconds. Declan wondered what injuries could be sustained inside a moving carriage. They’d discussed a turned ankle or a fainting spell, something fromwhich Helena could easily recover. But she was meant to succumbbeforethey were speeding away. He leaned, trying to catch Helena’s eye through the window. To his left, the clinic grew smaller and smaller. Their opportunity was slipping away. They’d not be back this—
Suddenly, the glass pane to the carriage window slapped open. Helena stuck out her head and called, “Stop the carriage!”
Declan swung away, barely managing to hang on. “Hold!” he shouted.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Helena sputtered, sticking her head almost entirely out. She clutched the pane with tight, gloved fingers.
