Declan.
He walked to her as if the room was empty. The crowd saw only him. Their faces were lit with fascination. He was unknown, of course—a towering, muscled highwayman. His expression was taut with silent fury. He looked only at her. Helena stared, choking back a sob. She pulled out of Lusk’s grasp, and he let her go.
She wanted to run to Declan—it was her only thought—but a cautionary word rose behind her.
“Discretion,” Lusk whispered.
A reminder and warning.
The three of them were being watched by a roomful of people who wanted nothing more than a riveting story to tell.
Helena slowed her step and raised her chin. She walked to Declan but did not touch him. With her eyes, she said,I am alright. He hesitated. She nodded at the door and put one foot in front of the other. He fell in beside her and they walked from the room.
Once outside, Helena navigated the ball through burning eyes. She would not cry, but she also would not remain. Her time at this ball had come to an end. She felt Declan fall back, following but not flanking. She must pretend to be alone. Inside, she ran; outside, she was simply wafting through the ball. She circumvented the dance floor and ascended the steps, weaving through revelers.
At the top of the stairs, she fixed her eyes on the front door. Footmen stepped up to offer herpelisse, but she ignored them. When a butler fumbled with the door, she reached for the knob and threw it open herself. She was down the steps in an instant, gulping in the cold night air.
She turned left without thinking and walked to the end of the block. Carriages idled in the road, their grooms and coachmen smoking or throwing dice. Helena kept moving, turning first one corner, and then the next. When, finally, she outwalked the last of the carriages, she stopped. She was panting, energized by exertion and misery and fear.
“No. Not here,” clipped a voice behind her, Declan’s voice, and then suddenly he was there. He took her by the hand and led her deeper into the dark. They went another half block, and the sidewalk opened up into a small square, bordered with an iron fence. Declan swung the gate and led her inside. She followed along, exhausted now, dazed, her steps dragging.
“Not yet,” he said, leading her deeper into the shadows, away from the last streetlamp.
Finally, when the sounds of horses and carriages and barking dogs faded, and the dark chill of the park closed in around them, he stopped. He took a deep breath, checking around them. He turned to her.
“Helena,” he whispered.
She fell into his arms and he swept her to him.
“Why?” she cried, the tears falling freely. “Why is this my lot? What sort of family would subject their daughter to this?”
He squeezed her, tucking her against his strong chest, his chin on her head. He dug his handsinto her hair and wrapped a secure arm around her waist. She burrowed in, leeching his strength and his warmth.
“They do not know you,” he said.
“They know that I am uncooperative and embarrassing and annoying. It’s almost as if my stubbornness ignitedtheirstubbornness, and we were locked in a kind of spiral. They could not allow me to prevail.”
“I cannot believe their stamina, honestly,” he said. “Why not simply shackle your sister Joan with the duke?”
“Because my grandmother left the forest and cottage and riverto me. If Girdleston wants the river for his mining boats, Lusk must marry me to get it. Joan will have only a dowry. What would Girdleston want with a pot of money when he could make an endless fortune instead?”
“I’m so sorry,” Declan sighed, kissing her hair.
“The sad thing is, Joan would likely do it. She would marry Lusk and find a way to survive as his wife. Not Camille, thank God, but Joan covets the title of duchess as much as my parents. To make matters worse, we are indistinguishable to Lusk. He doesn’t care which unsuitable girl he marries for money. And oh!” she exclaimed, pulling away. “Heknows!”
Declan peeled off his mask. “Knows what?”
“Declan, in the moment you came for me, Lusk told me to run from the room. He whispered in my ear, ‘Get out of here.’ ”
Declan’s face went white.
She held up her hands. “He told me to goto you, in particular.”
Declan took a step back. “No.”
“Yes.”
They stared at each other in the dark. She continued, “He’s always been an enigma to me, but I promise you, he knew I was miserable, and he sent me away. He sent me toyou.”
