“I have no interest in anything you have to say.” Her words were terse. “I ask only that you drop me at the Wayward Inn on Rector Street. I also demand the return of my dress tomorrow first thing.”
He nearly laughed to hear his Fox remain so practical in the midst of so much chaos. For this was chaos, he knew; it was critical he now court her—woo her—properly.
“I shall fetch your dress, yes, but the Wayward Inn is no place for a respectable young lady.”
“Then where, pray, do you intend to bring me?” She glared at him something fierce.
God, did he love this woman.
“To your family, Miss Merrinan, where you rightfully belong.” He removed his suit coat, leaning across the divide todrape it over her. She was surely chilled, nor could he deliver her to the Enrights looking quite so disheveled.
“I have no family in London, sir, so unless you mean to transport me in this carriage all the way to Cumberland, I believe you must be lying to me, yet again.”
“Charles, I’ve never lied to you, lass.”
“Don’t you dare pretend to be honorable, Lord Wells, when you know full well you arenot.”
He sighed deeply, having known she would be difficult, just not this difficult. “Charles, though you do not wish to hear it, I believe an explanation is in order now, before you are further shocked by what awaits you next.”
Her eyes, if possible, grew only larger.
“I have been in London nearly as long as you, I believe, having left but a day behind you. Your sister grudgingly informed me you meant to make a life for yourself here, and as I feared for your safety in this godforsaken city, I left immediately to find you.”
Wells took another breath; he would speak honestly after all he’d put her through. He must. “I also left in haste for the sole reason that I am desperately, madly in love with you.”
She opened her mouth to reply but promptly closed it—and her eyes—as if to shut him out.
He deserved no less.
“It has not been easy—finding you or loving you—but I will leave both those stories for another day. Suffice it to say, I took it upon myself to visit your mother’s family, the Earl and Countess of Denbigh, and after some convincing on the part of my own mother, they’ve agreed to welcome both you and Eleanor back, guaranteeing your well-being while you remain in London.”
Charles’s eyes flew open as she shook her head, chewing her bottom lip as if she wished to chew off his head. It did notseem humanly possible that he should infuriate her more, yet apparently he just had.
God help him.
Wells rushed to explain before she could voice her protest. “I realize you may not wish to resume contact with your grandparents, Charles, but given the circumstances, it is your safest option. As an unwed and unchaperoned young lady, you can hardly remain with me while in London, and certainly not while Miss Mowry still resides withMaman. Nor can I decently house you with any of my own acquaintances, being as they are admittedly, well, unsavory sorts.”
“Like Madame LeBrecht, I presume?” She skewered him with her gaze.
“Yes,” he answered. “I will tell you Miss Li’s story one day, Charles, and you will better understand her, I am sure.”
Her voice was cold. “I will not stay with the Enrights, my lord. I will not set foot in their house.”
“I’m sorry Charles, but for the time being you’ve really no choice.”
“I have every choice!” She tried to stand but sat down just as quickly when the wheels hit a rut. “Return me to the Wayward Inn at once, Lord Wells, or I will?—”
As she reached for the door handle Wells grabbed her bodily to him and deposited her firmly into his lap, the carriage still chasing London’s backstreets towards the Denbigh residence.
In his arms, her body vibrated tension.
“Fox.” His lips brushed her ear, relishing the feel of her again as he tightened his grip. He held her damp form close, until she gradually, ever so slightly relaxed. “I am sorry I must return you to the Enrights when I should like nothing better than to take you straight home with me, to my room, and keep you there forever. Because I have missed you so desperately these past weeks, I have worried so about your welfare, it is near killing meto deliver you elsewhere. But Charles, I have vowed to do right by you now, which means restoring your position in society and the freedom and honor that position grants you. I’ll not steal you away nor force you to my bed. But nor will I see you do further harm to yourself, love. You cannot remain in London near penniless, staying at some dump of an inn with hooligans and whores and all manner of?—”
“Disreputable types like yourself, Roland?” she mumbled into his chest, snuggling closer.
“Yes.” He gave her a squeeze. “I’ll not see you ruined, Fox.”
“You ruined me long ago, sir.”
