A hand wrapped around her arm.
“Javenia, wait.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She choked out through angry tears.
“Because I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Didn’t want to hurt me?” She let go of her skirt and gestured to herself. “Does this look like you saved me? Do I look rescued from heartache?”
He let go of her arm and stepped back. “No.”
Silence stretched between them as hot tears dripped down her face.
“No,” Javenia finally said. “Is that all you can say? No. You keep a secret that great, one that would have made all these years of dislike bearable and you have nothing to say for yourself?”
Algenon’s jaw worked back and forth.
“Well?”
When he didn’t answer, she threw up her hands and paced back to the fountain, then whirled around. “You promised to protect me.”
“Which is exactly what I have been doing,” he bit out. “You made me promise to never tell a single soul what happened. You said you couldn’t stand it if anyone else knew. So why would I tell you my father knew? It hurt you, just as I always knew it would. I was saving you from that hurt for as long as possible, even if that meant I had to swallow my own pain from the havoc it caused in my life.”
“Your pain? What pain? You have been able to prance about in Society, simpering and flirting to your heart’s content.”
He stalked forward. “Is that what you think?”
Javenia took a step back, but he kept coming.
“For the last seven years, my father has controlled me with that one secret. Made my life a living hell. Yes, I was allowed to go about in Society, but the one thing I wanted in all the world was forbidden.”
Javenia swallowed when he came nearly nose to nose with her, her heart stuttering in response. Her skin heated at his nearness, but she would not be distracted or intimidated. “Yes, well, at least you were not ruined because yourfriendleft off propriety and created an expectation in Society. You will walk away from this whole situation free of speculation, able to live a full life.”
His voice dropped dangerously low. “Will I, Javenia?”
She took another step back, trying to put space between them. Algenon’s cinnamon and sandalwood scent was muddling her thoughts and cooling her temper, but she couldn’t let that happen. She needed to hang on to anger, if for no other reason than to protect herself.
“Of course you will. Especially since you’ll not have to worry about me in it.”
He growled. “Do you really think that is what I want? Can you not see my desire in every move I have made, every look we’ve shared, every time I’ve rearranged my life to be there when you needed me?” He stepped forward and she stumbled backward, her leg hit the edge of the fountain at the same moment Algenon said, “I lived for years under my father’s threats because I loved you too much to allow anyone to hurt you.”
A weightlessness filled her at his proclamation of love, like by some ethereal means her whole soul had been allowed to take flight.
Then she tipped back and realized the light feeling was not only from his words but from being knocked off balance by the edge of the fountain. The last thing she saw was Algenon’s hands shooting out to grab her before her head submerged under the water.
Algenon tried to right himself, flipping over in the fountain to take his weight off of Javenia. He’d meant to save her from the fall, but she’d only pulled him off balance with her. Once on his hands and knees he pulled her head above water, helping her sit upright as she sputtered and coughed.
After a couple of firm pats to the back she waved a hand to stop him, her teeth chattering. They were sitting in two feet of water, in the dark, temperatures being above freezing but not atall what one would wish for a late-night dip. Carefully, he pulled away several of the curls plastered to Javenia’s face. She blinked up at him, eyes wide.
She looked like a frightened doe, ready to flee at any moment.
“Did you mean it?” she whispered unevenly.
“Mean what?” he asked softly, swiping back one more strand of hair before trailing his fingers down the side of her face and along her jaw.
“Lady P-plum said you announced to p-people that you had n-no intentions of pursuing me.”
So Lady Plum was at fault for the shift in Javenia’s mood after she delivered the note. He should have known. Nothing good ever came from her and Mrs. Cline.
