two
ANGELINE HUFFED AS the doors to the boxes lining the hallway were shut, signalling the play was about to begin.
“What am I supposed to do here for an hour?” she asked the footman.
“The same as I do. Obey the earl. There’s nothing we can do about the situation.” He regarded her from underneath bronzed eyelashes.
“The earl isn’t my master. I have no intention of staying here and doing nothing.”
She’d take a hansom cab home. She should ask for a reimbursement of her ticket at the box office since she couldn’t enjoy the play. Or ask the blasted earl to reimburse it. She went to open the door to the box to tell her mother she was leaving, but the footman blocked her, having the audacity to hold her wrist.
“No. The earl’s orders are clear. He must not be disturbed.”
“Goodness, let me go.”
He did as told without hesitation and without an apology.
“Then you’ll do me the favour of informing my mother that I returned home.” She started to leave when the cheeky man stepped in front of her and blocked her path.
“Miss,” he hissed. “Don’t make this more difficult than necessary. I’m afraid you have to stay here. His Lordship’s orders.”
“Oh, really?” She lifted her chin, mostly to be able to stare at him in the eyes rather than show him defiance. “Thank goodness I don’t have to follow His Lordship’s orders.” She tried to sidestep the giant, but he mirrored her moves.
“Thank goodness my job is to make sure His Lordship’s orders are followed.” His tone didn’t have an ounce of humour.
“I want to leave. I’m not going to wait here for an hour, hoping your master will show me mercy and let me in.”
His luscious chestnut curls bounced over his sharp jaw as he shook his head. If he weren’t so intense and menacing, he’d pass for a handsome man. Frightening, but handsome.
“Staying here is in your interest as well, miss. It’s late. A lady shouldn’t take a hansom cab alone at this hour of the night. It’s a matter of safety.”
No, it was a matter of principle. Who was this earl who could decide how she was supposed to spend her night?
“I am not staying. Sir. I apologise if my decision upsets you.”
She didn’t ride and practise with a bow every day to have some hulk of a man bully her. He towered over her and had enough muscles in his little finger to knock her out, but she was light, agile, and quick. If she confused him with quick footwork and was fast enough, he wouldn’t catch her.
Besides, she didn’t need to go past him. She could run in the opposite direction and leave the theatre using the secondary exit. She had never been at the Theatre Royal, but every theatre had a secondary exit for the performers and staff. The other exitshould open to a side alleyway. His Lordship would scold him for not having held her. Served him right.
The man exhaled, his chest lowering. “Miss, I must?—”
She feinted a dash to the left. He followed her move, but she spun on her heels and ran towards the other side of the corridor, and goodbye hunky footman.
Ha! It’d been easier than she’d thought. The heavy skirt and petticoats hindered her movements, but she was used to running with them. The secondary hallway leading to the rear was so narrow her skirt skimmed both walls. She didn’t dare glance behind her as she sped down the service stairs. The silence bothered her, though. Too quiet for anything good. Midway down, she paused and checked behind her. No one. The loyal footman wasn’t so loyal after all. He must have decided that catching her was too much of an effort for his salary.
Pity. She enjoyed a nice chase. Leaving him behind had been too easy. Obviously, the man wasn’t as athletic as he seemed. Never mind.
She resumed going down the stairs at a leisurely pace. Mama would be all right. She was a resourceful, indomitable woman. If anything, the earl had to be careful because when Mama set her mind on a venture, nothing could stop her. No one knew the stock market better than she did. Her investments were always a success.
At the end of the stairs, Angeline hurried along the wide corridor towards a set of double doors. She pulled them open. A large figure loomed over her. She screamed.
“Surprised, miss?” The footman filled the space in the doorframe with his bulk.
She stepped back. “How?”
“I guess I know this theatre better than you do. Shall we return to the earl’s box after this pointless exercise?” He stretched out an arm towards the stairs. “Ladies first.”
“Brutes before beauty.”
