Page 4 of The Lady Loves A Scandal

“Are you expecting someone?” Sybil asked.

Had her brothers discovered her missing? Had her maid returned to Sybil’s chambers to check on her mistress, found her not in residence, and alerted the entire household?

Sybil sighed in relief when the man dismounted and stepped into the pool of light cast by the torches hung outside Gideon’s door.

“Wait here,” Gideon demanded, but he did not await her reply as he stalked from the shadows and addressed the rider, stopping him before the man pounded his clenched fist on the door.

The men stood close as they talked in hushed whispers that were carried away on the night breeze before they reached Sybil.

Finally, Gideon nodded and motioned for the man to go inside as he turned and started back toward Sybil.

Halting before her Gideon asked, “Are you certain you will be safe to return home alone?”

Suddenly, Sybil wasn’t sure at all, but she would risk the unimaginable to avoid admitting that she’d been wrong to depart her home at midnight for their final clandestine meeting before their betrothal was officially announced.

Not trusting her voice to remain steady, Sybil bobbed her chin up and down.

“Good,” he sighed. “I will see you on the morrow. Dream joyfully in your slumber.”

“Who is the man?” she dared ask. “He seemed rather urgent in his arrival.”

“It is nothing to worry about,” Gideon said, but it did little to ease her apprehension. “Only a long-standing matter I’ve been attempting to rectify for some time.”

Sybil’s brow pulled low. If Gideon had hidden something from her before she hadn’t noticed. But she was not foolish enough to think that a man arriving during the middle of the night was of no consequence. Questioning Gideon further would gain her nothing, however, unless she wished to start their betrothal with the mark of a nagging woman.

Gideon pulled her into his arms as his finger traced down her cheek and along her jawline. A shiver raced the length of her spine, and she pressed her body against his.

Soon enough, they’d be free to touch, caress, and kiss one another to their hearts’ content, but for now, Sybil needed to return home before anyone noticed her missing. Besides, Gideon obviously had other matters to attend to before meeting with Sybil’s brother in the morning.

“Farewell, my love.”

“Until later.” Sybil grinned up at him, determined not to allow the man waiting inside the Galway Townhouse to ruin this moment for her.

Rising to her tiptoes again, Gideon’s lips met hers in the dark, and their mouths moved in a rhythmic rightness that always seemed present when she and the viscount were together.

It was rather advantageous she’d fallen in love with a man her family not only approved of, but whom society also held in high regard; although, even if Gideon were the son of a tailor, Sybil would love him still.

He broke away from her. “Now, hurry home.”

With a final laugh and smile for her soon-to-be betrothed, Sybil turned and ran to the waiting hack, climbing back up without any assistance.

“Hanover Square, please,” she called after taking her seat. She would do all in her power to remain safe—and that meant risking being sighted when the driver deposited her before her brother’s townhouse. “Dering Street.”

As they pulled away from Gideon’s drive, she glanced over her shoulder. A groom had come from the stables and was nodding vigorously in response to whatever the viscount said.

Something was amiss. Sybil was certain of it, even if Gideon thought her concerns were eased.

“Pull over here,” she called, her voice rising above the clop of the mare’s hooves and the creaking of the hack wheels. When the driver did not immediately heed her command, she yelled. “Stop. Here. Please. Stop now.”

Relenting, the driver pulled up on the reins.

Sybil turned to face Gideon’s drive, the neighboring properties now blocking his house from view.

“Miss,” the driver said, not bothering to hide his irritation. “It be late.”

“Do shush.” Sybil held her finger to her lips. “Only a few more moments, I promise.”

If the late-night visitor had only come about a business matter, he would leave in quick order, allowing Gideon to find his bed. The seconds ticked by, turning into minutes as the night wind howled down the street, trapped between the rows of townhouses on both sides.