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The door suddenly slammed wide, and all three women jumped in fear. Elizabeth had a momentary terror of discovery—and then when she turned around, she realized that the next worst thing had happened.

John was standing there, looking angrier than she’d ever seen him. He must have been listening at the door. He closed it hard and came into the room, the crutch useless in his hand.

“Ladies, have no fear for your sister,” he said.

His low voice was so pleasant as to be frightening.

“She has not told you all of the truth. I am Lord Russell, her betrothed, and I will take care of her.”

But the look in his eyes was anything but pleasant. He stared at her as if she were Eve caught talking to a serpent in the Garden of Eden.

As if she’d betrayed him.

She lifted her chin and gave him a cool stare in return, though her stomach was churning with nausea. He had lied to her, too, she reminded herself. He’d used her.

But she found herself wishing she’d chosen to tell him the truth before now.

She waited for John to blame her for misleading him, but he only turned to her sisters, who were looking at him with relief, as if he’d already managed to save them all.

Elizabeth could have saved herself without his help, she found herself thinking with anger.

“Ladies,” he said to her sisters, “I came here in disguise to rescue your sister. Though some delicacy will be required to extricate her from this situation, I promise that she and I will make this work.”

Elizabeth found herself even angrier, because he included her in his plans, as if she were his partner. She couldn’t trust that—to her, it sounded like he was placating them all. And trying to take over. And he hadn’t even told her his plan!

But Sarah and Katherine were looking at him as if he were a rescuing knight at the head of an army. How could she tell them that he couldn’t even afford armor?

“But it will be more difficult if we have to worry about the two of you,” John continued. “I ask that you return home and await word from us.”

“We will,” Sarah promised, her smile bright and full of hope. “We’re so glad to finally meet you.”

“And we’re so sorry about the death of your brother,” compassionate Katherine added.

John nodded. “My thanks, ladies. Now if you don’t mind, I need to speak to Lady Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth heard the slight emphasis on her name, and she winced.

“If you see me in the morning before you depart,” John added, “I will not speak to you, and you must not seem to know me at all. And you cannot speak to your sister, except as to a maidservant.”

“As we would speak to Anne,” Katherine said cheerfully.

“It is not worth the risk,” Elizabeth said. “Perhaps we should not even see each other in the morning.” She hugged each of them in turn. “Take care of yourselves. Thank you for coming to see after me. Do your foster parents know where you are?”

Sheepishly, Sarah said, “We told them we were visiting Lady Louisa.”

“Then you need to return immediately, before they discover the danger you almost got yourselves into.”

Katherine looked between John and Elizabeth with interest. “Do you want to talk here? We could leave…”

“Nay, that will not be necessary,” John said. “Good evening, ladies.”

In the corridor, he once again slid the crutch beneath his shoulder and walked with a limp. He took Elizabeth’s upper arm in a firm grip. A valet who usually served in the great hall stared as he walked by them.

When the boy was far enough away, she whispered, “You do not have to hold onto me.”

He just gave her a look.

“Where are you taking me?”