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She’d done the very thing to him that he’d been accused of doing to another woman. And she’d done it on purpose.

She wouldn’t have felt so badly had he been a terrible person, but Mr. Branok was good. He didn’t deserve this. That was why she’d left before the men had come through. She knew he would have spoken with her, tried to get to know her better, perhaps be encouraged to even like her. But she could not, in good conscience, allow that to happen. Both of them wished to remain single, and she would do nothing to persuade them to wish otherwise.

She wouldn’t talk to him alone any longer. She would have a chaperone from this point forward. Otherwise⁠—

“Miss Fernside?”

Lark jumped, whirling around to face the very man occupying her thoughts.

She stood on the step second from the top, staring down at Mr. Branok, who stood just at the side of the stairs.

“Mr. Branok?” she breathed, holding a hand to her throat to quell her racing heart. “I did not hear you coming.”

“My apologies,” he said, his neck craned to see her easier. “I did not mean to frighten you.”

He said nothing more, merely watched her in silence.

“Are you in need of something?” she began, eying the empty space behind him. They were a good deal away from the drawing room, with no chance of being overheard. “Why are you not with the others?”

“I wanted to see…if you were well.”

She observed him for a moment—saw the sincerity in his eyes—and her heart attempted to stretch out toward him.

“That is very kind of you,” she said. “But I assure you, I am well.”

His eyes did not shift from her, so she looked away from him. She would not follow through with her previous plan—coaxing him along and dropping him—no matter the softness in his eyes as he peered up at her.

He drew closer, reaching the bottom step and resting his hand on the railing, his voice soft as he spoke. “Are you quite certain?”

She tipped her head to the side as she peered down at him. He looked markedly handsome tonight with his blond hair pomaded into the latest fashion and the light blue of his waistcoat reflecting deeply in his eyes. Instead of the amusement and charm he typically exhibited, his expression was something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Was he hesitant? Unsure, perhaps? But about what, exactly?

“I am certain, yes,” she finally replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Due to your early departure. I thought, perhaps, you left due to Mr. Chumley’s and Mr. Dunn’s shameful behavior this evening.”

Once again, the gossip she’d heard from Penelope slipped through her thoughts, and once again, she could have laughed at the idea. Looking at Mr. Branok now, his thoughtfulness in seeking her out, his taking her side over the other gentlemen, the truth was clear to her even more.

He was as good a gentleman as she had ever known.

“I did not leave due to being offended,” she assured him. “I left due to my exhaustion. I fear I have held my tongue for so long, it was rather strenuous allowing myself to stretch my wings for the first time this evening.”

A small smile curved the right side of his lips. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Are you no longer concerned about what Mr. Chumley might do to you?”

She smoothed her hand along the banister to her right, her fingers following the grooves of the dark wood shining in the candlelight. “No. I no longer have to worry about him.”

They did not raise their voices. Despite the steps between them, their words drifted up and down in an easy manner about the open space.

“May I ask what has changed?”

Lark would not betray the words Penelope had shared with her in confidence, so she simply said, “My knowledge.”

The intrigue in his eyes grew, but he did not press her for more information. The silence grew between them, but his scrutiny of her increased.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I merely…” He paused again, taking two steps up the stairs. The candlelight flickered against his jawline, more of his tanned throat visible as he craned his neck to see her. “I am merely attempting to understand you again. Specifically why you are unapologetically yourself around me and not around others.”

She thought for a moment. “Have I offended you?”