Page 8 of Enchanted by the Lyon (The Lyon’s Den Connected World #93)

L ucius rode his horse down the street, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from the woman inside the open-air carriage in front of him.

Since Saxton had suggested they follow his wife and her friend to the bookstore and tea rooms, it was all Lucius could do to restrain himself from urging his horse forward to continue his contest and volley of words with the delightful Mrs. Vaughn.

Or Cassandra , as he had begun to think of her.

What the devil it was about this particular woman that intrigued him, he could not say.

He barely knew her, and yet he had gazed at her as though he had in fact asked her to become his mistress.

The thought had momentarily crossed his mind to make such a proposition right inside his friend’s front parlor.

He could only imagine what she would have thought of him if he had let the words fall from his lips.

It would have been a crude thing to do. Still, he’d been unable to stop himself from flirting with her.

She was an attractive woman. Something about her drew his interest in a way he’d never experienced with any other woman.

Maybe she interested him because she had been so adamant when she refused that they become friends.

True, he had been thinking to himself of possibly a more intimate relationship before she refused him—so he’d been already intrigued.

When she’d done so, it made her even more attractive to him.

Lucius wracked his brain; had he ever been refused before?

Perhaps. But not like that. She’d been so incredibly beautiful standing there with her blond hair piled like a crown on her head and her lovely green eyes snapping at him.

Along with her fan. She had been—in a word—magnificent.

And for now, unattainable.

So at the very least, he owed her an apology. And, especially, he was obliged to end things with Virtue, if he wanted to make Mrs. Vaughn his mistress. Even he had certain standards and stringing along two women wasn’t one of the things that would endear him to his latest interest.

“Damn it, Lucius,” Saxton swore as he pushed his steed closer to Lucius’s to gain his attention. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”

He tore his gaze from the blond-haired beauty who adjusted her parasol when they rounded a curve in the street. “Preoccupied.”

“Which would explain why I’m talking to myself without any of the usual witty retorts coming from you,” Saxton complained bitterly. “What has you so absorbed that you can’t relax and enjoy the day?”

Lucius nodded his head toward Saxton’s open carriage. “Her.”

“Cassandra?” the marquis asked warily.

Lucius snorted. “Well, I certainly didn’t mean your wife, Saxton.”

Saxton pulled on his reins to guide his horse to the side of the road and Lucius did the same while the carriage continued on its way. “What’s going on? Tell me you’re not interested in Mrs. Vaughn.”

Lucius shrugged. “What if I am?” he asked, even though it wasn’t any of his friend’s business in the first place. It wasn’t as if Saxton would want the woman for his own mistress, not when he was very happily married.

“I wasn’t aware you were interested in settling down as yet,” Saxton declared with a shake of his head.

Lucius laughed. “Settle down? Certainly not with Mrs. Vaughn. I was thinking of asking her to become my mistress,” he answered. Even as his words left his lips, they sounded harsh to his own ears.

“What exactly transpired between the two of you in my front parlor?” Saxton growled.

Lucius felt his cheeks color. He hadn’t voiced such a proposition aloud although he couldn’t help the fact that he had such thoughts running through his head.

But pursuing Cassandra in his friend’s parlor instead of—say—the park might have lost him his friendship with Saxton not to mention the lady herself.

It occurred to him that perhaps if he waited a little longer and spent more time with her, he would be more successful at coming to an understanding between them.

“Nothing untoward happened, I assure you. Some mild flirtation between us, nothing more,” Lucius proclaimed.

“I did offer a friendship between us. I’ve never had a woman reject me so quickly. ”

Saxton gave a heavy sigh. “With good reason. I know what the women you have a friendship with entails. Cassandra is different.”

Lucius’s brow rose at the implication of Saxton’s words. He had to admit it still stung that Cassandra had rejected him so easily. Her attitude had been…personal, somehow. “How so?”

Saxton said, with a frown, “You are obviously not aware that Mrs. Cassandra Vaughn is the dear friend of my wife, Moriah. She is currently residing with us until she can sell her townhouse and move to a more respectable part of town.”

“Why would she do that?” That was unexpected. She had a perfectly nice townhouse alongside the rest of the widows who enjoyed the company of bachelor gentlemen. It was…well, where she should be. But this? He couldn’t fathom it.

“That lady is responsible for me, Wickes, and Asher finding our wives, you fool. She paid a handsome sum to Mrs. Dove-Lyon to find suitable husbands for her friends. She is now looking for a husband for herself, not a lover, Lucius.”

Damn ! No wonder she was wary of his offer of friendship and anything else that might further develop over time. “Very well,” Lucius muttered knowing he would need to leave the woman alone. “I will beg off and consider her off-limits.”

“I would appreciate that, Lucius. I feel protective of the lady considering she is a guest in my home,” Saxton said.

Lucius gazed over at his friend, saw his serious face, and nodded in reluctant agreement.

A sudden shriek from in front of them had both men turning to see Cassandra and Moriah both standing up in their stopped carriage, yelling and pointing down an alleyway.

“Bloody hell?” Saxton blurted, but Lucius didn’t stop to ask questions. He just kicked his horse into a gallop and raced down the alleyway.

It occurred to him at the last moment that he had no idea what Cassandra was shrieking about, or what was even in the alleyway, but it didn’t matter. All he knew for sure was that Cassandra was in distress and he needed to help her. Or someone.

Still, he slowed his horse’s headlong gait—at least slightly—and weaved through piles of crates and refuse. Now he could hear Saxton’s horse behind him, and still, Cassandra’s shouts.

And then ahead of him he saw the cause of her distress—a masked laggard had a young woman by the neck and was dragging her away. But once the man saw him and Saxton in pursuit, he threw the woman to the ground and ran off, out the other, open side of the alley.

Lucius pulled his horse to a sliding stop not far from where the woman lay.

And then, Cassandra raced past him in a swirl of silk and petticoats, making his excited mount snort and dance.

He dismounted quickly, tossed his reins to Saxton, and hurried after the headstrong beauty as she reached the sobbing woman on the ground.

As she raised her face, he realized it was none other than Emily Yates, his former mistress.

Cassandra turned to peer up at him. “Lift her up, Lucius, and carry her to the carriage. We’ll take her to my townhouse,” Cassandra urged while Lucius bent down. The use of his given name passing the lady’s lips caused him to pause momentarily until she spoke again. “Hurry, my lord.”

Saxton, meanwhile, handed his horse off to his wife, who had arrived to join them. “I’m going to see if I can catch the perpetrator,” he announced, and headed out of the alley.

Lucius did as he was bid while Emily moaned in pain. “Take me home, Lord Blackthorn,” she urged, while her head came to rest on his shoulder.

“Cassandra’s place is closer, and you’ll be safe there,” Moriah chimed in about Emily’s obvious need for care.

He carried her down the alleyway to the street. As Lucius placed Emily carefully in the Saxton carriage, his friend returned, with a grim look on his face. “I lost him, the damn bastard. Who accosts a woman in the middle of the street in broad daylight anyway?” he cursed.

Lucius took his reins from the marchioness before assisting her and Cassandra into the carriage and shutting the door. “Only the worst sort. Mrs. Vaughn insists on taking Mrs. Yates to her townhouse. We should follow them to ensure they all arrive safely.”

Lucius nodded and mounted up while Saxton briefly talked with his wife.

Once Lucius was in his saddle, their party traveled toward Cassandra’s.

Once they arrived, Cassandra again began issuing orders at him, asking him to assist Emily into the house.

The hapless woman was sobbing uncontrollably, trembling, and unable to stand unassisted.

He found himself again lifting the lady up into his arms and carrying her inside when the butler opened the door.

“Higgins, send for Doctor Thornberry and hurry. This lady needs immediate attention,” Cassandra ordered as she rushed toward the stairs. “This way, Lord Blackthorn.”

Lucius went up the stairs easily carrying his ex-mistress until Cassandra opened one of the doors to a bedroom where she immediately began pushing back the curtains to allow the afternoon light into the room.

“I’ll have this room aired out for you more properly, Emily, as soon as the good doctor has seen you,” Cassandra began while Lucius placed Emily on the bed.

“I don’t need a doctor, Cassie. I just want to go home,” the woman stated even as a maid brought in a basin of water and set it along with some cloths on the nearby bedside table.