Page 16 of Fortune Favors the Frivolous (Matchmaking Mischief Makers #2)
“My dear girl, I’ve been searching everywhere for you,” he said, drinking in the sight of her.
The colorful clothes suited her somehow, bringing out the wild, adventurous spirit he’d always loved about her.
“Venetia told me what you’d done, how you’d risked everything to save her.
Dear Lord, and to think I didn’t recognize you! ”
“Venetia? Is she safe?” Caroline’s first thought was still for her friend, and Henry felt his love for her deepen even further.
“Safe and sound at the Rose and Crown,” he assured her. “Though she’s worried sick about you.”
Caroline’s impish smile appeared. “I gave the theater company your sovereign. Seemed a fair trade for the clothes and safe passage.”
The cart driver was shouting from the road, starting down the hill towards them with obvious hostile intent, so Henry whistled for his horse, which had stopped to graze nearby.
“We need to move,” he said, helping Caroline mount. The feel of her waist beneath his hands, the way she fitted perfectly against him after he swung up behind her, all felt so right, so natural, that he wondered how he’d been blind to his feelings for so long.
And blind to the fact that Flash was, in fact, Caroline, the night before.
They rode hard for the better part of an hour, putting distance between themselves and any possible pursuit.
But they couldn’t make it to the Rose and Crown in one stint, so Henry found a small, respectable inn called the Fox and Fiddle, its thatched roof and welcoming windows promising safety and rest before they’d continue.
The innkeeper’s wife took one look at Caroline’s unconventional attire and Henry’s protective stance and drew her own conclusions.
“Eloping, are we, dears?” she said with a maternal smile.
“Well, you’ll find no judgment here. Love will find a way, as they say.
Come along, miss, let’s get you settled while your young man sees to the horses. ”
Caroline’s cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t correct the assumption. Henry found himself equally tongue-tied, watching her follow the woman inside. When had Caroline become this woman who made his pulse race and his hands tremble? Who made him want to gather her close and never let go?
He saw to his horse with unsteady hands, his thoughts in complete turmoil. He’d known Caroline his entire life, had thought of her as a sister, a friend, a cherished companion. When had all of that changed?
He swallowed, his mouth dry as he acknowledged the depth of his feelings. When had she become the woman he couldn’t bear to lose?
Inside, the innkeeper’s wife had installed Caroline in a cozy private parlor with tea and fresh bread. And when Caroline looked up when Henry entered, something in her eyes—a new awareness, a shy uncertainty—made his breath catch in his throat.
“They really think we’re to be married,” she whispered.
“I daresay we should correct them,” Henry replied. The words hung between them, charged with possibility.
“Probably.” She studied her teacup. “Henry, thank you for coming after me. I know what I did was foolish—”
“It wasn’t foolish,” he interrupted, moving closer. “It was the bravest thing I’ve ever known anyone do. You risked everything for Venetia, without a thought for your own safety.”
“I couldn’t let Windermere force her into marriage,” Caroline said fiercely. “She deserves better than a man who will treat her unkindly, no matter that she’d no longer want for material things.”
“She does,” Henry agreed. “And so do you.”
A silence stretched between them, fragile and charged with unspoken meaning, until the sound of approaching horses made them both tense. Henry moved to the window, carefully peering out from behind the curtain.
“Just travelers,” he said, relieved. “Not Windermere.” He turned back to her, noting the exhaustion in her posture, the way she was trying so hard to appear strong. “We shouldn’t linger too long, but you need rest.”
“How far to the Rose and Crown?” Caroline asked.
“Another hour if we push hard,” Henry said.
“But you’re exhausted, and Venetia…” He paused, remembering the complications awaiting them.
“Venetia is safe with some kind people who are looking after her. There’s no immediate danger…
from a physical point of view.” Still, he felt sick at the thought of how the Gascoynes might trumpet their exploits to the world.
As soon as Caroline and he had rested, he’d press on and plead his case to the elderly pair. Surely they’d be made to understand.
He crossed to her chair and took her hand. “You’ve been through so many ordeals these last hours, Caroline. You need to rest.”
Her gaze dropped to their joined hands, and he saw her breath hitch slightly.
His thumb traced small circles against her palm, a gesture that felt shockingly intimate. “I’ll see to getting us some rooms and supper.”
As he turned to leave, Caroline called after him, “Henry?”
He paused at the door, his heart hammering.
“I’m glad it was you who found me and… not anyone else.” The simple words held a weight of meaning that made his chest tight with emotion.
“Always, Caroline,” he said quietly. “I’ll always come for you.”
Outside in the corridor, Henry leaned against the wall and tried to steady his breathing. Everything had changed in the space of a day—his understanding of his feelings for Caroline, the danger she was in, the impossible situation they now found themselves in.
Because there was still the matter of Venetia to consider, and the assumptions people would make about Caroline’s reputation after her adventures.
There were social expectations and family obligations and a dozen other complications that stood between him and the woman he was only now realizing he’d loved for years.
But for now, she was safe. She was here, and she was safe, and that would have to be enough.