Page 2 of Her Honorable Viscount (Noble Pursuits #3)

CHAPTER 2

O f all the men in all the streets in all of London, it had to be him. Here. Now.

Dot supposed she should be grateful.

She had been as relieved as she had been shocked when she realized who was holding her in his arms. She must admit to herself that she had never felt so safe before.

Until she realized that she wouldn’t get out of this without an interrogation.

She had learned that Lord Mandrake was many things, but before anything else, he was a man of black and white – who saw the world as good and evil, right and wrong, who didn’t take the time to understand or appreciate the gray of it all.

He believed in social order, in keeping things the way they were, not understanding the nuance of life.

Which meant that there was little chance he would ever understand what she was doing, nor why she was doing it.

That was the very reason she had opposed his suit when he had asked to court her.

This only happened recently, for her brother had denied his request multiple times, until finally allowing Lord Mandrake to ask her openly. Perhaps she would have agreed if he had taken the risk and approached her without her brother’s permission. But Lord Mandrake would never do the unexpected.

However, she couldn’t deny her attraction to him despite her misgivings. She was drawn to him in a way that she couldn’t explain, as though they had known one another for far longer than they had, like he was another piece to a puzzle she had been trying to solve since she was old enough to search for a husband.

She couldn’t help but keep her eyes on him whenever they were in the same room, nor reject her wish that he would ask her to dance more than just once when they were at a function together.

But they could never be. Not if she wanted to continue doing what brought her so much joy and purpose.

Even her brother had difficulty understanding her passion, and he was as flexible and pleasure-driven as any man she had ever met.

The atmosphere in the carriage was so tense that Dot nearly wanted to throw herself out the window; so much unspoken between them, emotions and plans that Lord Mandrake would not want to speak aloud and that Dot wouldn’t know how to address.

Lord Mandrake was the first to break the silence.

“You do not want to tell me what you were doing, but perhaps you could tell me why you were alone?” he said, lifting a rather generous eyebrow.

Dot considered his question, wishing he would at least show her anger or any emotion besides that same expression he always wore, the one that hid what he was truly feeling.

“I did not want to wake any of the servants to accompany me,” she said. “They work hard. They deserve their sleep.”

He intertwined his long fingers in front of him as he leaned forward in the seat toward her.

“I am as kindhearted to my servants as any gentleman,” he said, looking her so deeply in the eyes that she felt he could see through to her soul. “And yet, even I would expect one to accompany me if I required it. As you can see, I am here with my driver.”

“I did not know how long my… business would take me.”

“Your business.”

“Yes.”

“Ladies do not have business.”

“You do not know the activities of all ladies,” she said defensively, wondering how she would get out of this. She felt that despite his promise, Mandrake would not let this go.

“I suppose that is true,” he said, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. “Your lack of trusting your servants has caused us another issue.”

“I never said I didn’t trust?—”

“We are now alone together in the carriage.”

“Yes, I am well aware of that,” she said, her heartbeat quickening, for she knew immediately what he would insinuate.

“You are now ruined.”

“Oh, Lord Mandrake,” she said in some exasperation. “No one knows we are here, and nothing untoward has happened. Therefore, no one is at any risk. I am not ruined, and there is no cause to be concerned.”

“What if you are discovered?”

“By whom?” she asked, throwing her arms out wide.

“When we arrive at your house, anyone could see you disembarking my carriage.”

“Well, then we will make sure that we are discreet,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Not to worry, Lord Mandrake, you do not need to marry me.”

He fixed her with a serious expression. “You must know that I have no issue in marrying you. In fact, I would very much like to do so.”

Why did the thought cause such gladness to leap in her heart? He was rigid, frustrating, and would never allow her to be the person she wanted to be.

No matter what she felt, for this could never be.

She looked down, unable to meet his gaze. He could never know the truth. He would never understand.

“Lord Mandrake, I appreciate your offer, truly I do. However, I do not believe you and I would be properly suited.”

“You have said that,” he admitted, tapping his fingers together, the only sign of his impatience. “But you have not given me a full explanation. Not one that is easy to accept. I have no ill will toward your brother if that concerns you.”

“I know that you and my brother have differing politics?—”

“For the most part.”

“Yes, and I appreciate that the two of you have been able to agree on some issues or, at the very least, agree to disagree,” she said. “However, I would not turn away a suitor based on his political views.”

“Then what is the reason?”

She took a breath. The only reason she could give him was a version of the truth.

“While I appreciate your attention to justice and ensuring that people are held accountable for their actions, I do not believe that you would appreciate some of my world views.”

“Meaning?”

“That social order is not necessarily a rigid structure. That there can be movement within it. That we do not all have to fit within this box that has been constructed for us. That there are other ways to live and everyone is their own person, with their own interests and passions, and?—”

She stopped when she saw how he was eyeing her – as though she had lost her mind.

“I can see how things might need to shift,” he said, but there was no conviction in his tone.

“Do you, though?”

He was silent for a moment before he responded in that slow, measured, careful way of his.

“I also believe that we are born into circumstances that are beyond our control, and to test the boundaries leaves us at risk for disorder and chaos.”

She stared at him sadly as the carriage slowed to a stop and the driver opened the door for her.

Before she could disembark, Lord Mandrake descended the first two steps, looking one way and the next before waving his head forward, telling her the way was clear.

“That, Lord Mandrake, is where I believe you are wrong and why you and I are wrong for each other,” she said. “Goodnight.”

With a heavy heart, she lugged her bags behind her and shut the door, not looking back.

For that would only lead her to trouble.

Edward watched Dot enter the house with a burdened soul.

Her goodbye had felt final. As though this time she would not reconsider his suit.

Why, he had no idea. She said all the fancy words about why they wouldn’t work together, but he couldn’t help the nagging feeling that there was more she wasn’t saying. That she was hiding something.

Which became much more apparent tonight.

When he finally let himself into his London manor, it was with a heavy spirit as he wondered if this was it – if the woman he had been trying to pursue had given him her final farewell. Was it worth continuing his attempts to win her? Asking her to dance? Offering to call upon her again?

When she first caught his interest last year, he had decided she would make the perfect viscountess. She was lovely. She was kind. She had a titled brother, even if said brother was a bit of an ass. But then, in getting to know her, watching her, dancing with her, and making conversation, he had become enamored with her, and now the thought of moving his attention to anyone else was disconcerting.

Once Edward set his mind on something – or someone – he had difficulty changing it.

He couldn’t picture himself pursuing another woman now, no matter how lovely many of them might be.

He had been approached numerous times – he was a young, unattached lord, but he had dismissed all interested women, saying he was spoken for.

Now, here he was. Alone again. And he couldn’t even blame Lady Dot, for she had told him no from the start, as had her brother.

Yet, he thought that he had sensed interest from her side. That he had caught her staring at him from across ballrooms just as much as she had seen him doing the same.

Perhaps he had only been seeing what he had wanted to see.

“My lord?”

He was startled from his depressing thoughts by his valet, who had waited up for him.

“Yes, Jacobs?”

“Your brother was here.”

Well, if that only made him even more apprehensive.

“When?”

“About thirty minutes ago. He came, let himself into your study, and left. We were uncertain what you would like us to do, so we did not approach him.”

Edward sighed. He had a reasonably good idea of what would be missing from his study. Fortunately, it would just be the sideboard that had been emptied and that could always be replaced. His brother must have been exceptionally pleased to find that Edward wasn’t in, waylaid by his stop seeing Lady Dot home.

He supposed he shouldn’t judge her, for he had a secret of his own.

They all had secrets, as much as he tried to do away with them and restore everything to right.

He did it for his brother all the time.

Which created an idea in his mind.

If he did it for his brother, why couldn’t he do it for Dot?

Whatever was holding her back, that had taken her to Shoreditch in the middle of the night, he could rectify – he only needed to know the issue.

To do that, he had to convince her to trust him and to share her problem.

From there, they could fix it together.

His valet stared at him as though he had lost his mind when Edward stood and began to march through the room with renewed vigor.

Jacobs had likely thought his news would cause concern, but he was wrong.

It had restored Edward with a new purpose.

No matter what it took, he would discover what was wrong with Dot. He would fix her problem and then convince her he was the man for her.

A niggling thought in the back of his mind told him that this might not be what she wanted nor what she expected, but she just didn’t know yet who he truly was.

He had to prove himself – prove to her that together, they could be far stronger than they could ever be alone.

There could be love there, could be feeling.

He had denied his emotions for so long it was foreign to consider the idea.

Perhaps the first person he had to convince was himself.