Page 42 of Scandalous Nights With the Earl

‘Three assailants seem quite a number, Lord Elmsworth.’ Such formality would put him exactly in his place.

‘Two were easy. It was the third one who mostly did this. He came at me with a knife.’

‘My goodness.’ She hated the tremble in her words.

‘I should have listened to the barkeep at my club and heeded his warning of ordering a carriage, for there have been other recent attacks in the same area apparently. I had certainly imagined the amble home to be more peaceful than it turned out to be.’

‘But you disposed of them anyway. Where did you learn to fight?’

‘In America. I was not an earl there, you see. I was simply a broken-hearted widower who travelled in questionable company over many miles and months. One learns the lay of the land, so to speak.’

‘Which is to attack or be attacked?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Then it would probably be conducive to your reputation to reappear in Society in an attempt to repair the damage.’

‘I think I almost killed one of them.’ Horror had her mouth opening. ‘The man who taught me how to fight held no sway with allowing mercy.’

‘I see.’

‘Four years in the wilderness in a foreign land does nothing to temper forgiveness, either.’

‘Did you also try to kill your brother?’

His gaze sharpened and she was glad for it.

‘That is another of the stories now circulating which you would do well to know of.’

‘No. I did not. I meant to miss.’ He said no more even though she waited.

‘Well,’ she began finally when he did not speak, ‘if you value your position here in Society at all you must attend the Kelland ball in five days and appear as if this has all been a truly dreadful mistake. Attacks come in different forms, my lord, and this one shall simply be subtler. I intend to be there, so I can help you in your quest for impunity.’

‘You would do that for me? I thought after the carriage ride…’

She did not let him finish. ‘The intimacy between us was unwise, my lord, but I am not a person who just turns aside when injustice is served up no matter who the injured party is or isn’t.’

‘Touché,’ he gave her back and smiled. ‘Though I might be construed as a poor candidate for restoration, given that my injuries will still be more than noticeable.’

‘Think of them as a badge of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Any one of the members of Society could be in that position, and they know it.’

‘Lord.’ He ran his left hand through his hair and she saw marks on all the knuckles. She also saw he no longer wore his wedding ring. God forbid the thieves had stolen it but she did not feel up to asking.

‘Sometimes the struggle to fit back into London Society hardly seems worth it.’ His words came after a moment or two.

‘I understand that completely, my lord. But if you find it in you to quit the city altogether then it is far better to do so on your own terms.’

‘You are ruthless, Mrs St Claire.’

‘Almost as ruthless as you are, Lord Elmsworth, and I use it as a protection to never again be trampled under the feet of others.’

‘“Though she be but little, she is fierce.”’

‘Helena fromAMidsummer Night’s Dream? You surprise me, my lord.’

‘I could say the same of you, Willa.’

The first time he had addressed her so informally. A détente, born out of necessity. The kiss in the carriage shimmered between them under the words, slicing away reason, causing a stalemate.