Page 9 of The Rumpled Gentleman

Chapter

Nine

L eaning against the table where gold and weeping green stems had been but an hour before, Orion watched Elara’s rapid pacing on the other side of the room. The nearly unintelligible rush of words spilling out of Elara would have been humorous if her life wasn’t in danger. As it was, she told him everything about her deal with the mysterious stranger, who she thought might be Fey of some sort, and the same stranger’s assistance with her work.

She had no idea Orion and the masked man were the same person. His secret, and thus the safety of his mother, remained intact. Guilt stirred in his gut at the deception, but they were all in danger. And so much depended on him. If he failed Elara, he’d never forgive himself. The least he could do was keep his mother safe.

If they managed to succeed in their plans, if he created a means for his freedom, for prominence independent of the duke, he would have the influence he needed to save Elara and her father from their fate. Then, he’d tell her everything. Once they were safe.

When she stopped her pacing at last and stared up at him, wringing her hands together, Orion nodded his understanding. “It is a good beginning, and whatever else your benefactor is, it seems he wants to help you. I will keep your secret and continue to do whatever you need me to do.”

“I’m worried about my father.” She stepped nearer Orion. “Everything worked well today, but that was luck. What if next time he isn’t entirely lucid? What if he says something that reveals everything?”

Orion gathered her hands in his, stilling the way she kept twisting a ring around her finger. “He’s been content to work on the theoretics thus far, hasn’t he?”

She gave a hesitant nod. “He’s working out more formulas, right now, and researching everything he can about flax.”

“Your father has kept to your rooms so far, and with encouragement I believe he will continue there. And the duke hasn’t summoned him, because he believes your father is working on all of this.” Orion motioned to the disarray around them.

“That luck will not hold forever.” She lowered herself to one of the stools they’d drawn up near the table. Her forlorn expression bruised his heart. From their conversations, from observing her, he’d learned that she’d been responsible for her family’s upkeep for years. She’d been the one to sell their belongings off, one by one, until there’d been nothing left to sell. She’d been the one to find her sisters places to go when she couldn’t afford to feed and clothe them. She’d sacrificed her time, her abilities, to earn what little coin they had. Elara had carried a burden far larger than anyone should, all on her own, knowing the future stretched before her full of nothing but grim endurance and loneliness.

He couldn’t let her think she was alone now.

Orion knelt in front of her. He scooped up her hands from her lap and held them in his, drawing her gaze to him. Her hands were cold, her fingers slim, with calluses at the tips. Small scars scattered across the backs of her hands—likely from handling plants with briars and nettles. He’d watched her expertly work with flowers nearly every day he’d known her. Plucking at them, binding them, stripping them of leaves, arranging them, imbuing them with her subtle magic. They were beautiful hands, adept at their work.

“Orion? Are you all right?” she asked, and he realized he’d been staring at her hands too long.

He let out a laugh that was little more than a breath of air. “You ask me that when you’re the one facing down a duke?” He looked up at her, catching the concern in her eyes. “I’m well enough, Elara. It’s you I’m worried about.”

She curled her fingers around his, not breaking eye contact. “I’m less worried when you’re here,” she admitted, her voice soft. “I don’t know what I would do without your kindness. Thank you.”

He stood and drew her up from her stool. “Let me take you someplace else for a while. I will send word to the duke that we need to consult an expert. He’ll have us followed, of course, but at least you’ll be free of this cage for a few hours. Your father can come, too.”

She tipped her head to the side, and he saw the lilac-hued half-circles beneath her eyes. “Where are we going?”

He smiled at her and squeezed her hands, an action which suddenly reminded him he was still holding them. He released her fingers, perhaps too hastily, and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a surprise. A pleasant one, I promise. This afternoon. After you’ve rested. Three o’clock.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side as she considered his invitation. “All right. Three o’clock. We’ll be ready.”

“And rested?”

Her lips curved up in a slight smile. “And rested,” she repeated. “Thank you, Orion.”

He escorted her from the workroom back to her suite, where the maid waited, and her father sat on the sofa reading a book. After he bid them his good wishes, he left. He had much to do, on little sleep, on many fronts.

Elara and her father waited on the steps of the duke’s residence, a stern-faced servant at her father’s side. They ought to have waited inside, but she could hardly keep still from her eagerness to leave her prison, even if only for a short time. When a modest black carriage came down the road and stopped before the duke’s house, her whole being tensed.

The moment the carriage door opened and Orion stepped out, she felt a new tremor of emotion. Relief . When he looked up at her, sweeping off his hat to make a bow, her cheeks flushed.

Orion spoke sternly to the servant, whose purpose had thus far been only to stand still as a statue and glare at everything. “Please inform His Grace that I will take responsibility for his guests this afternoon. You are dismissed.”

The servant bowed and stepped back.

She hadn’t heard Orion speak with such command. She had to look again at the gentleman wearing wire-rimmed spectacles, the hair still somewhat wild with curls even when covered by his hat. He wasn’t as rumpled as he’d been that morning, though. His cravat looked as though it had been arranged with care, his clothing was suitable for a gentleman, and he wore gloves.

She looked down at her own attire self-consciously. Her things had been brought to the duke’s home, but her clothing, while clean, was quite plain. Befitting the status of a woman who did nothing but sit in the back of a flower shop or visit vendors on behalf of the shop owner.

For the first time in ages, she missed the clothing she had worn when her father had been a prosperous apothecary. The day dresses of light blue and green, the bonnets adorned with ribbons, and shoes meant to be pretty rather than serviceable.

Yet when Orion handed her into his carriage and she glanced down to thank him, the way he looked at her didn’t feel like a man who saw a poor flower girl. His eyes blazed with a reassuring confidence that renewed her own, and the slight upward tilt of his lips gave her leave to smile back.

He tapped the carriage ceiling after climbing inside himself, taking the rear-facing seat across from her and her father. He removed his hat and offered them a crooked smile. “Escape, at last.”

“At least for a while,” she amended, glancing quickly at her father.

Her father patted her hand where it rested on the seat between them. “It is always good to take time away from work. It refreshes the mind.”

“Precisely.” Orion’s smile didn’t falter, though his gaze flicked to Elara. “Which is why I arranged for this outing. I think you will enjoy it, Mr. Millstone. It ought to be as stimulating to the mind as it is refreshing. We are on our way to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.”

Elara’s father immediately perked up. “Truly? What a wonderful idea. Though, given that it is still daylight, I doubt we will be able to use the telescope.”

“We will certainly stay long enough to accomplish that purpose,” Orion promised as he folded his arms, leaning back in his seat. “Prior to the evening’s enjoyment, however, I though you would like to discuss the movement of the stars and how it may affect your work, so you have appointment with Sir George Airy.”

“The Royal Astronomer?” Papa reached into his coat and withdrew a notebook he’d appropriated from her supplies the day before, its first several pages already full of his notes on the properties of the plants she’d asked the duke to provide. “I must reflect on this opportunity at once and think of my questions now so there will not be a moment lost once we are introduced. You do not mind, Elara?”

“Not at all, Papa. If you do not mind that Mr. Fitzmartin and I have a conversation of our own?”

“It will take half an hour or so to arrive, depending on the congestion of the streets.” Orion appeared completely relaxed, at ease in a way she hadn’t yet seen him in his father’s house. His expression seemed more cheerful, too. Which she supposed made perfect sense, given that she’d only seen him when they’d needed to focus on their work toward deceiving a powerful and dangerous man.

A gentle warmth eased into her chest, like the first rays of spring sun in a meadow, melting away the frost from the ground. “What would we do without you?” she asked aloud, voice soft, mindful of her father’s already frenzied writing in his book. He’d not pay them any heed once lost in his musings, she knew. But she’d rather not take a chance of distressing him.

Orion’s gaze softened as he looked at Elara, his voice low. “I find myself asking what I would do without this opportunity to help you. There’s a certain…clarity, that comes from aiding someone else.”

Elara’s stomach dipped at his words, and a blush crept into her cheeks. She couldn’t think why and glanced at her father to ensure he wasn’t paying them any attention. “You’ve been a true ally in all this chaos. I can’t help but wonder why you’ve gone to such lengths for us.”

He paused, seeming to consider his words. “Sometimes, Elara, we encounter situations—or people—that compel us to act. In your determination, I see something remarkable. It’s hard to turn away from that.”

Their eyes met, and for a moment, the world outside the two of them faded away. The sense of connection that had formed in their mornings of working together shifted.

Elara sensed something deeper taking root.

Orion continued, his tone thoughtful. “Life in my father’s shadow has been a series of strategic moves and guarded emotions. But meeting you, Elara, despite the circumstances—it’s made me wish to be bolder. It’s refreshing and, frankly, a bit unsettling.” His bright-eyed gaze flitted from hers to her father’s, his eyes widening slightly, as though he’d forgotten they weren’t alone.

She glanced at her father and made a quick decision. She held her hand out to Orion, and he took it immediately. She used his support to move from her side of the carriage to his, seating herself next to him. Her father didn’t so much as shift or pause in his writing.

She grinned up at Orion. “He hasn’t heard a word we’ve said. He never does when he’s that focused.” Nevertheless, she kept her voice low as she leaned close enough to Orion that their shoulders touched. “Orion, I don’t know how to explain what your help has meant. I’ve felt so alone, even before all of this. Having you with me…it’s given me hope.”

Orion’s hand hovered over hers where she’d lowered it to her lap, as if unsure whether he dared touch her. “Elara, whatever happens, I’m here for you. Not just for the plan, but for you .” His cheeks pinked, and he looked away.

Elara turned her hand over to lace her fingers through his. “Thank you. That means everything to me.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, each lost in their thoughts. He didn’t release her hand but lowered it to the seat between them. Orion finally broke the quiet, a new lightness in his voice. “Now, tell me, have you ever been to Greenwich before?”

Elara tried to put aside her worries to enjoy the time with Orion. “No, I haven’t. It sounds fascinating.”

The conversation shifted to lighter topics, but the emotional undercurrent remained, a shared understanding that they were on this journey together. As allies, but perhaps as something else. As friends? Although, as his thumb lightly brushed against her palm, sparking an electric current that ran from that point of contact all the way to her heart, Elara wondered if there was more to it than that. And the quickened beat of her pulse made the possibility difficult to ignore.