Chapter 30 #2
“I think it wise we depart, my lord.” It took Eli a moment to recognize the tug on his sleeve was Samantha. He shook off her hold and stood from his chair suddenly, it fell over backwards, knocking into a man at the next table. “El—my lord!”
“We will not depart until this scoundrel apologizes to you,” Elijah bit the words out, each syllable harsher than the last. “Now, Viggo…do you have something to say?”
The offending man had also stood. A single raven-black lock of hair falling forward to cover part of his mask, his body relaxed and unprepared for the fight that would ensue if he did not issue a request for forgiveness.
Eli had sensed he knew the man when he’d first offered Sam a seat beside him, but the man’s voice had been unfamiliar. Now, the raven hair and beady eyes…
Lord Proctor.
The man’s name written in bold, self-assured script on the betting book page. Had he recognized Sam behind her mask and hair covering? Worse yet, had Sam known it was Proctor and openly toyed with him?
Suddenly, remaining a moment longer in the vile man’s presence was more than Eli’s restraint could handle. His fists threatened to lash out at Proctor, no matter how much his good sense was saying to walk away before things got out of hand and Sam’s identity was exposed.
“My lords,” a jovial man chuckled, stepping between the men. “Do resume play or depart. This is meant to be a friendly spot of fun at the gaming tables, not a competition of force.”
Sam had retreated a few steps, leaving her lost earbobs on the table all but forgotten.
Certainly, it would be wise to leave.
Eli looked Proctor in the eye with his next words. “My apologies for disrupting your evening. I am man enough to admit and remedy a situation when I am at fault. Thank you for your kindness.” It was meant for their host, but his threat was evident. “Do enjoy your evening.”
His hand flung out and snatched Sam’s forgotten opal jewels—unconcerned with Proctor demanding their return as their rightful owner—and slipped them into his pocket for safekeeping until he could return them to her.
With a nod to their host, Eli pivoted and joined Sam as they made their way from the gaming room. It did not escape his notice that she kept a few feet separating them as they departed.
Was she angry or embarrassed at the man’s lewd insinuations?
If she wasn’t, Elijah was furious enough for both of them.
The manservant quickly helped Sam into her cloak before assisting Eli with his.
And as speedily as they’d entered the townhouse, they were once again standing outside—alone.
His horse still remained tied to the post, and the Craven House carriage was nowhere in sight.
The temperatures had plummeted further since their arrival, and a bone-chilling gust caught the edge of Sam’s cloak and whipped it around her legs.
She ripped her mask from her face, not bothering to untie it, and swung around to face him.
He expected to see tears, anguish etching her delicate face; instead, there was only fierce rage.
She threw her mask to the ground and stepped toward him. “How dare you claim me like a piece of chattel. I am not something to be possessed, my lord.”
She was furious with him? “I only meant to stop the man from casting doubt upon your character.”
“This was to be an enjoyable evening, garbed in disguise, my identity protected. The man was harmless, his words held no insult to me. He did not know me…it was only meaningless fun. The night was to be a time for everyone present to act out of character…”
“He propositioned you before the entire table,” Elijah thundered, removing his own mask with a quick tug. He needed her to see his face, know he only meant to protect her. “Any gentleman would not stand by and allow such dishonor to be leveled upon a woman.”
She crossed her arms. “His insinuation, his proposition as you call it, did not fall too far from our own agreement.”
The accusation had him stumbling back, her words cutting deeper than any dagger.
“Companionship and reward,” she continued, closing the distance between them and pressing her body to his.
She lifted up on her tiptoes to kiss him but paused a mere inch from their lips connecting.
“And speaking of rewards, I do believe I owe you for accompanying me this evening, though the night did not progress how I expected.”
He turned his face away, her lips landing at his jawline. “No. My part in our agreement was not to—“
“Your part of our bargain has been satisfied, Elijah,” she whispered. “Your company as a distraction from my mundane life is no longer needed. You may return to Liverpool—or wherever you call home—with a clean conscience, your side of our arrangement repaid in full.”
“This has never been merely an arrangement to me—sordid or otherwise,” he confessed.
“Unfortunately, I only sought a few days of dalliance.”
She could not mean that; however when he searched her face, he saw only determination. “And I sought a courtship, Samantha.”
She shook her head.
“I care for you. Very deeply.” It was her turn to turn away from him.
“Look at me, Sam.” He reached forward and set his fingers against her chin, pushing her to look at him, to truly see what his eyes held and believe every word he uttered.
“I did not come to London merely to deliver my grandfather’s collection to the museum.
If that were the goal, I would have sent the lot of it with trusted emissaries and remained at my home. ”
When she remained silent, he continued, “I agree, I may have reacted excessively to the situation tonight, but I only meant to protect you from harm.”
“There is a thin line between the need to protect or possess. And I have no intention of being possessed. Neither do I need protection.” She made to push past him as the sound of carriage wheels against cobblestones sounded.
Their host must have been kind enough to send for her driver.
“Now, I will bid you goodnight and Godspeed on your journey back to Liverpool.”
“I have no intention of leaving, Sam.” He would not abandon her again, no matter how many times she turned him away.
Even if Cartwright—with Judith in tow—were to bid him keep his distance from Sam, Elijah would be unable to.
The blasted woman had infiltrated his every thought…
his every desire…his every hope for the future.
“Well, I have no intention of continuing our acquaintance, the distraction it once offered is no longer appealing to me.” She bent and retrieved her discarded guise before lifting her chin and pushing past him.
Her driver held the carriage door open and assisted her in before he climbed aboard. “Home, Mr. Curtis,” she shouted.
Elijah stood frozen, watching the carriage depart without Sam so much as glancing at the window as she rolled away.
A distraction. A dalliance. Of no consequence.
Her angry claims assaulted him one by one, bringing back memories from his journey to America and another woman who had no room for him in her life.
He’d tucked his tail and run then…straight back to his ship to sail for home.
Elijah had less than a day’s worth of tasks remaining at the museum.
Was he destined to repeat his actions?
Put distance between him and Sam and pray that his heart mended with time?
Though he suspected when a man’s heart was shattered as many times as his, there was no way to locate all the splinters to piece it back together.
But every inch of him shouted there was nothing he wanted more than to try.