Chapter Sixteen #2
“I shall tell my brother how much I care for him. I may not like the world he inhabits, but I will not abandon him now that I have a choice to be in his life.”
Hannah nodded. It seemed as if they’d reached some sort of understanding. Yet Lizzie still stood close… too close.
“You should watch the bout again. Jane is about to defeat Anne.”
Hannah glanced toward the contest below.
Even though she tried to lose herself in the action, she could feel Lizzie lurking behind her.
Prickles rose over Hannah’s flesh, and she tried to ignore them.
It was apparent that Lizzie was acting in the same protective manner that Hannah did when a man showed interest in Sophia.
Yet even if Hannah recognized the sentiment, it was uncomfortable being on the receiving end.
“Jane seems to be flagging. Is that part of her strategy?” Hannah asked, more from uncharacteristic nervousness than from true interest.
“Aye. She’s clever, but she’s never managed to fool me.”
As Anne struck out, Jane suddenly burst back with renewed vigor.
Her staff clipped the edge of Anne’s, and the clack reverberated around the room.
Anne’s rod flew into the air. She pirouetted gracefully, narrowly missing a strike from Jane.
Incredibly, Anne caught her weapon before it hit the ground.
Bending half over, she snapped back up to block another blow.
But she was on the defensive now, and Jane was clearly in control.
The end was a whirlwind of motion, their quarterstaffs nothing but whistling brown blurs in the air, their feet bouncing in an intricate dance.
Anne fought hard, but Jane ultimately outmaneuvered her.
As Jane raised her fists in triumph, the crowd roared.
“They are both very talented, are they not?” Lizzie asked, leaning over Hannah’s shoulder.
“They are.”
“I am more skilled than both of them put together.” Lizzie’s claim was not spoken as a boast but as a simple matter of fact.
“I am aware.” Hannah very slowly swiveled in Lizzie’s direction.
The prizefighter was smiling. It was not a friendly one.
“Good. Then you know how swiftly I can mete out justice.”
“Are you… planning to… mete out justice?” Hannah’s throat went tight, and her normal bravado seemed to have woefully fled.
“That depends if it’s needed.” Lizzie’s grin had grown to ominous proportions. “Will it be?”
“Pardon?”
“Will the meting out of justice be required? It is, after all, your choice.” Lizzie’s lips tipped upward into even more chill-inducing heights.
“My choice?”
“Do not hurt my little brother. If you treat him properly, I believe we may become fast friends. However, don’t even consider playing with his emotions. If you do, I will be the one toying with you.”
“It should be dawn soon.” Eoin broke the silence that had fallen over the carriage ever since they had dropped off Lord Percy at his home.
Eoin drew back the thick curtains to reveal a still darkened London. Only the moon and the light from a few open establishments illuminated the way.
“Yes,” Hannah said, although she only half heard Eoin. She was steeping in her own guilt and debating if she should tell Eoin the truth about her connection to the Aucourtes. After all, he’d found his family and obviously had their support.
Yet should Hannah puncture Eoin’s joy so soon? Shouldn’t she allow him to bask a bit in this triumph?
However, don’t even consider playing with his emotions. If you do, I will be the one toying with you.
Lizzie’s threat echoed in Hannah’s head, but the memory of his mother’s words gave her the most pause.
Championess Quick had pulled Hannah aside before she’d climbed into the carriage with Eoin and Lord Percy.
The woman’s implacable mien suddenly crumbled, and Hannah had witnessed the decades of heartache.
Thank you, Miss Wick, for helping my son.
I sense you mean a lot to him. Please continue to keep watch over Eoin.
I am afraid these next few weeks will be challenging ones indeed when the truth of our relationship is revealed. I am glad you will be by his side.
“I do not feel like retiring to bed,” Eoin said as the hackney drew up to Aucourte House. “Perhaps I’ll sit in the gardens.”
“Do you wish for me to join you?” Hannah asked, torn between wanting him to say yes and declining.
“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”
“You wouldn’t be,” Hannah said quickly. If Eoin didn’t wish to be alone after tonight’s revelations, then Hannah wouldn’t abandon him.
A shy smile touched Eoin’s lips, and Hannah instantly melted. This man had a way of seeping into her heart.
They quickly debarked from the carriage. Instead of heading to the front door, Eoin led Hannah to the garden gate. She could detect the sweet scent of honeysuckle mixed with the more pungent lavender. “It smells like a cottage garden.”
“My understanding is that my late grandmother planted it,” Eoin said as he stretched out his fingers in her direction, his white glove glowing in the silvery moonlight.
“Here, take my hand. There are quite a few plants stuffed into a small space. They’re all overgrown, and the paving stones are uneven and crumbling. ”
As Hannah threaded her bare fingers between his, she could feel his warmth.
A magical sensation stole over her as they slipped through the fragrant, late summer blossoms. Stems brushed against her stocking-covered legs and her boy’s breeches.
It was strange to discover a little of the countryside’s wildness behind the immense townhouse of a duke—especially the former Foxglen’s residence.
“I am surprised that the previous duke allowed such a tangle of flowers on his property,” Hannah said as she brushed her free hand against the foliage. The scent of mint joined the other pleasant odors. “Did he have affections for his late wife?”
Eoin snorted, the sound harsh. “I do not believe that my grandfather suffered from any emotions of the heart. He cared only about his title and the legacy of the Aucourtes. His marriage to my grandmother was strategic. Her family’s lands bordered the ducal estate, and her dowry included a nice plot.
He mentioned more than once that he blamed her for my father’s dramatic tumble from grace even though she’d died years before his downfall. ”
“Why would he fault your grandmother?” Hannah asked as Eoin stopped in front of an overgrown arched trellis with a crumbling stone bench beneath it.
“This garden is a perfect example of my grandfather’s frustrations with his late duchess,” Eoin explained as he sat down and gently tugged Hannah after him.
Although Hannah knew it wasn’t wise, she couldn’t help but snuggle against him.
Their conversation seemed random, but Hannah sensed some importance in it—a key perhaps to understanding Eoin’s lonely childhood.
“My grandmother planted common English posies—even wildflowers—because it reminded her of the small village near her parents’ country estate that she loved to stroll around as a young lady.
The old duke claimed such acts of whimsy and pleasure in common things influenced my father to sympathize with those allegedly beneath him. ”
“Knowing your grandfather’s temperament, I am surprised that he didn’t raze the plants and erect a formal garden.” Hannah gave in to temptation and leaned her cheek against Eoin’s arm. She could not reach his shoulder, but his broad biceps made a perfect—if hard—headrest.
“I don’t think he wished to expend the money.
He had little use for the outdoors. He preferred a domain that he had complete control over.
Nature, even organized landscapes, displeased him.
After all, pruned bushes sprout unwanted branches.
” Eoin’s voice rumbled through Hannah, and she swore she could feel his hidden pain.
Hannah suspected that Eoin had been nothing but a piece of shrubbery to Foxglen, and any part of Eoin that had not pleased the duke would have been ruthlessly clipped away.
“You seem familiar with this garden.” Hannah squeezed his fingers and then began to trace his palm with her thumb.
“It was my secret escape.” Eoin laid his cheek on the crown of Hannah’s head—surprising her with the intimacy of the gesture.
He was clearly a man who never allowed himself to unbend, but here he was, snuggling with her among the honeysuckle and hollyhocks.
“My grandfather did not hear well, and I could sneak away at night. I suspect that the servants knew of my midnight forays, and perhaps even my aunts and uncles did as well. Fortunately, no one ever told him. Even on cold winter nights after I’d suffered through a particularly scathing lecture, I would disappear to this very bench and stare at the stars.
I would wonder if my mother and sister were gazing at the same ones.
A trite gesture—but it made me feel closer to them. ”
Hannah’s heart flopped in her chest. How did anyone ever call this sentimental man callous?
“I don’t find it trite but sweet. And having met your mother and sister, I would not be surprised at all if they’d glanced at the night sky while missing you.” Hannah moved her head against his chest now, and she could hear the steady thud of his heart.
“They did seem to have missed me.” The wonder in Eoin’s voice caused tears to prick the backs of Hannah’s eyes. This wonderful man had deserved so much more affection than he’d been given.
Eoin bent to whisper his next words in her ear. “Without you, I do not know if I would have ever found them. I am very grateful that you chose to take pity on me that day at the Black Sheep.”
Hannah, however, felt no pleasure in his heartfelt words. Instead, renewed guilt blasted her. “I’m glad to have helped, but it was your own diligence that made it happen.”
Eoin straightened, and his gaze locked on some indeterminate spot among the shadowy, moonlit plants.
When he did speak, his normally measured voice alternated between hesitancy and then rapidity as if his words had been dammed up and then came out in a single rush before a new set became snagged once more.
“You… you do not need to return to the Black Sheep immediately… I mean to say that you can if you want, but there is no need to rush on my part. I… well… I… well, I enjoy your company, Hannah… and it is good to have you here tonight… with all that has happened.”
In her turmoil over her original reasons for assisting Eoin, Hannah had utterly forgotten that she no longer had a reason to stay in his residence.
Since she had discovered nothing about his aunts and uncles beyond their knowledge of Eoin’s mother, she should have been scrambling for excuses to stay.
The fact that she hadn’t thought of strategizing was almost a relief.
She evidently was not entirely mercenary.
Unfortunately, her lack of foresight awoke a new sense of guilt.
Was she abandoning her family’s pain to help heal Eoin’s?
His wounds were fresh, and although her father and uncle bore scars—both literal and figurative—the rawness had healed over. However, was even this rationale a sign of disloyalty to her family?
Ugh! It was a frightful mess.
“I suppose from your silence you do not wish…” Eoin’s nervousness was palpable, and his anxiousness broke Hannah out of her stupor.
“Oh no! That is not it at all. I was only trying to determine how long I can be away from the coffeehouse. I do not want to shift too much of the burden onto my cousins.” The excuse flew from Hannah’s mouth before she thought about its implications.
“Then you do wish to stay on for a bit more!” Eoin wrapped his large form around hers, enfolding her into his jubilation.
Bloody hell. She should leave for his sake. But she hated destroying his joy. Besides, she wanted to remain with Eoin, and not because of her investigation.
“Although I didn’t let on to Mother and Lizzie, I am not completely sanguine about facing the gossip when the ton realizes that I am the son of Championess Quick.
Still, with you by my side, I’ll weather the rumors better.
You’re always so practical, and I know you have no care for what the nobles say. ”
Eoin was chattering—actually chattering—with excitement. Even his body vibrated with enthusiasm. Could Hannah renege now? She needn’t stay for long—no more than a week or so. It would be best if she gave Eoin time to adjust to his new circumstances before she revealed the whole truth.
“It won’t be much of a strain on Sophia and Charlotte if I remain here a few days.
We didn’t anticipate that we’d find your mother and sister so quickly.
” Hannah paused, debating if she should say the next words.
But then she made the fatal mistake of shifting in Eoin’s arms and meeting his gaze.
The expectant hope in his sea-blue eyes undid her.
“And I want to spend more time with you, Eoin, just as we are right now.”