Chapter Fourteen
Violet watched while her dashing knight and Mrs. Dove-Lyon held a conversation for a considerable amount of time.
She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath in the hope that perhaps the captain had a change of heart.
But it was the grim expression upon his features that even she could see for herself from her vantage point high on the balcony that told her everything she needed to know.
It was apparent to her that Sir Knight was holding firm to his decision to remain unwed…
that is, if she was even the topic of their conversation.
Considering he continued to glance her way told her she was correct in her assumption.
“You like him, whoever he is,” Arianna commented in amusement. “Is he one of the men for you to consider as a possible spouse?”
“No.”
Her friend’s brow rose in a delicate arch of disbelief. “No? That’s all you have to say? No?”
“Yes. That’s all I have to say on the matter,” Violet commented dryly.
“Did you find him lacking for some reason that took him out of your consideration?”
Violet shook her head as she watched Sir Knight leave Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s side. “On the contrary. I found him…” She trailed off while she made an attempt to get her emotions in check about a man she had just barely met.
“Found him, what?” Arianna asked quietly, giving Violet a nudge for an answer.
Violet turned toward her friend and she couldn’t help the tears that began to form in her eyes. “I found him everything I could hope for in a possible husband even though we didn’t speak for very long. He was delightful.”
A gasp left her friend. “So fast. Why, Violet, that’s amazing,” she declared in excitement. She reached for Violet’s hands. “I’m so happy for you!”
Violet pulled her hands away to swipe away the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. “Don’t get too excited for me, Ari. He’s not interested.”
“What?” A snort of disdain left Arianna’s lips. “Not interested? Why the cad! If he can’t see what a catch you’d make, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
Violet gave a sigh of disappointment. “He was the only one thus far for whom I’ve held even the tiniest bit of interest. It’s such a shame because how do I compare other men in the future when all I can see is him?”
“Maybe he’ll change his mind.”
Violet shrugged because what more could she do?
She wasn’t about to throw herself at any man if he wasn’t the least bit interested in marriage.
This was the only reason why she was here in the first place.
She thought about Patience and her generosity and felt like she should return to her cousin’s townhouse and tell her that her efforts to find Violet a husband would not come to fruition.
Instead, Violet was going to be paying off her debt to Patience most likely until the end of time.
The apothecary didn’t bring in the kind of money most likely needed to repay such an outlandish sum back to her cousin.
Maybe she could ask her aunt and uncle for a loan.
Surely there would be enough between the two family businesses to see the debt paid.
“Do you think he will? Change his mind, that is?” Arianna asked when Violet didn’t answer her.
“I doubt it,” Violet answered at last as she came out of her thoughts. “He certainly is handsome.”
“Do you think so?” Arianna asked raising her hand to her chin contemplating the men below. “He doesn’t seem… your type.”
Violet laughed because if she didn’t, she knew she’d end up doing the exact opposite. “I didn’t realize l had a type. I’ve hardly been seeking out the company of gentlemen in the past for a possible husband so what exactly is the type I might actually have?”
“Well… you know what I’m getting at,” her friend replied, suddenly looking sheepish.
“Arianna Trobridge! Are you implying the gentleman isn’t handsome just because he has a scar on his face and wears a patch over one eye?
I never thought you were so blinded by appearances that you couldn’t look past something so superficial as a scar,” Violet scolded while wagging her finger at her friend.
It was Arianna’s turn to shrug. “I suppose the patch kind of gives him the appearance of a pirate. Instead of stealing treasures of gold, he might steal your heart.”
Violet tried not to gasp out loud. No words could have been truer. Whoever her handsome knight was, he was one day only going to be a distant memory. If she was smart, she would do her best to forget him. If only it could be that easy.
“Let’s go home,” Violet suggested with one more glance at the gentleman. She turned away while her heart lurched in her chest. “I doubt Mrs. Dove-Lyon has any further prospects lined up for me tonight. Otherwise, I’d still be down below in the garden.”
Arianna gave a nod to agree. “It’s too bad about your pirate…”
Violet scowled “Don’t call him that,” she warned her friend in a menacing tone, still thinking of him as Sir Knight instead of what pirate implied. “I don’t like what that insinuates.”
“You really do like him, don’t you?” Arianna said linking her arm through Violet’s.
“It hardly matters what I think of him if he’s not interested in marriage. I won’t misuse my time pursuing the gentleman and I won’t squander his time by asking Mrs. Dove-Lyon to ask him to reconsider if he’s not inclined to be married.”
“You think the Black Widow of Whitehall asked him if he was interested in you?”
“I’d bet the new bonnet Patience bought me on it,” Violet replied before asking for their wraps and to have their carriage brought around so they could leave.
They left through the lady’s door where the walkway went along the side of the building. Violet wasn’t prepared when Major Dawkes appeared from the shadows to stand before them, blocking their way.
“What a lucky coincidence to find you leaving at the same time as I am,” he drawled. “Perhaps we can continue our conversation we started inside before we were so rudely interrupted.”
Violet took Arianna’s arm and the two women moved around and past him, before they began to hastily make their way to their carriage.
Still, the major followed close behind. When a footman opened the door, she allowed her friend to enter first, ensuring her safety.
She was about to climb up when the major ordered the footman away so he could assist Violet.
He took her hand and once again brought her quaking limb to his lips before she could retract it.
“Major! This is highly inappropriate and I demand you release me this instant!”
“But we have a prime opportunity since we are now more or less alone. Your little friend won’t bother us, will she?”
She wrenched her hand away from his grasp but didn’t miss the frown that quickly formed on his brow. “Major Dawkes… I don’t know what type of lady you take me for but you can dismiss whatever you think might be happening between us in the future.”
“I am certain I can change your mind,” he said and before she knew what he was up to, he grabbed her around her waist and brought her fully into his chest.
“Let go of her you, you cad!” Arianna’s voice was quickly cut off when the major slammed the carriage door shut with his free hand.
“Now that we are alone—” he said in a husky whisper. She could smell the liquor on his breath as he continued to hold onto the carriage door to prevent Arianna from opening it. Her friend let out a scream that was muffled to anyone who might hear her.
“We are hardly alone, I only have to call out for my driver and footman,” she began only to wonder where they had gone.”
The major chuckled. “I deliberately got rid of your driver and footman by telling them you asked them to assist you around the back of the building. A clever distraction that won’t last long once they become aware of my lie.”
Where was any assistance when Violet needed it the most?
“Bloody hell, Dawkes! Let the poor woman go!” A man’s voice rang out in the night air and then his footsteps grew louder as the man ran in her direction.
Major Dawkes released her so swiftly she lost her footing but once again, Sir Knight was right there to save her from her plight.
She lifted her head to gaze into his face which was filled with worry before it transformed when he lifted his head to stare at the major.
Violet saw the captain’s anger hovering on the brink of erupting.
Major Dawkes took a menacing step forward. “You really don’t know your place in this world do you, captain?” he sneered.
Violet held on to the arm of the man who had yet again come to her rescue. Although the major called her rescuer “captain,” she preferred to think of him as Sir Knight.
Now, Sir Knight used his body as a shield as he opened the carriage door for her and offered his hand to assist her inside. As she was seated, she noticed her driver and footman coming out of the Lyon’s Den flanked by several guards. Her men took their places so they could be on their way.
“Thank you again, for coming to my rescue,” she murmured. Sir Knight hadn’t yet let go of her hand, she discovered; holding his hand had felt as natural as breathing. How strange!
Her knight gave her a nod as, it appeared, he also realized he still held her hand. He blinked, and let go before calling up to the driver, “See that the lady gets home safely.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver answered with a tip of his hat as Sir Knight closed the door.
The carriage lurched forward but Violet’s urge to take one more glance at the man who had saved her from another difficult situation took over.
Her heart seemed to bump in her chest with the realization that she could, if given time, grow to have more and greater feelings for Sir Knight beyond this infatuation.
She had some unforeseen sense that such a feeling could in no way be diminished in the days to come.
And as her attention remained focused on what might still be happening outside of her window, Sir Knight and Major Dawkes continued to stand toe to toe on the walkway while several of the Lyon Den’s guards stood nearby.
She could only wonder where their conversation would now lead after her carriage turned the corner and the men disappeared from her sight.