“I might be.” He cradled her face. “But know this. I would hunt you down and bring you back.”
The strong, stern lines of his face and intensity in his eyes told her he would do everything he said. She placed her hands over his. Tears pricked her eyes. Never again would she find a man like Rupert, and it scared her to death. She had lost herself, her heart to him. She should leave Town in the morning and never return. She should allow him to find a lady to marry. “I’ll be here.”
He took her in one last searing kiss, scattering her wits to the wind, before gathering his garments and striding out of the bedchamber.
A few minutes later, while Vivian was still wondering at the way Rupert made her feel, Punt entered the room. “It’s time for you to change, my lady.”
Vivian went through the motions she had gone through thousands of times before, yet she couldn’t remember a thing, other than Rupert’s last kiss. It was as if he had branded her as his own. How could she leave him, but how could she not?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Miss Punt had showed Rupert into a lighted room with a mirror. He pulled his shirt over his head, the fine linen grazing the exact places Vivian had kissed. Wasting no time, he donned the remainder of his clothing.
As long as she was with him, in his arms, he knew she was his. What would happen when she had time to think, he did not know, and that worried him. One thing was true, she was ready to bolt, and if she did, Vivian would discover just how swiftly he’d follow. It would rain in hell before he would let her go.
What Rupert experienced with Vivian was nothing he’d ever come close to feeling before. He knew now why his cousin and friends never allowed another gentleman to waltz with their wives. He didn’t even know if he could be civil if he had to watch another gentleman stand up with her for a country dance.
What he did know was that he would lay down his life and all his possessions if that was what it took for her to stay with him. He gave a mirthless laugh. It was a good thing Beresford had decided not to bother Vivian any longer. Rupert would have had to ensure the man left for the Season. No one and nothing would ever be allowed to injure her again. He couldn’t change her past, but he would guarantee her safety and happiness in the future.
A knock came on the door, and Miss Punt poked her head in. “We’re about ready to leave, but we’ll be walking.”
“I’ll be close behind. What happened to her carriage?”
“The coachman didn’t come.”
Damn the rascal. “I’ll take care of it from now on. If he shows up to-morrow, tell him he is no longer needed.”
She gave him a satisfied nod. “Yes, my lord. It will be a pleasure.”
He went to a room overlooking the garden and waited until Vivian and her maid were almost to the back gate. Moving silently, he opened the back door, then closed and locked it, slipping the house key Punt had given him into his waistcoat. She had given him a key to the gate onto the mews as well, making his ingress and egress to the house less noticeable.
Once in the garden he lengthened his stride. There would still be a good deal of traffic, foot and carriage, this time of night, and he would not allow Vivian to travel the streets with only her maid as guard. Staying far enough away that she wouldn’t notice him, he trailed them through the maze of narrow mews housing horses and carriages for Mayfair’s town houses.
However, behind the Mount Street houses bordering the gardens, there was no mews. He closed the distance between Vivian and him as they entered the Mount Street Gardens. She and her maid quickened their pace, then made their way to a high brick wall and through the gate.
He’d almost breathed a sigh of relief when movement caught the corner of his eye. Ah, his old friend. “What are you doing here?”
The man held up his hands. “Nothin’, guv’nor. Nothin’ bad, leastwise. We’re patrolling. I picked this park ’cause not much goes on.”
Rupert flipped him a yellow bob. “Did you see those women?”
The man deftly caught the coin. “Couldn’t miss ’em.”
“Anytime you see a female come out of that gate, watch out for them and there’ll be more where that came from.”
The old soldier saluted. “Yes, sir, and thank you for pointing us to your friend.”
“Do the same for anyone who needs help and watch out for the ladies, and you’ll have repaid me.”
Rupert lingered until candle-light lit the windows of Lady Telford’s house before continuing on his way home. Since he’d met Vivian, she had taken over his sleeping and waking thoughts. Tonight his dreams would include a future as well.
Silvia had attended the evening’s entertainment with trepidation. She’d had the horrible feeling Lord Oliver was going to ask for her hand, and she did not want to even stand up with him. Yet, surprisingly, he was not present. Nick, though, was. God had never answered her prayers so quickly and with such accuracy.
After another long conversation with Cousin Clara and being completely honest with herself, Silvia had decided how to answer his proposal. There was only one waltz on her dance card, and after Nick was done complaining about stodgy old people, and making sure his name was on her dance card for the waltz, he had finally decided to ask for her remaining country dance.
Once they began the cotillion, Silvia decided she must not have been paying attention any of the other times she had performed the steps. Each time she came back to him, he grinned as if they were sharing a secret. Every time she twirled and caught his eye, Silvia wanted to shout with joy. How had she not known he danced so well? Surely other gentlemen not so practiced and athletic must be at a disadvantage. Even through their gloves, her hands tingled with his touch. She ended the dance breathless and happier than she had been in a very long time. “Take me outside. It’s stuffy in here.”
“Are you sure?” He gave her a quizzical look. “People might see us.”
