Page 48 of How to Tempt a Duke

The Earl of Devonington held tightly to her arm as he escorted her through the throng of people seeking to avoid the impending storm. It had been he who had been utterly deplorable. He’d eaten with relish at the carvings of ham, famously thin, apparently taking great quantities to satisfy his monstrous appetite.

Watching the glistening slivers of pink meat disappear between his wet lips had resulted in obliterating her own appetite.

And now he had allowed Eleanor’s cousin Lady Violet and her Aunt Lydia to become lost in the crowd.

A clap of thunder sounded overhead and Devonington flinched on her arm. He patted her hand. “It’s merely thunder. No need to be afraid.”

Drops of rain trickled from the skies and the civility of the crowd dissolved quite suddenly into chaos.

A man lunged between Eleanor and the Earl, ripping her arm from where the Earl had gripped it.

Devonington looked down at his waistcoat and cried out. “The wretch stole my watch!” He bolted after the man without a backward glance to Eleanor.

She stopped in stunned shock. He had left her. Alone. She steeled her spine and pressed forward in the crowd, eager to get to her carriage and end the awful night.

A man further behind them in the crowd caught Eleanor’s attention. He rose taller than the other men, his dark hair glossy in the subtle moonlight, with a profile all too familiar. Her breath caught.

Charles.

Rain pattered down with a vengeance and the crowd reacted in kind, becoming rougher and more forceful.

She blinked through the heavy droplets.

Was it truly him?

Had he come for her?

The man turned and she nearly cried out with joy. It truly was Charles. He scanned the crowd, his expression intense, before his stare came to rest on her. Eleanor’s heart leapt at the connection, and pounded even harder when he fought through the wall of people, heading in her direction.

She shouldn’t be so eager, of course. After their last discussion he had made it quite obvious he wanted her to seek another husband. He had agreed to her condition, but clearly did not intend her to remain unmatched.

The churning sea of bodies tugged her hard to the right, and for one cold, lonely moment Eleanor was at the mercy of wherever the panicked crowd forced her. Shouts filled the air as people cried out for lost companions, while others shoved for advantage. She searched the sea of faces but did not catch sight of Charles again. The glow of hope dimmed.

Then a strong arm settled around her shoulders, blocking the worst of the jostling, and Charles’s familiar scent fell around her like a warm embrace.

“I have you, Eleanor.”

The voice was smooth and confident. Immediately any distress with Eleanor’s situation evaporated.

Charles was there with her and all would be well.

Charles shielded Eleanor from the crowd with his arms, taking on the worst of the bumps to protect her. He did so gladly, grateful for the opportunity to come to her aid, to see her liberated from the company of Devonington.

The arrogant ass of a man had been so loud while speaking that almost every word he’d uttered had reverberated around the expanse of the private boxes. Eleanor, her cousin and the older woman with them had appeared quite perturbed.

Now she was free of the Earl, and standing before Charles with a quiet smile hovering on her lips.

“I have had my footman bring my carriage around toward the back, where it might be less crowded,” Charles offered. “May I escort you there?”

“It would be my pleasure to have you do so, Your Grace.”

“Charles, please.”

He led her away from the edges of the crowd. Those large green eyes flicked up at him and held his stare.

“Charles.” She glanced to his mouth and quickly turned her head away, looking toward the direction they headed.

The rain had ebbed to a few trickling drops and the roar of the crowd faded behind them. Ahead, one light glowed in the distance like a brilliant ball of fire. Another lit up several feet away, followed by another, and another.