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CHAPTER 16
Skidding into the hallway, Helena took a great gulp of the cooler air. After a quick glance down both sides of the hallway revealed a cluster of guests approaching from the left, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.
She simply couldn't tolerate that overcrowded room a second longer. Her throat dry and her head aching as she'd waited for Darnell and his friend to return with the wine, it had seemed that with every moment the noise grew more deafening, the air more stifling.
Finally, as Mr. Dixon was introducing someone to Chads, his words lost in the.babble of sound, the sea of faces had started to swirl about her, making her dizzy. The gasp of air she took didn't seem to reach her lungs, sending an icy tingle of panic skittering through her.
When the dizziness intensified and little spots began to dance before her eyes, she'd been seized by an irrational, irresistible need to escape. Brushing past Mr. Dixon, she'd fought her way through the milhng crowd and darted for the door.
At the end of the hallway now, she halted, gasping. If this house were similar to Darnell's, the doorway nearest her should open into a salon or library. Hoping to find it empty, she eased the door ajar.
Thankfully, the darkened room appeared deserted. A faint glow emanated from the window, which must overlook the street.
She stumbled across the room, yanked back the curtains, then unlatched and pushed open the casement.
Cold air carrying the faint scent of wood smoke and horse streamed over her. From the street below came the murmur of voices and low laughter. Livried servants manned their posts beside the torch-lit entrance while on the roadside beyond, men in great coats huddled around a fire.
How she wished she might be out there, free to slip away under the camouflage of darkness!
For several moments she simply stood, letting the chill and quiet slow her pulse and soothe her nerves. Not since the day the villagers had forced her back to Lambarth Castle and her enraged father had shut her inside the priest's hole had she felt such blind panic.
That day she'd screamed until she lost her voice, pounded on the oak panel until her fists were raw, then slid down onto the cold stone floor sobbing until, exhausted by fear and grief, at length she'd slept. She'd awakened with a fury-fueled determination to brave the blackness and find the way out. Which,
the next time her father imprisoned her there, she had.
Despite his intent, the incarceration had not broken her spirit.
In fact, being shut up in the priest's hole had forced her to conquer her fear of the dark and sharp-212THE UNTAMED HEIRESS
ened her sight so she could now find her way about in all but the most lightless places.
She leaned on the window ledge, her face lifted into the onrushing air. Escape today had been much simpler. She'd just begun analyzing what about the ball had so frightened her when a hand seized her shoulder.
With a cry, she swiveled to face her attacker, bringing her free hand up to scratch at his face.
"Miss Lambarth!" the man cried as he blocked her blow. "It's me—Darnell!"
His voice registered even as she swung. Thankful his swift countermove prevented her from mauling his face, she pulled her arm free. "Darnell! You...you startled me."
"Are you all right?" he demanded. "I saw you run from the ballroom. Did someone hurt you? Tell me!"
She shook her head. "No. It's just it was so.. .close. All those people, crowding around me. The noise, pounding in my ears. I—
I couldn't breathe. I had to get away."
"No one.. .assaulted you?"
"No. There were just.. .too many people. Did you bring the wine?"
He peered at her for a moment, as if trying to determine if she were truly all right. Then he threw back his head and laughed.
"No, I dumped the glasses on a table when I saw you run off. You gave me such a fright! Have you recovered? Do you think you can walk?"
Diverted by the rare sound of his laughter, she couldn't help smiling, too. "I feel much better."
"I had Blanchard tell Bellemère I would fetch you. Did you explain to her why you had to leave so suddenly?"
"No." Feeling like a small child caught in some mischief, Helena said, "I—I couldn't think. I just ran."
"Let me escort you to the refreshment room for that wine punch and then return you to the ballroom. Bellemère will be worried."
Helena wasn't sure why the ballroom had affected her so profoundly, but she did know she wanted no more of it. "I don't want to go back. If you summon me a hackney, I shall go home. I find that balls are not to my liking."
"I can't send you off in a hired carriage at night alone! If you will not return to the ballroom, wait here. I'll find Lady Darnell and—"
"Please don't! She will try to persuade me to stay— or feel
duty-bound to accompany me. And if she goes, Charis might feel she had to leave, too. They were both so looking forward to this ball, I don't wish to spoil it for them. I shall be perfectly fine returning home on my own. Tell her.. .tell her I had the headache.
I do, a little."
Darnell sighed and shook his head. "London streets at night are not safe, even in a hackney. If you must go, I shall have to escort you. Let me fetch your cloak and send a footman to tell Lady Darnell what is transpiring so she doesn't worry."
"You needn't accompany me! What would Miss Standish think, were you to abandon her at the very first ball since your engagement! She would never forgive me."
214 THE UNTAMED HEIRESS
"Not forgive my taking care of a lady in my charge? I should rather think she would insist that I escort you."
Was Miss Standish's sense of duty that strong? Helena wondered. Or did Darnell simply not know how much his fiancée disliked her? Though the girl was certainly not the partner Helena would have chosen for Darnell, neither did she wish to create trouble between them.
"I don't want to argue," she said after a moment. "Please, I should feel much easier returning alone than knowing I have dragged you away and ruined your evening."
"We are at an impasse then, for I cannot enjoy my evening knowing you are traveling alone through London."
Before she could think of some other argument to persuade
him, he laughed again. "Come now, Miss Lambarth, let's cry pax!
In the time we've spent brangling I could have already had the carriage waiting. I can escort you home and be back so quickly I shall hardly be missed."
It appeared he was truly adamant about seeing her safely home. Though Helena still considered his escort unnecessary, she could not help being touched. When had a man other than the lawyer ever concerned himself with her safety? And, as Darnell said, they wasted time arguing.
"Very well, then," she said, turning to close and latch the window. "Let us go."
He gave her his very attractive smile. "Excellent. Thank you for being so reasonable."
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"And doing what you wish?" she asked wryly.
Grinning, he offered her his arm. "Precisely. Your hand, please, Miss Lambarth?"
Cautiously she placed it on his, tensing as a little tingle traveled all the way up her arm. Distracted by her reaction, she barely noticed how within a few moments, he had a message sent to Lady Darnell, secured their wraps and escorted her to the Darnell carriage.
For a time after the vehicle set off they were both silent. At last, feeling ever more badly about forcing him away from the ball, she said, "I'm sorry to have been such a bother. I'm not usually such a coward."
In the flickering light from the carriage lamp, he found her hand and patted it. "I'm sure you are not," he assured her. "But this ball would be described as a 'sad crush'—and you are unused to crowds."
She wrapped her fingers around his, luxuriating in the contact.
"I can't remember ever being in a room with more than a dozen people. 'Twas the reason I rode on the coach roof to London—I couldn't tolerate being confined inside."
"You rode outside all the way to London? No wonder you still looked half frozen when I met you!"
"I'd been half frozen for ten years—in every way," she replied, realizing the truth of it as she spoke. "Until you invited me into your home. Thank you, Darnell."
His eyes scanning her face, he said softly, "I'm so glad I.. .we..
.have been able to provide the warmth you need."
So captured was she by the intensity of his gaze, it 216 THE UNTAMED HEIRESS
took her a moment to realize the carriage had stopped. How had they traversed the distance to Darnell House so quickly? she wondered. Though she knew he must return to the ball, she found herself reluctant to say good-night. Perhaps he was as bewitched as she, for when she rose to alight, he looked startled.
"You will note we encountered neither footpads nor highwaymen," she said over her shoulder as she stepped through the door a footman held open. When Darnell rose to follow her, she made herself say, "Yo u needn't see me in. I doubt I shall be
attacked before I reach the door."
Despite her words, he exited after her. "I am not in the habit of dropping ladies off on the street. John, walk the horses, please,"
he instructed the coachman. "I shall return directly."
Pleased despite herself to still have his escort, her senses heightened by his closeness, Helena was handing over her cloak to a footman when Harrison appeared. "Miss Lambarth, is something amiss?"
"Nothing serious," Darnell replied. "Miss Lambarth had the headache and wished to return home early."
"Shall I summon Nell to attend you, miss?"
