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“Thank you.” Her heart was beating so strongly that he could probably hear it.
The carriage began to slow. “You will remain in the carriage,” he warned. She wouldn’t, but she would let him go inside before he figured that out. She could be a help to him in his mission, whatever it was. He just didn’t know that yet.
She nodded at him and heaved a sigh. “I will remain in the carriage. Though I’d hoped for at least a dance.”
“We can dance when we get back to the Hall,” he said. He pointed a finger at her and shook it. “Do not get out of the carriage.”
He spoke briefly to the footmen who remained with the carriage, and one of them looked through the window into the coach, surprised to see her there. “Who is she, my lord?” one of them asked.
“Just an acquaintance of mine,” he said. “Do not let her out of the coach.”
“You can count on us, my lord,” the footman said. Then he leaned against the door and sealed her in. She could get out. She was a faerie after all. But she couldn’t shrink and fly away in this dress. Definitely not. She’d need her fae clothing for that. But she would find a way. She would not let Finn attend this party without her.
***
Finn stepped through the entrance and stopped at the door, observing the room. From behind his mask, he could still see everything clearly, and he wasn’t terribly impressed with the goings-on. This portion of the party was moderately respectable, and the part that was much less respectable was farther toward the interior.
“Lord Phineas,” a cool voice said at the door.
“Good evening,” he replied. He walked through the crush of people, scanning the crowd quickly. Some of his men were here. He’d seen to it himself. He felt much more at ease knowing his men were in place. He was tempted to send one of them out to watch over Claire. But she had two strapping footmen watching her. She would be fine. This wouldn’t take long.
Finn strode toward the back of the manor. There would be more going on back there, and that was where he would surely find Katherine. She lived for events such as this.
He finally saw Katherine at the back of the billiards room, draped over the arm of her new protector. Finn was surprised to find that he didn’t feel a single bit of jealousy. Mayden could have her. But he couldn’t have a child that might possibly be Finn’s.
Finn motioned toward one of his men, who stalked over toward the pair. He asked Katherine to dance. It was Lord Mayden’s turn at billiards, so he let her go with no qualms. Finn’s man swept Katherine onto the floor, holding her much too close, but that was probably as much Katherine’s doing as his detective’s. The man maneuvered her expertly around the room, toward a set of open doors on the terrace.
Finn started in that direction as soon as they crossed the threshold. He slipped out into the night, gave his man a nod, and stepped into place beside Katherine. “Finn,” she said, startling a bit.
“Katherine,” he said crisply. “I hope you are well.”
Katherine’s hand lifted toward her cheek. He could see the telltale shadows of a bruise there and another at her hairline. He took her hand in his and forced her to lift her arm. She had a ring of fingerprints on the back of her arm as well. They were well hidden by a shawl, but she couldn’t hide from him. “Don’t,” she protested, as he let his fingers graze the marks on her arm.
“Why him, Katherine?” Finn asked. He hadn’t seen her even once since the letter from her had arrived, notifying him of her choice of protectors. That he was no longer needed.
“He seemed the thing at the time,” she said. Her voice cracked.
“Are you happy?” he asked. He eyed her bruises, and she flushed under his frank appraisal.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I needed to talk with you.”
“I heard,” he said with a nod. “Is it true?”
Her eyebrows pushed together. “Is what true?”
“Are you increasing? And is it mine?”
Finn heard a gasp from behind him and turned to find Claire standing outside the doorway, merely a few feet from where they stood. Claire clutched at her heart, laying her hand flat over her chest like she needed a moment to collect herself. “Blast and damn,” he gritted out. “What are you doing here?”
***
The woman dressed in blue sapphire was expecting a baby, and it was Finn’s. Goodness, what a muddle. Two women expecting at the same time. Claire absently wondered how many more there were as she pushed through the crowd and back toward the front door. Finn called for her to wait. But if she waited, she would break. She would rip into a million pieces. She would shatter. And he would see her.
Already tears pricked at the backs of her lashes. She ran through an open doorway and down a long corridor. At the end, she opened the first door she found and stumbled into the middle of someone’s interlude. Heavy grunts bumped the walls and the desk upon which the thrusting was centered shifted to rub heavily against the floor. Claire spun and fled. Laughter followed in her wake.
She sighted a stairwell at the other end of the corridor and ran in that direction. When she got to the top, she hid in the curtains that lined the railing. But from behind them, she could see that the area where she stood looked down upon the ballroom. She stood still, hiding the folds of her red gown within the curtains.
She didn’t think he could break her heart. He was just a man she’d spent a single night with. And not even a whole night. Merely a few hours. But she was suffering the consequences of her actions. And he had another woman who was doing the same. Damn him!
