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Chapter Two
Noel waited for a whilebefore changing her clothes again. She tore off her nightdress and pulled on the disguise once she realized her mother wouldn’t return. When she wiggled into them, Noel wondered how Maggie had ever found the trousers comfortable to wear. The linen shirt differed vastly from the silk she adorned her body with. She rubbed her hand across her stomach, soothing her sensitive skin from the coarse material.
After walking back and forth across the rug, Noel realized she couldn’t adjust to how the trousers hugged her buttocks and rubbed against her core. Should she wear drawers with these things? If so, she didn’t see how. It was most scandalous how the fabric clung to her like a second skin. Also provocative. Noel grew warm at how intimate the garments were.
However, she had no alternative disguise that would guarantee her escape. She must leave if she wanted to make her demands to Ravencroft before Reese. She moved to the bed and arranged the pillows to appear as if she slept under the covers, nodding with satisfaction at her results. Then she moved to the windows and unlatched them. She glanced at the trellis, then the ground. She had never attempted to climb on the trellis before and hoped it was as sturdy as it appeared. If not, then her family would discover her absence earlier than she wanted them to. One aspect that worked to her advantage was how her bedroom faced the side of the house, where no one would notice her escape.
“Here goes nothing. Wish yourself luck, Noel,” she muttered to herself.
She swung from the window to the trellis, and with trembling hands, she lowered herself to the bottom. Noel moved with an ease unfamiliar to her, one that felt like second nature. Noel didn’t ponder why and jumped from the last rung. She pressed herself against the house, hoping to go unnoticed when she overheard some gentlemen talking. They were the men Reese had hired from Griffen Kincaid’s security firm to guard their home. When she peeked around the corner, they were moving in the opposite direction.
Noel stole through the garden to the alleyway. She found the secret entrance, slid through, and kept to the shadows as she moved along. After she took a few steps, something pulled at her hair, bringing her to a stop. She held her breath, afraid someone had caught her sneaking away. When no one spoke, she looked over her shoulder to see her hair had gotten caught in the hedge. Noel tugged her hair loose and continued on. In her hurry to leave, she had forgotten to hide her locks underneath a cap. Only two more houses separated her from Ravencroft’s townhome.
At least she didn’t have to travel across London to reach him. Noel wasn’t brave enough to take that risk. How Maggie had, she never understood. When she reached the back gate to Ravencroft’s home, the house sat in darkness. Perhaps Dracott had misinformed Graham, and Ravencroft had recovered and decided to attend the wedding after all. Noel almost ran back home when she saw a flame shining outside.
Noel opened the gate and paused when it creaked, waiting for Ravencroft to acknowledge an intruder. However, when he didn’t make any demands, she drew closer and noticed Ravencroft smoking a cigar in between drinking from a bottle. He swayed in a drunken stupor while muttering incoherently. His behavior was unlike anything she had witnessed from him before. She’d never seen him indulge in alcohol around her, unless it was a drink he shared with her brothers. Oh, she was aware of how he liked to smoke cigars, but the air held a lingering stench, indicating it wasn’t his first one of the evening.
A small lantern rested on a table near Ravencroft. The glow offered her a look at him, and she gasped at his haggard expression. Wrinkled clothes clung to his frame, and his hair stood on end as if he had raked his hands through it multiple times. This wasn’t the gentleman who courted her with devotion for the entire ton to see. No. This was a gentleman tormented by the demons of his past, who tortured himself with his regrets and hoped to soothe them with alcohol. She knew the outcome if he continued on this path. Noel’s father had behaved in the same manner, and she understood the aftermath of the destruction it would cause if she didn’t stop him. She refused to allow him to ruin their future.
“You should have worn a cap,” Ravencroft slurred before taking a drag of his cigar.
Noel ran her hands over her hair at his disapproval.
He swung the bottle out with his finger, twirling it in the air. “And you need to practice on your stealth. You are a bit noisy in your attempt to go undetected.”
Ravencroft lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long swallow. He swayed on his feet but caught himself in time. He tried to focus his gaze on the object of his misery, but he kept seeing two of her. When his vision cleared to only seeing one of her, he took note of her vulnerability. Noel’s defensive stance displayed how she wished to tear into him, but her quivering lips showed how his harsh comments had injured her pride. He savored another drink, hoping it would give him the courage to insult her so she would return home. He must destroy any feelings she held for him. It was for her own good, and the only way to protect her from the dangers lurking beyond the shadows. It was foolish of her to come after him. He had never thought her one for rash decisions, but her actions this evening implied otherwise.
“You should leave,” he demanded.
Noel bristled under Ravencroft’s harsh words. If he thought to send her away by pretending his disinterest, then he should’ve glanced in a mirror. Because his longing gaze showed her how much she meant to him. It beckoned her closer to ease his burden. Oh, how she wanted to. But first, she needed him to understand how she wouldn’t allow him to control her.
She swung her hip to the side and landed her fist atop it. “Perhaps it was my intention to go undetected. Maybe, just maybe, I wished for my fiancé to take notice of me.” Noel snarled the last bit.
Ravencroft flicked his cigar, stalked across to Noel, and yanked her into his arms with a glare. “You are a fool to risk your life for the likes of me.”
Noel wanted nothing more than to soften in his arms. However, she must make her point clear to him and not allow him to scare her away. Instead, she would annoy him with her responses and force him to react where they could discuss this drama like two reasonable adults.
