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“Well, he married her,” Ellie said in defense of their older brother, who had fallen in love with Miss Hermina Fernsby, who was now his countess. “Colin did the honorable thing, and he has similar hopes for us.”
Colin himself had told her it was his ambition, along with the dowager countess, to see all his sisters safely married off before the sobriquet of ‘very bad Fairbanks’ gained any more traction and irrefutably ruined them. She suspected he told her this because out of all of them, she was the one who spoke about the thrill of marrying soon.
Ester sat up, kicking away a few pillows that had tangled around her feet. “Allof your sisters lack the proper decorum of modesty and correct demeanor, which is of utmost importance,” she said, doing a perfect mimicry of the dowager countess’s sharp, commanding voice. “One of your sisters laughed with her entire mouth open. I wasmostastonished at this lack of good governance over her actions when out and about!”
“Never say you were eavesdropping on Lady Celdon’s conversation with Colin,” Eleanor said. “If our brother knew, you would be scolded.”
“Surely he expected at least one of us to be naughty,” Ester said.
Taking up the charge from her sister, Emma cleared her throat and continued, “Chastity, modesty, and obedience are the pre-eminent female virtues—”
“You were both eavesdropping?” Eleanor asked. “Emma, I expected better of you!”
Undaunted by her rebuke, they laughed. The sisters spoke some more of the joyous event that had taken place that morning, their sister marrying the man she had loved with her entire heart for the past three years. The triplets chatted late into the night before Emma and Ester slipped from the room and retired to the chamber they now shared together without her. Once alone, Ellie tugged the covers to her chin and released a deep sigh. It did feel a little odd to be sleeping without her sisters close by, but she also liked the privacy it afforded her.
Slightly Fairbanks. A moniker they often used to describe her in jest. She did not mind that her entire family fondly mocked her as the most romantic and ‘good’ member of their unit. Eleanor had endured too many sleepless nights worrying about their wild and wickedly improper behavior and plotting how to keep them in check. Now here was the perfect opportunity to lay an inheritance for future Fairbanks. Eleanor had been excited that her brother had been given the honor of the earldom and that it had changed his wild and rakish ways. She admired the dowager countess’s plan to see their family positioned respectably and to do away with their reputations as the ‘bad Fairbanks.’
The dowager countess had already spoken to her about a young gentleman that she thought would be a perfect match for Eleanor. She had not met him as yet, but he sounded wonderful, for he would help in establishing that one thing she had always wanted for herself and her family—respectability and belonging.
CHAPTER2
The following afternoon Eleanor clutched her reticule in a tight grip. She hurried along the cobbled streets of Mayfair, trying her best to ignore the two disreputable fellows who slunk behind her. Surely they could mean her no harm. ThiswasMayfair, for heaven’s sake. Still, there was an acute sense of discomfort tingling along her spine, warning her they were up to no good.
She had forgotten one of the most important lessons Hermina had recently imparted. They were now sisters of an earl. It would not do for them to take long walks or rides alone. They were to always take along with them a maid or a footman. At first, Ellie had thought the lesson laughable. In the country, she had taken long walks in the woods for miles upon miles and into the town without anyone accompanying her, and her reputation had not been in any sort of danger, nor had it suffered any irreparable harm. She could not imagine that a servant needed to follow her about in a place as busy as London and with so many people.
Still, she had decided to follow the strict rules they wanted to use to govern their family and had simply forgotten to take along a servant when she went out for a walk in Hyde Park earlier. Glancing behind her, she worried her bottom lip to note they were still following her. A violent fright swept through her. There could be no mistake about it. They also did not look like the sort of men to frequent Mayfair. Their jackets and hats were scuffed and also their shoes. And even with the distance between them, she could see the discoloration of their teeth and the soot on their faces.
Eleanor hurried her steps, conscious of theclip-clopof her booted heels on the cobbled street. It had seemed challenging fun to walk as far as to Hyde Park, a distance the dowager countess had claimed no young lady ought to attempt. As if they were frail creatures that could not walk less than a mile, stroll around, look at the ducks and then hurry back. Now Ellie castigated herself for forgetting the rule to take a servant, for she now feared these men behind her were intent on mischief or worse. They had also hastened their steps and were glancing surreptitiously about. They were also gaining on her, and there was no one in sight, and her brother’s townhouse was still some distance away. She gripped her parasol, determined to fight them should they accost her. Her brother Richard had taught all of his sisters how to plant a facer should anyone try to take advantage of them. But she feared with two brutes she might stand little chance.
All the dangers she had ever overheard, the ones that were too terrible for genteel ladies to know, echoed in her thoughts. Another quick glance showed they were almost in touching distance. Her heart beating rapidly inside her chest, she broke into a small run. A carriage rumbled to a stop in the distance, on the opposite side of the road. Eleanor slowed her hastened steps as a gentleman pushed the door open and jumped from the carriage without waiting for the steps to be laid out.
There was a brief impression of someone large and elegantly dressed holding a cane held in hand. A wild idea surged in her thoughts, almost alarming her with its scandalous and boldly improper nature. Still, Eleanor hurled herself in his direction, hoping that his elegance of dress and travel indicated that he was a gentleman of good honor and conduct.
The dowager countess claimed they peppered theton. Sensing her, the man glanced up, and she had the perfect impression of a face etched with ruthless strength and carnal beauty. Oddly her heart stuttered, and the unexpected reaction almost caused her to falter. Then she was simply too close to assess him anymore or change her path.
“Darling, it was so good of you to meet me,” she breathlessly cried and with enough volume for the blackguards who crossed the street behind her to hear.
The gentleman went still, his gaze sliding over her with penetrating alertness. Still determined to protect herself by any means possible, she grabbed the man’s elbow. She heard his quick intake of breath. It was, of course, an egregious breach in etiquette to approach a gentleman she did not know, worse to have her body pressed to his so intimately where they might be observed by anyone. As if he understood what she was about, he placed his hand on her waist, tugging her close to his protective embrace. The move was so quick and subtle she ended up bracing a gloved hand against his chest to steady herself from stumbling. His chest muscles tensed beneath her touch, and she withdrew her hand as if she had been burned.
Eleanor swore she felt the heat of him through her gloves and her redingote. A wild shiver cascaded down her spine. She was aghast. A palpable energy emanated from the gentleman and their gazes collided. His eyes were…magnificent, a deep rich silver that seemed as if they caged a storm. His scent wrapped itself around her, eliciting a strange burst of heat to flush through her entire body.
“I am so terribly sorry,” Eleanor whispered, “but I must pretend to know you for a brief moment. Please forgive my rudeness, sir.”
Lucien received onlya fleeting impression of the young lady delectably hugged to his side. Still, he sensed that the remarkable impression of vivid cobalt eyes, wide lush lips and slanting cheekbones would forever remain embedded in his thoughts. A quick glance behind her showed two ruffians, pickpockets perhaps, who seemed more startled than himself that she had flung herself into his arms. The situation immediately became clear, and he released her to step forward.
“May I help you, gentlemen?” he drawled icily to the two men who had come to a fumbling stop.
The larger of the two looked around furtively and withdrew from his pocket a knife with a chipped-edged and dirtied blade. Still, it glinted with ominous intent. The lady inhaled sharply, and fingers tightened on the back of his jacket.
“Please be careful,” she murmured huskily.
Lucien chuckled, washed with a sense of dark amusement. Tossing the cane into his dominant hand, he flicked the rapier from its sheath. Normally he would not hesitate to wade in and teach them a lesson without taking out his blade. But a lady was present; hence the threat needed to be disposed of without any delay or mockery.
“I am hesitant to flay you open in front of a lady,” he said, low and dangerously. “But given your intentions and that I can assume you had a nefarious plan for her, I am not of a mind to be generous.”
“I can close my eyes,” she said from behind him. “Flay away, my good sir, flay away.”
That unexpectedness and the steadiness of those words pulled a rare smile to his lips, and for the first time in years, he felt a pulse of curiosity about a woman. “Then flay I shall,” he said darkly. “I will try to keep the bleeding to a minimum. At best, it will not touch your lovely coat.”
