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Her eyes widened, and then the loveliest sound clasped his heart into a tight grip and squeezed. Her laughter was utterly enchanting. She surprised him by holding out her hand. Lucien handed her the cane, and she looked up at him with perfect gravity and said, “I know it is highly improper to accept a gift from a gentleman, especially a stranger, but I assure you I will treasure it.”
He was truly bereft of a reply.
“We must part here, I am afraid.”
He glanced up at the house they had stopped close to. “Is this where you reside?”
Her nose did that charming wrinkle again. “I would never take a potential villain so close to my home.”
Lucien couldn’t help smiling at that little indignant reply. “Of course, I should have expected it.”
They stared at each other, unmoving. She delicately cleared her throat, her cheeks turning rosy.
“Good evening to you, Mr. Lucien. Would you please turn around and do not look at the house I enter?” He heard a wry smile in her voice.
He let his gaze wander her sweet, lovely face beneath the bonnet. “You trust that I would do this?”
“Of course, you are a gentleman of honor.”
There went that squeeze inside his chest again. Taking a final look at her and imprinting her onto his memory, Lucien turned around. This time she hurried away with his ‘gift’ and book and parasol clutched to her chest.
And he was smiling. And fascinated.
CHAPTER3
Eleanor took a final glance at the shadowy figure in the distance, smiling to herself to see that he had honored her request to not turn around. The butler opened the front door, and she hurried up the steps and into the comforting warmth of the townhouse. As she removed her bonnet, coat and gloves, Eleanor realized her heart still beat in that odd and uneven rhythm. The gentleman’s presence rattled her nerves more than she had thought. The entire encounter had been so strange yet exhilarating.
“You’ve returned home,” Ester said, strolling down the hallway to greet her.
“Was I missed?” Eleanor asked, glancing toward their brother’s library.
“Colin and Hermina have gone to a play at Covent Gardens. I daresay they will not be home until late.”
Eleanor strolled with her sister toward the music room.
“You seem flushed. Did anything happen?”
She hesitated then confessed, “There were two men who followed me for quite a distance. I think they were footpads who meant to rob me.”
Her eyes filled with concern. “Good heavens! Are you entirely serious?”
“Yes.” Quickly she relayed the entire incident.
Ester stopped them in the hallway. “And this gentleman gave you a rapier?”
Eleanor nodded, absurdly pleased.
“And you accepted it?”
“I did,” she said with a grin.
“I daresay you might become a ‘bad Fairbanks’ after all.”
She glared at Ester, who only laughed.
“You should hurriedly hide it away before Colin, or the old dragon, sees it.”
They entered the drawing-room, and Eleanor’s response stuck in her throat to see the Dowager Countess of Celdon, their grandaunt, reposing on a chaise longue like a queen at court while their sister Lizzy played a lovely piece on the grand pianoforte. Ester and Eleanor dipped into elegant curtsies and greeted her appropriately. She slid them considering glances, her pale blue eyes piercing and intent as she assessed the style of their dresses and their hairstyles. Eleanor supposed they passed muster for their grandaunt merely harrumphed and closed her eyes, immersing herself into the music.
