Where was Anne?
Where was Drake?
“I can see the wheels turning in your head,” Miranda said. “Anne’s with her mother, brother, and sister-in-law. At your two o’clock.”
Squinting in the dim light, Honoria made out Anne’s petite frame when Mr. Weatherby shifted to his right.
Before she could search further for Drake, Burwood took his place in the center of the gathered crowd. “Lords, ladies, and gentlemen. Now is the time you’ve been waiting for. In order to enjoy our display to its fullest, I’m going to have the footman extinguish the fires in the torches. Please remain where you are to avoid injury. And enjoy the show.”
He gave the signal and in dramatic fashion, the fires went out two-by-two, starting from the outside of the half-circle to the innermost torches until Burwood himself was but a shadow in the faint moonlight.
Hushed voices quieted until only the sounds of frogs croaking in a nearby pond remained.
A whistle and sparks shooting into the sky garneredoohsandaahsfrom even the staunchest members of theton. Someone brushed Honoria’s hand, and she whispered over her shoulder, reluctant to take her eyes off the night sky, “It’s beautiful. Isn’t it, Miranda?”
“Not as beautiful as what’s beside me,” the deep baritone voice responded.
“Drake!” Where had he come from, and where had Miranda gone?
He placed a finger to his lips. “Come with me.” He tugged gently on her hand.
“But the fireworks?” She craned her neck to continue viewing the colored explosions.
“You can still see them from over here.” He led her along the front of the house, skirting the crowd too busy to notice them. Only theflashes from each colorful burst provided light enough to navigate their way, but Drake maneuvered them effortlessly. When they reached the side of the house, two large yews provided shelter from prying eyes, and he tucked her between them.
Her heart thudded against her ribcage. “I saw you leave the ballroom with Anne. I thought?—”
He placed a fingertip against her lips. “Shush. You need not worry about Anne any longer. She’s released me.”
Another explosion lit the night sky, her heart bursting in colors just as beautiful. “Is she terribly hurt?”
His eyes didn’t reflect his feeble smile. “How like you to worry about Anne. Rest assured, she will recover. She admits it is for the best.” He stroked her cheek. “But with Anne and so many others aware of my feelings for you, I worry about what your father might do to come between us. Only my attachment with Anne has kept him at bay.”
On that, like so many other things, they agreed completely. “I won’t let anyone get in our way again.”
She meant every word, and she was willing to prove it to Drake.
CHAPTER 30
No words could have been more beautiful to Drake’s ears than Honoria’s whispered commitment to him.
“Are you certain?” His own doubt clawed to the surface. “I meant what I said earlier. If there is to be a future for us, it must be your decision. Unencumbered and not influenced by others—including me. How—and indeed if—we proceed is entirely up to you.”
“I promise you, Drake.”
It would be so easy to be swept up by her enchanting green eyes, her lovely smile, her sweet voice. To fall under her spell again and leave his heart open and vulnerable. But experience had a way of making one wary of the fire once one had been burned.
He kept his voice as gentle as he could. “You promised me before, remember? Then you broke my heart when you refused me.”
Oh, it was unfair to lay all the responsibility on Honoria’s shoulders, to be sure. The pain swimming in her eyes told him as much.
“I thought it was for the best.”
“So you said. But it wasn’t best for me, Honoria.”
“Wasn’t it?” She traced a hand down his bespoke coat. “Would you have left for the military so quickly?—”
He pressed a fingertip to her lips. “Hush. What’s past is past and cannot be undone. It no longer matters.” The crushing weight of her rejection eight years ago pressed upon him anew, ripping his heart open again. He had no desire to relive it. “Let’s look to the future. What I ask is simple. Think long and hard about what you truly want. Consider all consequences. If your decision leads you to me, I will be waiting. But the choice must be completely yours. Are you willing to face the wrath of your father? To risk a divide with your family?”
