“You are in peril, dear,” Valeria interrupted, reasserting her grip. “We must go now and with great haste, or you will soon be ruined. There are people coming who would relish such a thing.”
The lady pulled back on Valeria’s hand, glancing in desperation at the gentleman who had remained seated. All the while, those wretched, cackling voices grew louder.
How does she not hear them?
Frustrated, Valeria shot a dark look at the gentleman, seeing him properly for the first time in the light of a hanging lantern. In the warm amber glow that spilled across him, angry recognition pulsed through Valeria’s agitated veins. She knew the man, not personally but by reputation—and his company was not the sort with which any young lady should be associated.
Now, I know who those ladies were referring to…She could have kicked herself for not putting two-and-two together sooner.
If she had thought the young lady was in danger before, she now knew that the woman had placed herself on the verge of catastrophe.
“This way,” Valeria said, shooting a scowl at the gentleman as she tugged on the woman’s hand, pulling her away from the pavilion and the sheltered glade where it sat.
Reaching a gap in some hedges opposite, yanking the woman through, Valeria looked back over her shoulder one last time. The renowned rake met her fierce gaze, the surprise upon his face transforming into an amused smirk; the kind that made her palm itch to smack it away.
To make matters all the more infuriating, the unseemly man put his hand to his heart in a gesture of gratitude.
Do not thank me, you beast!
Muttering under her breath, Valeria continued to drag the young lady through the hedge and onto a less secluded stretch of lawn. There, holding onto the girl as if she never intended to let go, she pulled her charge back toward the glow of the manor and far away from the chatter of those scandal-seeking harpies. Indeed, as far away as possible from that salacious gentleman too.
“You are hurting me!” the woman complained, but Valeria ignored her, ushering her to the farthest end of the terrace that bordered the manor house.
Once they were up a set of stone steps and on the terrace itself, where it would not be so unusual for two women to stand alone together, Valeria finally loosened her hold. There were a few other guests milling about, taking in the fresh night air, but still at a far enough distance to be out of earshot.
“How dare you?” the woman hissed, rubbing her wrist. “You had no right to do that.”
Valeria exhaled the frustration from her lungs. “I had every right. You were about to be in a great deal of trouble. I spared you.”
“Spared me?” The young woman scowled. “You ruined everything!”
Valeria leaned back against the terrace wall, observing the lady properly in the light that shone from the manor windows. She was very young, with all the petulance and defiance of that youth. No more than eight-and-ten, Valeria figured she must have been one of the Season’s debutantes. Shehadto be, if she did not know the risk she had taken, following a man like that out into the gardens.
She knew him only by the name of ‘Lockie,’ wishing she could remember more about him. Yet, information evaded her as she returned her concentration to the—apparently furious—young lady she had just saved from his clutches.
“I can see you do not understand the danger you were in, so I will forgive your rudeness,” Valeria said. “But, in time, you will see that I was merely trying to help.”
The young lady scoffed. “Perhaps, you should concentrate on helping yourself. I was in no danger. I had a plan, and you have destroyed it!” She huffed and puffed, crossing her arms across her chest. “Indeed, do learn to mind your own business!”
She stomped off, disappearing back into the manor with a rustle of skirts and fury. Yet, Valeria would not regret what she had done, despite the lack of gratitude.
You meant to be caught.Valeria shook her head in dismay as she realized the truth.You wanted to be found out there with him, embroiling yourself in a scandal.
Over the years, she had witnessed all ages and kinds of young ladies act with increasing desperation as Seasons came to an end, and they remained unmarried. She had heard of wild schemes and underhand tactics, cunning ploys and endeavors gone awry.
Valeria herself had never been able to understand why someone would risk their reputation with no guarantee of reward, but at leastthislady’s foolhardy plan had been thwarted. She had saved that girl from herself, and from the vicious attack of society that would, undoubtedly, have followed.
You are still so young. You have so much time, and you do not realize it. Do not panic and ruin yourself.She wished she had said that to the girl… and perhaps she still could.
Taking a breath to compose herself, Valeria turned, intending to return to the ball and to find that girl.
She made it no more than two steps before a deep, velvety voice stalled her, a voice like the rumble of summer thunder.
“I found a feather, miss,” it said. “I believe it belongs to you.”
Valeria’s head whipped this way and that, unable to figure out where the voice was coming from.
“Down here, where all the devils are,” the voice prompted, a thrum of amusement in the throaty growl.
