The man immediately guffawed, his head thrown back, the sound whirling through the air around her.
“As though I’m about to believe that!” A broad grin had chased away any flicker of hope she had. “You’re lying. You’re lying so I’ll step away from you, but I haven’t got a single thought of doing that. You can tell Lord Winterbrook what I’ve told you. That way he’ll know we mean what we say. He might have been able to hide behind his mask for a while, but we know who he is now. There’s nowhere for him to hide.”
Chapter Fourteen
Felix was pacing, his thoughts anxious, his stomach twisting. Up and down the hallway he strode outside the ballroom of Lord Gosford’s house. It was quite ridiculous to have such anxiety about Lady Elizabeth’s arrival, but that was what drove his steps. He ought to be in the ballroom, appearing to be delighted over his betrothal, but instead he was doing nothing but gnawing on the edge of his fingernail and walking up and down the same hallway as he had been doing for the last quarter of an hour.
His attention was caught by a shrill laugh and turning his head, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. The sight of Lady Longford had his heart quickening, but of Lady Elizabeth, however, there was no sign. A gasp caught in his chest. What if she had decided not to attend? His heart turned over at the thought. He could not blame her for such a thing, of course. If she was to remain absent, then he could have no cause to complain. In fact, the only thing he could do was understand. After everything he had done, everything he had hidden from her, it made sense for her to wish to stay away from him.
I must know for certain.
“Lady Longford. How pleasant to see you.”
Forcing a bright smile onto his face, he hurried across the hallway, seeing Lady Longford's broad smile as she greeted him. Obviously, Lady Elizabeth had not said a word to her mother about what he had done, and Felix did not know whether to be grateful or humbled.
“Good evening, Lord Winterbrook. How very good it is to see you. Might I say again just how delighted I am over your desire to marry my daughter.”
“And I am very grateful that she has accepted me.”
These words were spoken with genuine honesty, but at the same time, Felix’s tug of guilt pushed away any sense of happiness. The only reason that Lady Elizabeth was marrying him was because she had no other choice than to do so. Had the door not been pushed open by one of the worst gossips in all of London, then their conversation might have taken a very different turn. In all likelihood, their acquaintance would have ended, their close connection severed, and she would have walked out of his life without any further consideration.
“I have received a note from Lord Longford only this morning.” Lady Longford smiled warmly and settled a hand on Felix’s arm. “He is just as delighted as I.”
“I am glad to hear it.” Felix inclined his head. “But speaking of Lady Elizabeth, have you any idea of where she might be?”
“She is just behind me, is she not?”
Lady Longford gestured behind her, turning sharply, only to see that Lady Elizabeth was not present. A frown darkened her features and Felix’s breath hitched. Whatever had happened to her?
“Lady Longford?”
Lady Longford’s face was a little pale.
“She urged me to hurry inside, given that there is slightly cooler air this evening.” She began to take some steps back towards the front door of the house. “The bottom of her gown was caught on something, and she did not want me to linger.”
“Then wherever could she be?” Felix did not need an answer to this question for, just as they reached the door, Lady Elizabeth stepped through it. Felix’s heart leaped with relief, and he went to smile and greet her, only to see the whiteness of her features and her slightly rounded eyes. Something was wrong. “Good evening.”
By instinct he reached for her hand, and as her cold fingers went around his, a chill ran over his skin.
“There you are, Elizabeth. I was looking for you.” Lady Longford smiled, first at her daughter, and then more warmly, at Felix. “No doubt you will wish to spend a great deal of time with my daughter this evening, Lord Winterbrook. Might you be so kind as to see her into the ballroom?”
“It would be my pleasure.” With a quick smile, he released Lady Elizabeth’s hand and then offered his arm, which she took quickly. There was no hesitation, no pause, no flicker of her eyes to his. Instead, she simply stood by his side as together, they made their way to the ballroom. “Something has troubled you.” Speaking his inner thoughts aloud to her, Felix glanced at his betrothed. “I can tell by your expression that something has happened.”
He did not ask whether or not she would be willing to share it with him but had the expectation that she would do so if she wished. If she required help, then he was the one who wanted to offer it to her.
“I have been accosted by a man who claims to know you.” There was a tremble in Lady Elizabeth’s frame which Felix felt as her fingers tightened a little on his arm. “He stated that he was in your employ as one of your highwaymen, and that he now desires you to return to that life.”
An exclamation catching in his throat, he stopped suddenly as she turned to face him.
“Where did he speak with you?”
His voice was low and urgent, and Lady Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly, her face pale.
“Outside.” Licking her lips, she shook her head. “I do not know how he recognized me but, evidently, he was waiting for my arrival. I cannot understand how he knows who I am, in connection to you.”
“Because I, in my foolishness, gave him my name.” Frustrated with himself for not only having spoken his own name to Stafford when he had been aimlessly wandering through London, he now realized just how much danger that had put Lady Elizabeth in. With her connection to him, he could not easily keep her safe from the three men he had ridden with previously. “What did this man want?”
Lady Elizabeth took another moment, obviously still shaken by her experience.
