He reached into his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief, handed it to her.
“And thank you for your endless supply of these,” she said with a chuckle as she dabbed at her eyes.
“I have plenty more.” He grinned, patting his pocket.
“But I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to teach me, Sebastian. I cannot tell you what this means to me,” Katie said. “For so long, I’ve been a prisoner of my fear. Knowing how to defend myself is—well, it’s a liberating feeling. I don’t know how I will ever be able to thank you enough.”
“Just knowing that you are feeling stronger every day is all the reward I need,” he said, his deep voice taking on a timber that made a delicious shiver tickle her spine.
“That is most kind of you,” she said, raising the glass of lemonade to her lips in the hopes that the sudden flush of heat infusing her cheeks would dissipate.
Oh, Lord. How can I feel a shiver one moment and a rush of heat the next simply by being in his presence?
Katie drained her glass as Sebastian strode to the other end of the table and began to unbutton his jacket. As she poured herself another glass of lemonade, she peeked at him from the corner of her eye, watching him unbutton his waistcoat. She took a few more sips as she watched him roll up the sleeves of his shirt, his muscles bunching and shifting as he moved.
How different Sebastian was from Wendel. Throughout her engagement to Wendel, Katie had never seen him without his waistcoat, let alone his shirtsleeves. Wendel had always been impeccably dressed in the latest fashion for men, with nary a speck of lint on his coat. Sebastian on the other looked as though he was more comfortable in shirtsleeves, and yet he cut an impressive figure in his dark evening clothes and moved like a graceful panther the night of the Clarence ball, as they danced to the waltz…
“Now then, shall we begin,” Sebastian said, pulling her from her thoughts.
Katie felt a heat permeate her cheeks and she quickly turned away, busying herself by pouring yet another glass of lemonade and taking a few more sips. “My, I seem to be so very thirsty this morning,” she said in a raspy voice.
“Fencing is one of many rigorous sports,” he said, his lips curving up in a roguish smile.
I will not think about other rigorous sports he has engaged in. I will not. I will not…
“Ready?” he asked in that velvety voice again.
“Ready!” she said more loudly than she’d intended.
“Allez!” he said.
“En garde!” she replied, advancing and then lunging.
They sparred for a good half hour and then stopped to rest for a few moments.
“Katie, I know you have carried a great burden on your shoulders, but you could not have done anything to stop those men from killing your fiancé.
“You're suggesting that had I given him my pearls, he would have still killed Wendel?” She could feel the tears welling in her eyes.
“If what I suspect is true, this man is a killer,” Sebastian interjected.
“Why do you say that?”
“Last night, Nelson and I took the sketches to the dock area, where The Rooster is. We found the man you called Doogan based on his picture. It was a perfect likeness, by the way. Based on what he told us, we believe the man who killed Lord Colborne was deliberate.”
“Th—the man in my dreams terrifies me. For so long, the faces and the scene looked foggy. I couldn’t even describe him. But since that night at the Clarence ball, the dreams have returned. Even though they are more intense, I’ve been able to see the faces.” She swiped at a tear and looked up at him.
“It’s helped tremendously that you can recall the faces. I think we are making progress. While I have no reason to suspect he would come after you, I need you to promise me you will be vigilant and have a footman with you when you leave the house.” He nodded at the parasol. “While I think you are developing your talent nicely, nothing replaces having someone there to watch out for you.”
“Is…is he still a danger to me?” Sir Nelson had called this tall, formidable man standing by her side unkillable.
“Why did Sir Nelson call you unkillable?”
Sebastian’s face was suffused with a deep shade of red and she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a man blush, especially such a big man. It was most endearing.
“We have been friends since boyhood. And have always been competitive. But when we joined the war and fought against Napoleon, we sparred in our spare time—to hone our fighting ability. The battlefield was fierce and meaner than I had ever imagined. You not only fight to survive, but you fight to kill. Over time, I earned a reputation for defeating the enemy, especially in hand-to-hand combat. I don’t know who began calling me unkillable, only a fool believes he cannot be defeated. I never did.”
At that moment, Katie realized she couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him. Beyond her attraction to him, she felt a deeper pull. She’d felt it from the first moment her eyes had met his across the ballroom. And it had only grown deeper since then. She wondered if she’d somehow transmitted her thoughts to him, as he took a step closer to her and reached out to cup her face.
