Chapter 10

"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN in love, Your Grace?" Sarah's voice was soft and wistful.

This could be the perfect opportunity for Thomas to declare his intentions to her with the promise of love. He'd done that with more than one woman before and it had never bothered him. They were just words after all. He opened his mouth but the words were caught in his throat. Then he felt her hand come to rest on his arm.

"It's an extremely personal question, I know." She moved closer to him and he could hear her more clearly above the wind. "But you have so much more experience with the world than I do."

"I might have had more experiences but none that have led to falling in love. In that regard, you and I are both inexperienced." He wasn't sure why he would be so honest with her but that was the only answer that felt right.

"You aren't at all what I expected."

"Oh? Am I even better-looking in person?"

Her laughter was soft and bubbly, but didn't compel him like the deeper, richer laughter of Eloisa. Once again his mind wandered into thoughts it shouldn't.

"That wouldn't be possible considering how handsomely you are described." He was happy that she hadn't removed her hand.

"Really? What do they say?"

"Mostly foolish nonsense about you being a golden beauty. It is an outlandish description for a man."

"Perhaps I started such a rumor to feed my own struggling ego."

"I have never seen an ego more robust than yours."

Again she laughed and Thomas began to feel quite pleased with himself. Teasing was a good sign that affection might be growing between them. That was worth the slight sacrifice to his ego.

"You are much easier to get along with than I had expected." Sarah's voice was light. "All those stories painted you in a bad light."

"How so?" now she had caught his interest.

"They made you sound vain and dismissive, which I would never approve of." He forced his face not to flinch as her words came so close to the truth. "I had expected you to be impossible to talk to, but this has been nice."

That should have made him feel happy, but it didn't. Instead he felt something he suspected might be guilt. Having never felt that before, he wasn't sure. This strange feeling made him say things he normally wouldn't.

"The things you've heard about me." He wanted to stop his words but he couldn't. "All those horrible stories are true. I was a cruel man, who was given everything and appreciated nothing. You wouldn't have thought I was nice then."

"Since I didn’t know you then, I can't make a distinction." She removed her hand and he felt a loss. "I can only judge you as you are now.'

"Which is?"

"A mysterious charmer."

"I'm glad you find me charming since you did not have such an opinion of me when we met."

"I'm afraid I judged you too harshly based on what I had heard." His heart leaped as her hand returned to him. "Can you forgive me for that?"

"I think I could forgive you anything."

Slowly, Thomas reached his hand out to catch her cheek. He felt the warm soft skin under his palm. In his mind, he attempted to paint a picture of her based on what he knew. It was blurred and undefined. The details wouldn't come into focus.

"Are you going to try to kiss me now?"

Sarah's voice held a note of longing in it that he was familiar with. Before his accident women were often speaking to him in that tone. He had become indifferent to it. Now it made his blood pump faster in his veins.

He used his hand to guide her face closer. When he could feel her warm breath he parted his lips to capture hers. He swallowed her gasp as they kissed. Keeping in mind that they were still in a public place, Thomas allowed the kiss to linger a moment before pulling away. The skin under his hand grew warm from her blush as he removed it. It felt good to know he could still have such an effect on a beautiful woman. He was only disappointed that his own reaction had been less passionate.

"That was ... interesting." She had difficulty catching her breath. Thomas smiled at the compliment.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Enjoyed what?"

Thomas hadn't heard Lord Bittleby come up from behind him.

"Lord Stanhope's lecture," Thomas replied smoothly. "I believe Lady Sarah has found a new interest."

"A woman's interests are always so fickle." There was something snide in the man' tone that Thomas didn't like. "You can never be sure if they are telling the truth."

"That's a rude comment to make." Thomas felt obligated to chastise the man. "Especially in front of the lady herself."

"I meant no harm, but was simply stating my new-found opinion.”

"Where exactly did you find such an opinion?"

"In the maze, while keeping her cousin company."

Thomas hadn't noticed the sound of anyone else's footsteps approaching. When he sniffed the air there was no citrus scent in it. "Where is Miss Noble?"

"Still in the maze I imagine."

"You just left her there?" Thomas poked the Lord in the chest with one of his fingers. It brushed across a twig that clung to his coat.

"Lord Bittleby looks like he had some kind of battle with a bush," Lady Sarah commented. "It looks like the bush won."

"It wasn't the bush that put up a fight."

Thomas heard the crack of Sarah's palm across Lord Bittleby's face. He was grateful that her action saved him from hitting the man, which would have been much more damaging. It was easy for him to figure out why Bittleby was covered in shrubbery and it made his temper flare.

"It looks like every female in the family is uncontrollable," Lord Bittleby spat out.

"You should go inside before the rain comes," Thomas said to Sarah, not wanting to leave her alone with the snake of a man. "Find my mother and let her know I have gone to find Eloisa, but don't let her alarm anyone."

Leaning in close enough to smell the sweat and fear on Bittleby, Thomas whispered so that only he could hear him. "You better hope I find her unharmed or you will be stabbed by more than a few twigs."

He shoved the man aside and entered the maze alone. Even with the oncoming rain, it didn't take him long to pick up her scent and follow it through the twists and turns. As he got closer he heard her crying. Not little sniffles but full sobbing. There was even a hiccup.

Following the sound of her crying was easy, since it was so unrestrained. He made a few wrong turns, but managed to keep going in the right directions.  It was a wonder that nobody else had gone in to find her. As he turned a corner, a twig snapped under his foot and the crying stopped.

"Hello?" Eloisa sounded frightened. "Is somebody there?"

Knowing the petulant Lord had already treated her badly, Thomas didn't want to frighten Eloisa further by sneaking up on her. "I'm certainly somebody."

He heard the rustle of fabric and knew she attempted to compose her appearance. A silly idea, since he couldn't see her, but he didn't stop her. As he moved closer, he felt cool stone brush against his leg through his trousers. This was where she sat, so he lowered himself down beside her. His hand slipped over the edge and into the water of the fountain.

"Were you looking for Sarah, Your Grace?" she said between staggered breathes.

"No, she sent me in to find you." He was careful not to get too close to the fountain's edge. "It might rain soon and she was concerned you would get caught in it."

A loud crack of thunder punctuated his words. He felt her jump beside him. Thomas reached out to steady her without thinking. She pressed up against his chest, tucking her head under his chin.

"Is this fear? I never would have thought you were capable of that." He reached up to stroke her back.

"I'm just so relieved it's you."

"Who else might it be?"

"No one, just someone."

Thomas didn't like it that she was so clearly rattled by what happened with Lord Bittleby. That meant it must have been more than a simple disagreement. Reaching his hand up to her cheek, he could feel her tears.

"I should pummel that arrogant ass," Thomas said through gritted teeth.

"I don't know who you are talking about." She tried to pretend she was fine but he wasn't going to let her.

"You don't have to protect him. The idiot confronted your cousin right in front of me."

Her body trembled as she cried harder against his coat.

"You must think I'm a complete fool for letting myself get caught in such a situation." Pressing her face into his coat muffled her voice.

"There's nothing foolish about trusting those you think are your friends."

"I couldn't tell the difference between a friend and an enemy."

"The trusting nature you have is a gift and one of the best things about you."

Eloisa pulled away slightly but didn't leave the circle of his arms. He enjoyed the warmth of her body being pressed against his. Her scent was wrapped around him, stronger than the coming rain.

"He accused me of being manipulative and misleading." Her voice waivered. "I have never been either of those as far as I know."

"That man is just a sore loser. He doesn't like the idea that someone would refuse to be in his company. That doesn't give him the right to force himself on a woman."

"Sarah never gave him any fake encouragement and neither did I."

"Then he has no one to blame but himself."

"He was adamant that it was my fault."

Thomas cupped the soft skin of her cheek in his palm. He felt it startle her, but she didn't pull away.

"That's because he's not a gentleman." Thomas rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Nothing he said matters and you shouldn't let it bother you. You know who you are and that's what counts."

"I'm a stubborn woman who is trying to control everything." There was still a little wobble in her voice.

"No, you are someone who is looking out for the best interest of her cousin. You would not have done anything that you didn't think would help her." Thomas tried to give her a small smile. "You wouldn't let me within ten feet of her if you didn't think I could make her happy. You are a fierce enemy to have."

She didn't reply, but he could hear the sniffling as she thought about what he said. She was not shaking anymore, so her emotions must have been calming down, but she made no movements to push away from him. Thomas was glad, since he enjoyed holding her like this. It was so rare for her to be vulnerable. He felt like he was being let in on a little secret, that she wasn't untouchable.

"I truly do think you can make a woman much happier than he ever could," she said in a soft whisper.

He wondered if he could make a woman like her happy. It would be a wonderful challenge. Before he could stop himself Thomas leaned in and presses his mouth to hers. He thought she would push him away but she didn't. That only encouraged him to want more.

Spreading one hand across her back, Thomas pressed her closer so that her head tilted up at a better angle. She tasted so sweet and soft, like none of the experienced women he had kissed before. His heart pounded when he felt her hands slide up to cling to his shoulders. That gave his hunger free reign to deepen the kiss. He wanted more than he had gotten behind the curtain.

Letting his tongue run along the seal of her lips, he didn't hesitate when they parted. With a passionate surge he dipped into her sweet mouth, wanting to taste everything. He gave himself up to the greedy need until he could feel her struggling for breath.

"I shouldn't be taking advantage of you." Thomas pulled away to place kisses along her jaw. "I shouldn't yet I can't figure out how to stop."

"I don't want you to stop."

The thick sultry sound of her voice saying those words only made him hunger for her more. To know that she wanted it as much as he did even if she was too innocent to know what that meant, was beyond tempting. Even though he had wanted to protest, his mouth refused to listen. There was no reasoning with passion once it was ignited.

Thomas let his hands pass between them to where the buttons were on her jacket. He managed to undo them without breaking the kiss, proving he still had some of his rakish skills. Eloisa 's skin felt softer than rose petals were his fingers stroked along the neckline of her dress. He was carefully listening to her whimpers as he slipped one hand under the fabric to caress the fullness of her breast. The nipple was already hard and rubbing against his palm where he reached beneath her corset.

Somewhere in the distance there was the sound of thunder. Thomas could feel the coolness of the wind as it whipped around them. It made her body feel that much warmer when he touched her. He was so focused on Eloisa in his arms that he was shocked by the splatter of rain that hit him.

"Bloody hell."

Thomas hadn't meant to curse in front of her, but it was the only fitting response as they both got quickly soaked by the rain. This was no light sprinkle but a genuine downpour. Grabbing her hand, Thomas pulled Eloisa in the direction of the mazes exit.

"How do you know which way it is to get out?"

"Because of my special circumstances I have developed an excellent memory when it comes to pathways."

Without conscious effort he had memorized each turn he had taken when he came into the maze, so it was easy to follow them backward toward the exit with his cane to keep them from hitting the brush. He tried to move as quickly as possible since the rain fell heavily. Eloisa could still have complained about being dragged along, but she didn't. Instead she did an admirable job of keeping up and arranging her clothes back into some manner of decency.

Once they were free of the maze Thomas only quickened his steps. He didn't hear anything but the thunder and rain. That meant that everyone was already inside. It wouldn't take long for her to be missed and it would do damage to Eloisa's reputation. As he approached, he went towards the doors that led into the dining room. He figured there would be less chance of him running into someone there.

"We should part ways here, in case anyone finds us." Thomas said, slipping them into the house quietly. "It looks less suspicious if we are just two people alone than together."

"Wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

Her voice caught his attention. "I'm only trying to protect your reputation."

"The only risk to my reputation is being around you."

"So now this is my fault?"

Her sigh echoed in the quiet of the room. "No. It's my fault. I spent my whole life watching people from the outside but I never learned how they worked."

"You are not on the outside anymore."

"Which is why I don't know what I'm doing."

Thomas wanted to say the right words to comfort her but they eluded him. This was the moment for brilliance and he had none. All he could do was mumble an apology that even to his own ears sounded ridiculous.

"I wish you wouldn't assume this had everything to do with you." Eloisa said. "It makes you sound arrogant. I would have ended up in that sort of situation if you were there or not. At least I had you to rescue me this time."

"You make me sound like a hero." A ridiculous notion.

"It's better than being the villain."

"I'm more suited to the evil role."

"No, I think you are capable of being both but are more comfortable being bad."

"Go with what you know." He let out a chuckle of self-loathing.

The room was silent, with only the sound of the storm outside. Neither of them wanted to be the first to leave but if one of them didn't they would be discovered soon. As much as he wanted to stay, Thomas decided he would have to be the one to go. There was no need for a good-bye.