Chapter 15

THE KIND THINGS THOMAS had said in her defense played in Eloisa’s thoughts all the next day while she and Sarah were shopping on Bond Street. Normally she would rather spend the day locked away in her room with a good book and her own mind. It was by sheer force that Sarah dragged her out into the world, convinced Eloisa needed something cheerful after the disastrous dinner party.

With her mind able to think of nothing else, Eloisa was still surprised to run into Thomas on the street outside Sarah's favorite dress shop. He walked along with his friend, Lord Fullerton and almost walked right past them. The ladies said nothing to catch his attention, but something made him stop and turn towards them.  Within a few minutes the Viscount suggested they enjoy a sweet ice together and took Sarah's arm to lead the way. Thomas didn't seem disappointed that he would be taking Eloisa’s arm instead.

"I hope this means that we are no longer to be enemies?"  He tipped his hat back to give more light to his face. She was surprised to see him wearing one for the first time.

"I have decided to accept your surrender. It wouldn't be kind of me otherwise." She couldn't help but tease the man.

"I would wave a white flag if I had one, but this will have to do."

He pulled the handkerchief from the breast pocket of his expensive dark navy suit and gave it a few flicks of the wrist. The bright red satin was the opposite of contrite and it made her laugh. Then he smiled at her in that wolfish way that made it hard to breath.

"Your friend is in good spirits today." Eloisa tried to fight the awkward feeling in her stomach with easy conversation.

"He had a prosperous night at the tables. That always puts him in a good mood."

"I heard Lord Fullerton had a gambling problem," said Eloisa, hoping she wasn't going to offend him.

"It's not a problem, it's his income. He's one of the many people blessed with titles but no way to support them."

"His family has no money?"

"Not anymore."

She remembered what Lord Fullerton had told her about needing to find an heiress. When Eloisa looked at Lord Fullerton, she didn't see a man who was desperate for money. He didn't have the air of a hunter about him that she was accustomed to in those who were hoping to marry into money. Alex was the kind of man who could make a girl happy if he wanted to. She hoped his financial problems wouldn't force him into a life that would make him unhappy.

"Are you feeling bad for him now?" Thomas asked, once again proving he had a gift for reading her thoughts.

"I just don't like the idea of anyone being forced to sell themselves, man or woman," said Eloisa.

"Comparing Alex's situation to your cousin's is not exactly the same. I'm going to make her happy."

"No, but they are similar enough to be disappointing."

It was the way their society was built. It was shameful for a person in their position to find real work, but they could buy and sell each other like goods at a market.

"I wouldn't worry too much about either of them." Thomas placed his hand over hers and even through the gloves she wore the warmth touched her. "Alex is a crafty one and will find a way out of his current dilemma. Sarah is also a lot smarter than people give her credit for and I don't think she will be forced into something she is against."

"Have you forgotten about our plan so quickly?"

Thomas chuckled. "No, but she's hardly being forced. We are helping make the decision easier for her. She's too strong to go easy."

Strong was not a word Eloisa often thought of to describe her cousin but now she saw how it could fit. Sarah looked like a delicate flower but had never wilted under the pressures of her parents or society. She always fought for those she loved and Eloisa was grateful to be one of them.

"You have gotten to know her well in the past few weeks. That will help make you a happier couple." Eloisa was relieved to know they wouldn't be getting married as strangers.

Alex and Sarah had stopped to look at something in one of the shop windows, leaving Thomas and Eloisa to walk alone. She hated to admit it, but that delighted her. Having the undivided attention of a man like Thomas made her feel like the woman she had always wanted to be. He made her feel pretty and that was not something she had expected.

"I never got to see my parents together often." He said. "I'm not sure I knew what makes a couple happy in marriage."

"Love and companionship."

"I thought the two were mutually exclusive."

She laughed. "It does seem that people find one or the other, but I believe you can have both. My parents did."

A moment of silence passed between them and Eloisa swallowed the tears that so often came when she thought of her parents.

"We had better let the other two catch up to us. The ice shop is just around the corner." He gave her a chance to collect herself before anyone else noticed. It was another act of kindness she wouldn't have expected from him.

Standing there with him, Eloisa noticed that they were drawing the attention of so many people around them. Woman walking by would try to be subtle, looking at him from beneath their hats or behind their hands. They still couldn't hide the fascination and desire they had for him. She was uncomfortable being his companion when he got that kind of attention.

"You’re being quiet," he said.

"I'm sorry. I was gathering wool, nothing to be worried about."

"If you’re lost in thought, I'm not worried, I'm frightened. You can be dangerous when you’re thinking."

He flashed her that glittering smile that made her knees week. Only this time she wasn't the only one being dazzled by it. At least two women nearby sighed out loud from the sight of it. One of the women caught her eye and gave her a nasty sneer. Eloisa knew she wasn't the kind of woman people expected to see with the duke and it made her blush to see their reaction.

"I hoped to get a laugh out of you. Has something upset you?"

There was a worry wrinkle between his handsome blue eyes. She didn't want tell him, but lying was not a skill she had mastered. "There are a lot of people taking notice of us. They don't approve of your choice in company."

"What makes you think that?"

"A lifetime of knowing when I'm being judged and found lacking."

If Sarah stood there, instead of Eloisa, there wouldn't be as much judgement from people. Sarah would look like she belonged by his side. The two of them would be equally admired. Eloisa found she no longer want to be standing so close to him under the public's watchful eyes and attempted to remove her arm.

"Don't tell me that you are affected by their opinion. What happened to the defiant woman from last night?" Thomas had a tight grip on her hand where it rested on his elbow, refusing to let her put more distance between them.

"There are people staring," she whispered through clenched teeth.

"People are always staring at me. I'm a duke and a rather handsome one, not that you noticed."

He smiled but she didn't find the situation funny. "They will start to talk. It should be Sarah they see you with, not me."

"I doubt standing with her cousin on a busy street is going to be good gossip. Talking isn't scandalous enough."

"I can think of a half dozen ways they can twist it into a better piece."

During her first season Eloisa had learned how creative gossips could be. She was never important enough to be the target of those women, but she heard what they said about the others. One girl was so embarrassed she cried in the middle of the ballroom. The memory was still vivid enough to make her shiver.

"Then let them tell a story. We are friends and I'm not going to be ashamed of it." Thomas was still smiling at her like he thought it was funny.

"I didn't think a man with your reputation would understand how to be friends with a woman."

"You taught me everything I know."

This time she did laugh. It was impossible to be serious when Thomas worked so hard to be funny. He deserved his reputation as a charmer. She took a deep breath and forced the tension to leave her body. It was a nice sunny day and she was in the company of someone she enjoyed, so she shouldn't let the attention ruin it.

"I think I have talked your cousin into buying the most ridiculous hat," said Alex, as the other two finally joined them again. "The thing had a live bird living inside of it."

"Sounds like something my uncle would hate," said Eloisa.

"Exactly the point I made to convince her to buy it."

As the four of them laughed, Eloisa felt a tug on her purse strings. She glanced behind her and saw a young boy cutting it free. She yelled and that got everyone else's attention.

"What do you think you are doing?" Alex grabbed the young boy by his shirt collar and hauled him up.

The boy didn't look frightened, but stuck out his chin like he didn't owe them anything. When Alex went to reach for the purse, the little rascal wiggled free and darted out into the crowd. Alex took off after him, but so did Thomas. Eloisa watched as he used his cane to lead him safely across the crowded street. Carriages almost ran him over and she felt her breath catch. Eloisa couldn't imagine what he thought he could possibly do in this situation.

Looking around, she saw that Sarah was frozen in shock with her hand covering her open mouth.  None of the other people walking up and down the sidewalk even notice what happened. She was afraid of what might happen if the boy led them into something dangerous all alone.

"I can't just stand here; I'm going after them. You go get help in case they manage to catch the thief." Eloisa told her cousin.

Pulling up the hem of her skirts, Eloisa went running off in the direction the men had disappeared. As much as she wanted her purse back, she'd rather no one die over it. There wasn't enough in there to risk their safety. She followed them to the other side of the road and almost got run over by a passing carriage for her troubles. Hack drivers in the city were careless about looking for pedestrians and could be dangerous.

The men were still a long distance in front of her when they turned down one of the narrow alleys between two shops. Cursing the two men for wanting to be heroes, Eloisa sped up her steps. Nothing good ever happened in an alley. As she rounded the corner she found she was right and the young thief had led the gentleman into a trap.

"How many are they?" she could hear Thomas say.

"Only four," said Alex.

"That's hardly a challenge."

Alex laughed, but he didn't look confident. "Easy to say when you have that fancy stick of yours."

Eloisa watched as Thomas twirled his cane nimbly in his hand. Clearly it was not just used to guide his way. As one of the men approached he used it to knock the man's legs out and landed the villain on his back. That was when the chaos broke out. Eloisa couldn't stand to watch and hid her eyes behind her gloved hands.

As she listened she heard the sound of grunts and moans mixed with the whacking of bodies. When she finally looked up again, there were two of the bad guys on the ground and one wrestling with Alex. Thomas fought the other with his cane in a way that reminded her of fencing. His clothes were rumpled and dirty but he looked in better shape than the brute he was up against.

"You're that fancy gent who fell off his horse a few years ago and went blind." The villain laughed. "Now you think to beat me with your dandy stick there?"

"I'm just as able as I was with my eyesight."

"An invalid always thinks so," the man spit out of the corner of his mouth.

He was in the midst of laughing at his own joke when Thomas swung the cane upwards to hook him under his jaw, closing the windpipe and making him choke for air. Then another blow to the back of the head knocked him down. The thief laid in the dirt unconscious while Thomas went over to assist Alex with the last one.

This final thief was a surprise. Smaller than the other two he attempted to climb Alex like a tree and bring him down closer to the ground. Thomas could risk swinging his cane at the man without hurting Alex. While he tried to pull them apart the thief pulled his cane from him and struck Thomas across the face with it. She watched him fall and when he didn't get back up immediately, Eloisa ran out from where she hid.

Without a thought she ran screaming at the little rat looking man. She didn't even have a weapon to use besides her own two hands. The man was so surprised to see a lady in a frilly hat and skirts attacking him he didn't even fight back. It gave Alex the chance to get free and knock the man out.

Now that the threat was gone, Eloisa felt sick to her stomach when she saw Thomas lying there still. When she knelt beside him, Eloisa realized that the silly man was still clutching her purse to his chest to protect it. He must have grabbed it from the man before getting struck down.

"Are you mad?" she whispered in his ear. "They could have killed you over that and it wouldn't have been worth it."

"I'm the hero. That makes it worth it." That was the only thing he said before his eyes closed again.

She understood that he would try to impress Sarah every chance he got, but this took it too far. It wasn't even her purse that was stolen. He would need to be more careful that he only took risks like that for his intended bride. Otherwise they were wasted efforts.