“Normally, I would have the driver let us out here so that we could walk,” Juliet said once the carriage reached the park the following day. “This morning, however, I fear that the clouds are threatening more than a drizzle.”
Adeline peered through the open carriage window. The soot-gray sky hung overhead rather ominously. Father always said, good sense is its own reward. Though at the moment, good sense did nothing to abate the possibility of a missed adventure. “There will be time for another tour of the park, I’m sure.”
“Walking here is one of my great pleasures. I’d missed this park after being away in Bath for so many years.” Juliet’s voice turned quiet as she looked out the window. An instant later, she drew her gaze back to Adeline. “Now that my cousin Lilah has married, I have no walking companion and would greatly welcome your company as often as you are able.”
“I should like that,” Adeline said with a smile. But it faltered when a thought occurred to her. “I’m not sure it would be wise for you to be seen with me . . . considering the opinion society holds.”
Two days had passed since the soiree at Lady Strandfellow’s, and still there were no invitations.
“I only look to my own opinion. I find that you and your parents are far better people than the ton deserves.” Juliet gracefully waved her hand through the air as if that matter was part of ancient myth. “However, I’m certain I will be unable to keep you to myself for long. Have you not read the Standard this morning?”
“No. I was too excited to see Hyde Park.” And Rotten Row. Adeline watched as Juliet unfolded the paper and angled it toward the light.
“Our Earl of W— made a miraculous showing at Lord and Lady Kn—’s dinner of most distinguished guests. While a little worse for wear, he was no less dashing. Great hopes abound that this will only be one of many more appearances in polite society.”
Adeline frowned. “I don’t see how that has anything to do with my acceptance, or lack thereof, into society.”
“You will see. If Wolford holds favor, then so will you. After all, your family has brought the wolf back into the fold.”
“Heaven help the fold,” Adeline said with a lift of her eyes to the carriage roof.
Juliet laughed. “That is likely a truer statement than either of us dare to think about.”
And yet there was so much more to Liam than most people gave him credit. The ton would believe that he was on this earth for the sake of debauchery alone. Yet he wasn’t simply a charming, devilishly handsome rake. He was also a scholar with a love for history. His collection held an amazing assortment of artifacts, to which he made a point of studying each and every one.
Then, as if her thoughts had the power to conjure him, she glanced through the carriage window and saw a dashing figure approach. Her heart’s rhythm altered tempo, quickening. The sound of it seemed to match the happy trot of his horse’s hooves.
Liam drove up in an open crimson gig, drawn by an eager gray high-stepper. Once he reached Juliet’s carriage, he lifted his hat. “Lady Granworth. Miss Pimm. What a serendipitous meeting.”
“Serendipitous?” Juliet tsked. “I do believe you were present when I’d asked Adeline to join me in the park the evening before last.”
“Was I?” With the mischievous gleam in his green gaze, he wasn’t fooling anyone. He tapped his gloved fingertips against his temple. “I fear that the wounds I received may have affected my memory.”
“A sudden case of amnesia?” Adeline issued a single ha in challenge but smiled. “I hope your horse knows the way home.”
“But you see, Miss Pimm, my horse is holding me captive at the moment. He has no compassion for me and longs to race. Of course, I prefer a long, steady canter, but what am I to do?” His innocent expression altered when he tossed them a wink and reclined back, draping his arm across the wooden rail along the back. His green coat parted as he shifted, widening his legs in a way that caused the buckskin to tighten over his muscled thighs. In the other hand, he held the reins loosely, stroking the strip of leather beneath his thumb. “With no seat companions, I fear that I might fall off this perch. Surely the pair of you could offer a stricter hand on the reins.”
The more Liam spoke, the deeper, more suggestive his voice became, and all the while he held Adeline’s gaze. It was all she could do not to leap out of the carriage and onto his lap.
Juliet cleared her throat. “Wolford, you would do better to hie yourself back to one of your houses to break your fast.”
“What makes you think I have not broken my fast already?”
Juliet glanced from Wolford to Adeline and back again. “Because you look positively ravenous.”
He grinned, and rather wickedly too.
When he made no denial, Adeline’s cheeks flamed. Oh, why did she not want to look away? “It must be a trick of the light.”
“A trick of some sort, to be sure,” Juliet muttered. “I am convinced you came this way to lure my friend into scandal. Then our efforts would be for naught.”
“What scandal can be had in an open curricle?” His eyebrows lifted in innocence, but the tilt of his mouth suggested he knew quite a few ways. “There would be none at all if you joined us.”
He spoke as if Adeline had already agreed. Likely she should be offended by his presumption. But who was she fooling? She wanted to go more than anything. She could be cross with him later.
“There is hardly room for you, let alone two or three. Besides, it looks like rain.”
“I do not mind the rain,” Adeline said, unable to help herself. “And the moment the first drop hits, we could return to your carriage.”
Juliet peered around them, considering. “Hmm . . . There is no one about. Most sensible people are still abed, and the gossips too, I imagine. Very well. However, I will remain here. Quite honestly, Adeline, I’m a little frightened of that contraption. I’ve seen them here before, and they go dreadfully fast.”
Adeline’s heart raced. She could barely contain her excitement. Her hand reached for the door at the same time that Wolford opened it. With a backward wave, she said, “I won’t be a minute.”
Liam secured her beside him and felt his mistake immediately. A shudder wracked through him at their close press of bodies. It was so powerful that he had to close his eyes against it . . . or to savor it. He wasn’t quite sure.
“Hold on, Miss Pimm. This is going to be only a short jaunt but fast.” He enjoyed taking his time in most activities that brought him pleasure. Unfortunately, he wasn’t certain he could trust himself beside her for too long. Yesterday had drained his resistance.
“I don’t know what to hold on to. There is nothing but a frail bend of metal along the side of this seat.”
“Then hold on to me.” He snapped the reins, leaving her without much choice. Unfortunately for him, she settled her arm along the back of the seat instead. But the view her position provided—the modestly cut blue muslin pulling taut against the inviting swells of her breasts—made the sacrifice worth it.
She let out a lush laugh as the horse sprinted away and down the length of the track. “I’m so happy I could burst. If it wouldn’t ruin my reputation, I would kiss you again, Wolford. Right here.”
“Don’t burst, or you’ll frighten my horse.”
After the turn, the first sprinkles of rain began. Hell. “We should head back.” Since they were the only ones on the track, they could. A distant rumble of thunder warned him to slow.
“No, please.” Adeline set her hand over his on the reins.
“You’ll be wet through,” he warned, his wicked mind veering slightly when he saw the beads were already clinging to her lips. And when she licked the rain away, he nearly groaned. “Then so be it. I want to be wet through. I want this adventure, Wolford.”
Now it was his turn to tilt his head back and laugh at the heavens above them. But his was far more sardonic. “Promise me one thing first, Miss Pimm.”
“Of course.” She said, far too eager, far too naïve.
“Say those words to me once more.”
She looked at him peculiarly, tilting her head. Then in no time at all, she released his hand, and a deeper color bloomed on her cheeks. “I don’t know why I am blushing but have a feeling that I should not repeat what I said.”
He grinned at her and snapped the reins. “Likely not, for I am greedy and would ask you to say it again and again.”
Adeline stared out the carriage window and watched Liam drive his gig away. Even though both Juliet and she had offered to share the carriage, he’d insisted on driving himself, stating that he’d been abed too long and that the rain would do him good. Before he left, however, he withdrew a dry handkerchief and gave it to Adeline.
Thankfully, there was nothing more than a drizzle or else she would worry about him. But who was she kidding? She would worry about him all the same.
“I hope you can forgive me,” Adeline said, blotting her face. “It was impossibly rude of me to leave you here.”
“There is nothing to forgive, silly. I believe we should seize moments of daring whenever we are able. Otherwise, how can we know what lives inside of us?” Juliet spoke with undeniable certainty, while her smile was somewhat wistful. “Besides, if it had not been for the rain, I surely would have gone. Wolford is rather persuasive, after all. Not only that, but he seemed . . . determined to make it happen. I have never seen him thusly.”
Adeline couldn’t imagine him any other way. “I have no knowledge of him other than who he is now. What was he like before?”
Juliet pursed her lips in thought. “I did not know him well, mind you. There had only been a handful of parties and dinners we’d attended together. Most of the time, the esteemed host would have invited Wolford because of his title and not necessarily for his charm. As you can imagine, he was always an incorrigible flirt, which seldom earned him favor. And many held his excessive wealth against him. He was known for being spoiled, his focus on buying whatever object he wanted.
“Yet since the evening of Strandfellow’s soiree, I’ve noticed a marked alteration in him. I daresay, he is almost noble in his bearing and no longer thinking of his own pursuits.”
Hmm . . . yes. He was quite gallant this morning, Adeline mused pleasantly.
“Perhaps it is the result of the attack upon him.” She noted the keen brightness in Juliet’s gaze that reminded her of Mother’s knowing look. Not wanting a blush to give her away further, she patted her cheeks with the handkerchief. “Though, since I have not known him long, it is a mere speculation.”
“That is the stranger thing still. The pair of you seem . . . familiar, though not in a scandalous sense. More so like two people who have been acquainted for many years. After all, he seemed to know that you would not be able to resist a race this morning.”
Was that what this was about? Adeline breathed in relief. “I might have mentioned such a desire. When he first awoke, his head was bandaged, his eyes covered, and I felt as if I could not leave him alone. So I talked with him, nattering on and on. I’m sure he was eager to be free of the sound of my voice.”
“Ah. So that is how he knew about your ribbon trick.”
Adeline nodded. The truth was, he knew a good deal more about her than anyone else. She’d told him her deepest secret. He knew her regrets. He knew her fears. And never once had he looked at her as if she deserved his pity.
Instead, he was understanding, and he shared his thoughts with her too. He didn’t choose his words carefully, guarding her or coddling her. Because of this, they were connected, bonded. And to her it went deeper than a mere friendship ever could.