Page 54 of Daring the Forbidden Earl
All of her apprehension faded away as she saw her beloved standing in the hallway beyond. “Allow me to guess—you simply could not stay away from me?” The merriment in her voice quickly evaporated as she noticed the scowl on his face. “What is the matter, my love?”
Mark took out a letter and waved it at her. “I cannot be away from you, Sweeting.” He clicked his tongue, clearly irked. “I have half a mind to go to the Baron right this moment, and force Miss Steele to tell the truth, once and for all.”
“No!” Johanna cried. Of course, this was not the outcome she had hoped for, but she still wanted to keep her promise to Miss Steele. “We merely have to wait until tomorrow, and then all will be well. Leave Miss Steele to her own preparations, for she will also flee in a fortnight, and that will doubly ensure our safety.”
Mark frowned. “I had sympathy for her plight, Sweeting, but I will not risk our happiness for the sake of hers. The truth must be told before Lord Dresday hunts me down and shoots me… or tries to harm you, or Denninson, or any of my friends.” He opened the letter and showed her the contents. “He clearly intends to do harm.”
“Then let me go to Miss Steele again,” Johanna pleaded. “I will speak with her and find out what went awry and see if she might be able to keep her father occupied until tomorrow morning, as recompense for failing last night. That is all we need, my love. We just need Lord Dresday to be distracted until then.”
While she might have been suspicious of Miss Steele’s lover’s actual intentions, Johanna did not feel right dashing the young woman’s hopes and dreams when they were both so close to achieving them.
Mark chewed anxiously upon his lip. “Very well, you can try and talk some sense into her one more time. But you must take Nora with you, and I will be waiting in the carriage outside. Not even Lord Dresday would be foolish enough to try to hurt you with the Countess of Keswick at your side.”
“Thank you, my love.” Johanna lifted up on tiptoe and placed a lingering kiss upon his lips, which she had not been able to stop looking at since he had started biting them due to his obvious nerves. “I am quite certain there will be an agreeable explanation, and if there is not, then we can always leave earlier than anticipated.”
Mark’s expression softened. “I rather like the notion of leaving earlier, for I cannot wait to be married to you, Sweeting. Truly, I have thought of little else… until this disgraceful letter ruined my excited spirits.”
“Return to your townhouse and continue with the arrangements, for if we do have to leave earlier, we will need to be swift about our departure,” Johanna urged, knowing that if Mark came with her to Miss Steele’s residence, he would find it impossible not to march inside and demand answers.
Mark frowned. “But how will I wait outside for you if I am at my townhouse?”
“Westwood and Denninson can do the waiting instead,” Johanna insisted, and gave him a mischievous nudge in the rubs. “After all, Denninson is the one with the keen shot.”
Mark lifted his hands to Johanna’s face, and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I can consent to that, though I fear my pride shall take longer to heal than my arm.”
“All will be well, my darling.” She dipped her head and kissed the healing scratch upon his bicep.
Mark smiled. “I love you. I love that you care for others. I love that you are empathetic, and you are generous, and you are kind.” He planted a kiss upon her face for each compliment. “I do believe I shall become a better man because of your influence.”
“I love you with all my heart, and you are already a better man than you realize. Indeed, I believe you to be the very best of men.” Johanna closed her eyes and enjoyed the press of his lips against hers, as she looped her arms around his neck and hung on as tightly as she could.
After the restless night she had endured, she needed all the comfort and courage she could get, before facing another meeting with Miss Steele.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Ido not understand the purpose of us attending on the pair of you, if we are prohibited from entering this wretch’s abode with you,” Kenneth grumbled, as the carriage came to a halt outside Lord Dresday’s apartments. Johanna and Nora sat on the squabs opposite, while Liam sat at his friend’s side.
Liam nodded. “I am in agreement. I do not like the notion of allowing you two to enter that place alone.”
“We will not be alone,” Nora reminded them firmly. “We are together, and if we encounter Lord Dresday, I’ll make a point of informing him who I am. I don’t suppose he’d like to find himself in the scandal sheets for shooting the Earl of Sinclair and taking aim at the husband of the Countess of Keswick.” She flashed a wink at Johanna.
Johanna did not say a word. She was too anxious to add anything to the conversation, with her mind split between the task ahead and on Mark and the preparations he was making in case they needed to make a hastier departure. Indeed, she did not even announce her intentions as she opened up the carriage door and got out.
Nora hurried after her. “We must approach with caution, Dear Johanna!”
“There is no time for caution,” Johanna replied.
She stalked up the porch steps and pulled on the bell for Lord Dresday’s apartments, praying the same housekeeper answered the door. For the moment Nora declared herself to be the Countess of Keswick, Johanna was quite sure that the housekeeper would lead them to Miss Steele without delay… and perhaps faint with excitement.
A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal the very same housekeeper. A flicker of surprise crossed the older woman’s face, while her gaze flitted between Johanna and Nora. Just as Johanna had hoped, the moment the housekeeper set eyes on Nora, her jaw went slack.
“C-C-Countess!” the housekeeper gasped. “Is it really you?”
Nora put on a cheerful smile. “It is.”
“I am one of your greatest admirers,” the housekeeper admitted, lowering her voice. “I have read your books so many times that the pages are coming away from the stitching.”
Nora chuckled. “It’s always a pleasure to meet an admirer.”
