Page 10 of Her Daring Earl
“I suppose,” Fitz said, not wanting to share the truth.
“Lord Fitzroy!” Lady Willoughby exclaimed, her expression matching her daughter’s as she rushed forward, although she stopped short of touching him as Eliza had. “Are you well?”
“We were just assessing that,” he said as he gingerly pushed himself off of the ground and up to stand before them. “I believe I shall be fine.”
He looked at the man on the ground once more, sorely wanting to determine if he was still alive and, if so, to question him as to who he was and what he was doing here.
If he did so, however, he would have to explain himself to the women in front of him, and he had no interest in telling them about this apparent plot to do away with him – nor how he had discovered it.
He had thought that Madeline might have been putting him on, but this was no prank.
Suddenly, the past few minutes came rushing back, as Fitz recalled the resolve that crossed the man’s face moments before he pulled the trigger. Then, how he had rushed toward him at the very moment the gun went off, and then how his attacker had suddenly and unexpectedly come flying forward into him, all of it seeming to happen at once. He had been so focused on his impending death that he hadn’t realized in conscious thought that there had been a carriage headed toward them. Which meant--
“Did you… run him over?”
Mother and daughter exchanged a look before beginning their story together.
“I’m not sure if ‘run him over’ is the expression I would use,” Eliza said matter-of-factly.
“Perhaps he was unfortunate enough to have been clipped by our carriage wheel,” her mother said, a look of contrived innocence crossing her face. “I am very glad that you are well, Lord Fitzroy.”
“Yes, of course,” he murmured, trying not to laugh at the two women before him who could likely pose more of a threat to the criminal underworld than any Bow Street Runner ever could, were they to put their minds to it. “Well, I shall be on my way, then. We wouldn’t want him to come back to consciousness and find two beautiful women standing before him.”
“Oh, Lord Fitzroy, you are too kind,” Lady Willoughby said with a large smile, while Eliza rolled her eyes. “We must see you home after this ordeal you have been through. Come into the carriage. You do not live far from us.”
“Thank you, but I shall be fine walking.”
“I would not hear of it,” Lady Willoughby said, placing her hands on her hips. “How could I look your mother in the eye if I left you here after such a traumatic incident? Come. Now.”
It seemed he had no choice. He chuckled as he followed the women up into the carriage. Before he ascended the steps, he stopped and laid a hand quickly on their driver’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said in a low voice. “Truly.”
The man nodded in response before Fitz joined the ladies within, taking a seat next to Eliza facing forward while her mother perched on the opposing seat.
“Where were you walking home from?” Eliza was not one to mince words.
“A club,” he answered honestly.
“Was Baxter there?” her mother asked, fortunately cutting off Eliza.
“Ahh, there are many clubs throughout London,” he said, not wanting to answer in the affirmative. “Baxter—” he stopped, realizing suddenly that he was speaking to the man’s mother and sister, “—enjoys visiting a wide variety of them.”
Eliza snorted at that, obviously knowing exactly what he meant, while her mother pressed her lips together.
“You smell like perfume,” Eliza said, wrinkling her nose.
She shifted away from him slightly, and he immediately missed her presence. Why did he feel the need to explain that the perfume was no cause for concern?
“I spent a great deal of the evening dancing,” he said, clearing his throat. “It must be from one of the ladies.”
“It smells cheap.”
“Are you suddenly a perfumer?”
“No, but I am a woman who wears perfume.”
That he knew. Hers smelled like jasmine – sweet, exotic, and adventurous. Just like her.
“We should not judge, Eliza,” her mother said softly, and Fitz was suddenly extremely grateful that she was here, even if it meant that she had seen him at such a low moment.
