Page 40 of Dared By a Lyon
She giggled so much that she swayed into his arms. The scent of honeysuckle wafted up, and he tugged her closer. He wanted to kiss her…again. But she had just fought off—or swayed away from—Lord Pervis, who had planned to compromise her. The bastard hadn’t wasted any time cozying up to Elizabeth and trying to marry her fortune.
He was starting to move away and leave her to sleep off the drug when he heard footsteps outside the door. Then he heard a key move in a lock and pulled her behind the drapes. “Shh!” he whispered.
When she opened her mouth to say something, he covered it with his, sinking into the taste of the wine on her lips. Her hands slipped around his neck and tugged him closer to him. Vaguely, he heard the person at the door mutter about getting the right key and walking away. But he couldn’t tell whose voice it had been—only that the key they’d brought didn’t fit.
Ifthey’dbeen caught, he would have had to marry her. But for some reason, the thought of marriage didn’t upset him as much as it might have a week ago.
When had this woman become so important to him that he would risk his neck for her?
Gabriel opened hiseyes to the early morning sun streaming through the window and the familiar sounds of the staff moving about, tending fires and other chores. He hadn’t intended to stay in Elizabeth’s room, but when he tried to get her to bed, she had insisted he lie next to her. He’d planned to settle her in and leave, but gave in to her sweet pleas to stay for just a few more minutes.It’ll just be for a minute or two,he had told himself.
He knew he had to leave now, and quickly. Elizabeth’s sleeping form was curled against his shoulder, with her hairfanned out across the pillow. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll see you later, my beautiful American princess, but I need to leave before I’m discovered.” Alice would surely be on her way. He opened the door and glanced back at Elizabeth. “I’ll get us out of here as soon as I can.” He knew he could never let her out of his life…not now. She had already burrowed her way into his heart.
As he left her room, he pulled a pick from his pocket and locked the door behind him. Walking down the hall, he headed to Ashbourne’s room to see if he was there, using his pick to open the door. Inside, he saw the man sprawled across his bed, snoring. Gabriel wrestled with the temptation to harm him. Finally, he whispered to himself, “No. There will be a right time and place to get revenge,” and gently closed and locked the door behind him.
Chapter Seventeen
“Good morning, miss,”Alice said, entering the room. “I need to wake you up.” She softly shook Ashlyn to rouse her. “Mrs. Dove-Lyon asked me to see if you’d like to join her for some tea after you finish your breakfast,” she added, before carefully choosing a soft green muslin dress from the wardrobe and hanging it on the back of the door.
“Alice—good morning. It seems much later than I usually sleep.” Ashlyn stared up at her canopy, willing herself to move. “Will anyone be joining us for this tea?” She pushed herself into a sitting position, stretching her arms with a big yawn. “I’m so tired for some reason. Maybe it was everything catching up with me,” she said, her voice drowsy, as she tried to shake off her sleepiness.
“I cannot be certain, miss, but I believe Lady Ashbourne and her daughter, Lady Paula, may also be joining you at tea. At least, that’s what I heard in the kitchen. And as far as feeling tired, I suspect your wine may have been laced with laudanum last night. When I noticed you and Lord Ravensthorpe leaving the game room, and you seemed…not yourself, I asked one of the staff to bring me your wine glass from the table where you were playing whist, which smelled of laudanum. That’s a verydistinctive smell,” Alice said tartly. “It’s terrible to think a grown man resorted to that behavior. But I saw Lord Pervis bring you wine. The man…” She stopped.
“Alice, you don’t have to say anything else. I feel the same way. The man seems creepy to me. And I never use laudanum if I can avoid it. It gives me a megrim, much like the one I have right now.” Snatches of memory started coming back to Ashlyn, and she recalled Pervis bringing her the wine. She shuddered at the memory of his hands on her and briefly thought about complaining about him to Mrs. Dove-Lyon, but worried it would cause problems with the friendship between Mrs. Dove-Lyon and Aunt Beatrice. Ashlyn would return to America, but Gabriel would remain here—and she didn’t want to cause animosity between them, even though Pervis would be to blame. The man was a creep, and his behavior was beyond inappropriate. But if Alice was right, he had used laudanum in her drink with the intent to compromise her. She shuddered.
“I would have helped you, but Lord Ravensthorpe intervened,” the maid said.
“Oh, no,” Ashlyn whispered, suddenly recalling some of the things she’d said to Gabriel. Flashes of memory surfaced—his carrying her to her room. She had called him Lord Handsome! Heat crept up her neck in embarrassment. But thankfully, he had behaved like a true gentleman, helping her to bed and leaving.
“Shall I tell them you aren’t well, miss?”
“No, I should attend,” Ashlyn said, still trying to clear the fog from her head. “I had strange dreams last night.” She had dreamed that Gabriel kissed her. And as she looked around the room, she focused on the drapes and wondered why seeing them tugged on a memory. She was standing behind the drapes, and there was a kiss…and then something else happened.
“I’ll make sure your gown is ready for the ball. It was the only dress I didn’t press with all the others,” Alice said, snapping Ashlyn’s attention back.
“Yes. Thank you, Alice. There’s something that’s nagging at me from last evening…”That’s it.“I think I heard someone at my door last night. They were jiggling the lock. I just recalled it.”
“Well, that’s very strange, Miss Vickers.”
“Yes, it is. I’d better secure the jewelry I’m not using and my diary in the hidden panel of the trunk, while I’m out of my room. Can you secure the lock on the trunk when you leave?”
“Yes, miss, I’ll do that.”
“Thank you, Alice. I would feel better about that.” Ashlyn pressed her hands to her aching temples, trying to minimize the throbbing headache. “Why would anyone want to break into my room?”
“Well, your wine was tampered with. Both things suggest someone may be trying to compromise you. Lord Pervis is not a nice person. Have a care around him,” Alice said.
Ashlyn struggled to put all the pieces together in her mind as Alice helped her dress.
“Some people are so loathsome that they’ll resort to anything to compromise a person, all for a dowry. Perhaps you ought not drink anything,” Alice said, suddenly sounding very protective. “That way, if you feel yourself acting strangely or feel drowsy, you’ll know it wasn’t from something you drank, and you should find me or Lord Ravensthorpe.”
“That makes sense,” Ashlyn said, deciding to do exactly as Alice had suggested.
“The London modiste knew what she was doing. This soft green is lovely on you,” Alice remarked as she finished working on Ashlyn’s hair.
“Yes, it wasn’t my first choice, but I see the wisdom in the selection. I love everything about it,” Ashlyn said. “And mysimple pearl earrings go so well with it.” She watched as Alice curled the sides of her hair. “It’s hard to accustom myself to Elizabeth’s hairstyles, as hard as I’ve tried. She likes her hair in updos with so many curls, while I prefer my hair down and looser.”
“You always look lovely,” Alice said, inspecting her work. “I think you’re ready to break your fast. Remember, the tea with Mrs. Dove-Lyon is afterward.”
