two thoughts to the risks he was taking, for all the time he was gone. I just assumed that he would be well.’
‘And he managed well without your help,’ Hendricks reminded her.
‘It is not as if I do not trust him to take care of himself,’ she said, trying to convince herself that it was a fact. ‘But now that I have seen him, and know how reckless he can be—’ she looked desperately at Hendricks ‘—what shall I do? What shall I do if he does not come back?’ When she had come to London, she had been worried about household economies and the loss of her freedom. But now the thought consumed her that, if she should never see him again, it would mean that he would never know who she was, or how she felt for him.
Hendricks stared down into his teacup. ‘Lord Folbroke would be most annoyed with me should I leave you to worry over nothing. You need have no fear for yourself, for even if the worst should occur, you are not without friends. You will not be alone, Emily. You shall never be alone.’
‘But I have no thought for myself,’ she said, going to look out the window in the vain hope that she would see his carriage pass by. ‘It is only he that I care about. He is at the centre of all my happiness. And now that I have found him again, I must keep him safe and healthy, and happy as well. Just as he was this morning.’
‘Then you must trust him,’ Hendricks said. ‘In a few hours, all will be right again. You will see.’
At a little before eight o’clock, she heard the sound of Adrian’s step in the hall and his call for a servant to take his hat and gloves. She rushed past the footman, dismissing the servant so that she could tend to him herself, running into his arms and pressing a kiss upon his lips.
Tonight, though well dressed, Adrian was not his usual, immaculate self. His cravat was tied loosely, his brown hair was mussed, and there was colour in his cheeks as though he had just come back from a ride, or some other strenuous pursuit. He gave a laugh when he recognised the feel of her, and gathered her close in a kiss so hungry that it bordered on violence.
He tasted of brandy, and salt as well. She felt a strange wetness upon her own lips. When she managed to push him clear so she could wipe it away, there was red on her fingers. She reached out gently to touch his mouth, and he flinched and batted her hand away. ‘There is a cut on your lip.’
It was odd. For instead of the reaction she had been expecting, of a curse or another wince of pain, he ran a finger tentatively across the wound and grinned at her, wolfish and wicked. ‘So there is.’
She reached into her sleeve and withdrew a handkerchief, wetting it the tip of her tongue and reaching up to dab away the blood.
He pulled her close again, lifting her so that her toes barely touched the ground and gave a growl. ‘Kiss it better?’
‘I do not want to hurt you.’
“Tis a pity that the man who hit me did not feel the same. Of course, I’d pegged him good by the time he landed this on me. So I suppose I had it coming.’ Her husband was still grinning, blue eyes sparkling with an emotion that she had not seen before. And he kissed her again, as he had on that first night, as though he could not wait to take her to bed and did not care who knew it.
‘You were fighting?’ The words and the kiss sent her thoughts rushing back to the man he had been when she’d found him. She sniffed his breath again. ‘You have been drinking, haven’t you?’
‘And what if I have?’ He kissed her throat, fondling her body through the gown she wore.
She pushed at his hands, trying to catch her breath. ‘You promised me that there would be no more of that. You are too valuable to me to squander yourself. I was beside myself with worry over you.’
He paused, leaning his face against her hair. ‘Really, madam, you cannot expect me to place my calendar totally in your hands, no matter how lovely those hands might be. My life is still my own, is it not?’ But somehow, he did not sound particularly happy with his freedom.
‘Of course it is,’ she assured him. ‘You know I have no claim on you. But no matter what happens between us, it is very important to me to know you are safe and well.’
He leaned against her for a moment, as though his day had exhausted his strength. ‘And I thank you for it. It is good to know that someone cares. And you need have no fear of my condition. I gained it as any proper gentleman should. I went to White’s for luncheon.’
‘You went out again? And without me?’ She could not control the little shriek of delight she gave and threw her arms about his neck.
He gave her a pat upon the shoulder and shrugged as though the sudden change was nothing unusual. ‘I could not very well take you to my club, darling. No ladies allowed. Not even wives, thank God.’ The last was uttered under his breath, so quiet that she barely heard it. And then he continued, as if he had said nothing. ‘My taking lunch there should not be such an uncommon thing to you. I am still a member, in good standing. Anneslea was there, as was his brother-in-law, Tremaine. Good to see them again, after all this time. Anneslea asked about the eyes, of course.’
‘And you told them?’ She leaned away from him, staring into his face.
‘Unlike some problems, my condition is rather hard to conceal.’ He looked past her, not even pretending to see. Then he gave another non-committal shrug, as though his mind had moved on to other, far more important matters than the one thing that had consumed him for months.
She hugged him again and kissed him on his sore lip. ‘But what of this?’
‘After we got the niceties out of the way, there were others who were eager to share the news of the day with me. Some of which was quite surprising. It seems I have much reason to celebrate. My cousin Rupert was there …’ He frowned again, pinching his lips tight together until the cut went white.
That might explain his strange mood. She doubted he had wanted to reveal himself so soon to his family. And she knew from experience that Rupert had a way of ruining even the happiest of days.
Adrian seemed about to say something, and then smiled again, and went on with his story. ‘In the course of the afternoon, the bottle was passed around. We got to talking about what was possible for a blind man to accomplish. And then, someone got out the betting book.’ He gave another shrug, as though to minimise the foolishness of it. But it was coupled with a satisfied grin. ‘Some of the fellows and I went off to Gentleman Jackson’s for a bit of pugilism, as any proper gentleman of the ton might. Blindfolds for both men. Since I have the advantage of some sight, it would be hardly fair for me to go without. When equally blinded, it seems that I can manage two out of three opponents. A healthy average, I think. I proved quite good at finding my mark. If I can stay out of reach of the first few blows, I can hear the other fellow breathing like a bellows, and take aim upon the source of the sound. I am not as fast as I used to be, and my form was sadly lacking after this extended period of inactivity. But they could not fault my enthusiasm. Although it was a shame that the man I wanted to stand up with was not there to share the moment.’
‘You boxed?’ She did not know whether to laugh or scold him.
‘Just a little harmless sparring. No anger behind it.’ But the glittering of his eyes and the set of his jaw made her wonder at the truth of that. ‘It was a shame that dear Rupert was too big a coward to share the ring. I dare say, after today’s demonstration, he will not think me a helpless invalid, and will know to shut his mouth and keep his distance.’
