the change in her body as she gave herself up to his protection.
He squeezed her hand again. ‘Very well, then. Go home and unlock your window.’ He smiled at her. As the music ended, he spun her back to the place she had been, to stand by the irate Barton. ‘Delightful, your Grace, and so sorry to impose, but I could not resist the temptation to steal the dance.’
She watched the light of recognition flare in Barton’s eyes at his choice of words.
Barton glared at him. ‘You should be careful what you steal, sir. For you know what happens to thieves.’
Tony laughed. ‘I have but to read The Times to see that, sir. Hanging. But at least it is not so bad as the thing that happens to traitors. While the courts might show leniency to a thief, counterfeiting is high treason. To be hanged, drawn and quartered for acting against your own country?’ Tony shuddered theatrically. ‘A nasty end, is it not, Jack?’
Barton’s normal composure broke, and he grew even angrier than he had been; his cold smile turned to a grimace of fury and his colouring was mottled red. ‘Then a traitor need have no reason to fear doing murder, Smythe. The slow and painful death of another will add nothing to the severity of the punishment, should one be caught.’
She reached out and tugged Barton’s sleeve to distract him, and he shook her off.
Tony tipped his head to one side, considering. ‘I suppose it would not, if one could manage such a feat. But in your case, I have my doubts. Shall we see?’ And he turned and started towards the dark walks.
And Barton cursed once, and made to follow. Then he turned back to her. ‘You are to return home immediately, go to your room, and wait for me there.’
She grabbed his arm. ‘I will do nothing of the kind. I know what you mean to do. And you promised you would not.’
Tony turned back and looked at her curiously. ‘Do as he says, Constance. Go home. Whatever occurs, I do not wish you to be a part of it. Do you understand?’
She looked between the two men, both implacable. ‘Go.’ Barton pointed towards the exit as though ordering a dog to its kennel.
‘Please, your Grace,’ Tony added.
And then he walked away, in the direction of the most secluded paths, disappearing into the nearest crowd.
Barton followed.
Constance sat on the end of her bed, knotting and unknotting her handkerchief in quaking hands. Why had she listened to either of them? She should have thrown herself onto Barton and held him back.
But Tony had gone so quickly and left Barton to push and shove his way through a group of people. When she had gone after him, she had been swept along with the group, and was near to the exit before she got clear, having seen no sign of Tony or Barton.
She had searched for a while, but been afraid to venture into the darkness alone, and finally had hired a hackney and hurried back to her house, shooed the maid away, locked the door and unlocked the window. Please, dear Lord, let it be Tony who arrived and not Barton. She did not think she could bear the sight of him, much less his touch, if she knew that he had come to her rooms with Tony’s blood on his hands.
‘By your leave, your Grace?’ Tony stood framed in the open window, awaiting her permission to enter.
‘Oh, do not be such a fool. Come in before someone sees you.’ She rushed to the window and reached to pull him in herself, patting at his chest with her hands, searching for some sign of injury.
He stepped into her room as easily as if he’d entered it from the hall, laughing as her hands touched him, catching them and bringing them to his lips. ‘You thought I would come to harm from Barton?’
She looked at him incredulously. ‘I was terrified. You must have known what I would think.’
‘That I would go into the darkness and let him brawl with me, in a public park? Not knowing who he might have brought with him for aid or what trap might await me? I’m sorry to disappoint you, darling, but I ran like a rabbit until I was quite sure he was lost on the paths, and then I came here. And I can assure you; I am quite unharmed.’ He placed her hands against his chest again. ‘But you may touch me as much as you like. I find it most pleasant.’
She snatched her hands away and turned from him. ‘I was a fool to agree to this. I should never have allowed you to come. I put you at risk for helping me, and you treat it as if it were a joke. But I thought you deserved a warning. Barton knows I had help getting the deed. And yesterday he forced his way into my home and took it back. After tonight, he must know it was you who helped me. He wants revenge. He means to hurt you.’
Anthony laughed. ‘I gathered that. I wish him luck in it.’
‘Do not talk that way. You do not understand what he is capable of.’
He smiled. ‘I am sorry, but so many men have threatened me over the years. I am still here, and quite whole.’ He stood before her, hands outspread, inviting another examination. When she did not reach for him, he became serious again. ‘I thank you for the warning, although I am not particularly concerned by Barton’s threats. And what might all that have to do with your kissing him in a public place?’
‘You saw?’
‘Indeed. You were not enjoying it? Because you appeared most enthusiastic.’ His smile was gone, and his tone demanded an explanation.
‘What choice do I have? He gave me a demonstration yesterday of the depths he is willing to stoop to ensure my obedience. He beat my servants. He tortured my maid before my very eyes, until I gave him the key to my house. And threatened to do the same to you if I did not submit to him.
‘He has everything, and yet he wants more from me. I have no money, no power in this. But I cannot allow him to hurt you. And he would, since he knows how it might hurt me.’ Her hands had begun to shake and her breathing was becoming unsteady. If she did not get hold of herself, she would be gasping, and the gasps would turn to sobs. And she feared the crying would never stop.
‘And why did you not come to me when I asked you to?’ His voice was gentle.
‘He is watching me. Every move I make. He was waiting for me to go to you, so that…He said…’ She closed her eyes. ‘That he would know who helped me, because I would go to him, or he would come to me, just as you did tonight. And when he found you out, he would get back at you. It would go hard for you, but it would go harder still if I did not co-operate. He said that I must tell you he knows what you are seeking more than the deed. He will kill you, if you try again. There might be clemency, if I do as he says. But if I resist, he will take pleasure in hurting you, and that I should know that it would be all my fault.’ She stared at him, willing him to understand enough to be worried.
But he laughed. ‘That is all, then?’
‘Tonight, when we danced, he suspected. And then you taunted him and removed all doubt. How could you be so foolish?’
‘I could not help it. He stood there, all puffed up like an angry red balloon. It was too tempting to deflate him.’
‘You
