she was full of foolishness this night. She’d so abhorred Kellford’s presence being forced on her in this beautiful place of fantasy and romance that she’d impulsively run from him.
Perhaps she had sensed Leo nearby, because she was not entirely surprised when he appeared in front of her. It has been foolish indeed to dance with him, to swirl to the sensual melody, to lose herself in Leo’s warm hazel eyes, his gaze more piercing framed by his mask.
No, she should not walk with him. She must be sensible.
But his fingers beckoned. ‘Please, Mariel?’
She glanced around, wondering what would happen if Kellford found her, especially with another man. Mariel had sensed the falseness of Kellford’s gallantry even before Leo told her of the man’s perversions. His actions towards her might speak to others of a solicitous lover, but Mariel had known all along that all he wanted was her money. His solicitousness was merely a means to control her every move.
She’d been clever enough to escape him this night. She’d find some excuse to offer him for disappearing from his side.
If only she could think of some way to rid herself of him entirely.
She stared at Leo’s extended hand, temptation itself.
Before she knew it, she’d placed her hand in his and felt his warmth and strength through her glove. ‘Do not take me back to the supper box.’
He nodded.
They stepped onto the gravel of the Grand Walk and, like so many other couples, strolled to the fountain. Beyond the fountain the paths led through trees as thick as a forest. The Dark Walk, they called it, a place where lovers could disappear and indulge in intimacies forbidden in the light.
They entered the Dark Walk and walked past the illusionist making cards appear and disappear at will. They continued and soon the darkness of a moonless night surrounded them. Then, all at once, the thousands of gas lamps strung throughout in the trees were lit and the night blazed with light.
Mariel gasped. It was as if they’d been lifted to the stars. She glanced at Leo and saw the wonder of the sight reflected in his eyes, as well. It had always been like this between them. An instant understanding. Conversing without needing to use words.
To be so close to him again made it seem as if no time had passed, as if they were still young and full of optimism, eager to lose themselves in the Dark Walk. In those days he would have pulled her into the privacy of the trees. He would have placed his lips on hers and she would have soared to the stars with happiness.
She shook herself. They were no longer young and full of optimism. They were no longer in love.
They came upon an area almost as private as in her imagination, a bench set in among the shrubbery, almost completely concealed from the path itself.
‘Shall we sit a moment?’ he asked.
She should resist the temptation of him, not succumb to old fantasies. She’d grown out of them. He’d forced her out of them.
Still, she sat.
They removed their masks, but did not speak.
Finally he broke their silence. ‘Tell me now why you must marry Kellford.’
She stiffened. Why did he persist in asking her this? She could not confide in him.
‘Because I will help you.’ He seemed to answer her very thoughts. ‘But I must know the problem.’
She turned away from him, not wanting to believe in him again. How could she?
But he persisted. ‘What hold does Kellford have over you? Has he compromised you?’
She swung back. ‘Compromised me!’ The thought was appalling.
‘Has he forced himself on you? Is that why?’ He blanched. ‘Good God. Has he gotten you—?’
‘No!’ She held up a hand. ‘Do not insult me. Do you think I would tolerate his touch?’
His expression turned grim. ‘I think him quite capable of forcing himself on you. If it is not that, then tell me what it is. You said you must marry him. Tell me the reason.’
Her anger flared. ‘I cannot tell you, Leo. You know I cannot.’
‘Whatever it is, I can help you.’ His gaze remained steady. ‘I have ways.’
This was so much like the Leo she once knew, the young man who believed they could create a bright future together. She wanted to shake her head lest he be an apparition.
But she could not let him hurt her again. Trust in him? Impossible. ‘You once made promises to me, Leo. We both know what happened to those promises.’
He was opening the old wounds, wounds she’d been able to ignore even if they’d never healed.
‘Mariel.’ His voice turned tight. ‘You broke those promises.’
‘I broke them?’ It had been devastation when she’d heard nothing from him. ‘You left me!’
‘What did you expect? You were marrying Ashworth. You chose a title over a bastard. What happened to that plan, by the way?’
‘Ashworth again. Why do you persist in saying I would marry Ashworth? I was betrothed to you.’ She felt as if she were bleeding inside once again.
‘Your father—’ he began, but did not finish.
The blood drained from her face. Had her father sent Leo away? ‘Do you mean you spoke to my father?’
‘You know I did. You set the appointment.’ He clenched his jaw. ‘Surely you have not forgotten that we planned for me to speak with your father. He told me you had chosen Ashworth.’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘You never kept that appointment. I assumed it was because of the fire. My father said you didn’t keep it.’
‘Your father said that?’ A look of realisation came over his face.
Her father. She felt the blood drain from her. Her father had been manipulating her even then. ‘Tell me what my father said to you.’
‘That you chose Ashworth over me, because I was a bastard with nothing to offer you. Since my stables had just burned down, he was essentially correct.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Were you at Ashworth’s estate that day?’
‘At Ashworth’s estate?’ She felt cold inside. ‘No. I was in Bath. With my mother. She wanted to take the waters.’
They sat close to each other, so close their faces were inches apart. She could see the shadow of a beard on his chin, the lines at the corners of his eyes, the shadows within him that spoke of his own pain.
‘He told me you chose Ashworth because of his title,’ he went on, speaking as much to himself as to her. ‘Because he was respectable.’
She almost weakened, almost transferred her
