Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) (7 page)

“Are you feeling unwell?” asked Lord Henry, as he
reached out to steady her. 

“I am perfectly fine,” said Mel, willing her blush
to disappear.  “If anything, I am simply surprised that you remember the
incident, as you were rather….”

“Cupshot?” asked Lord Henry with a grin.

“Drunk as a sailor,” said Mel, who then almost
laughed at his surprised expression.  “I am American, sir.  We don’t mince
words.”

“Obviously.  I don’t suppose that means you’ll allow
me to introduce myself and hope that you will follow suit?  It seems like such
an American thing to do.”

“But you, sir, are not American.”

“True.  But I assure you I can be a bit of a
revolutionary.  I am Lord Henry Kellington, at your service.”  He bowed to her,
stealing an admiring look at her form as he did so.

Mel curtsied.  “Miss Melanie Sutton.”

They were interrupted by the appearance of Flora,
who exited the house and took in the situation with an astute glance.  Mel
realized the longer she lingered, the greater chance they’d be interrupted by
her aunt and cousin.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Lord Henry.  I
assume you have business with my uncle.”  Then another thought occurred to her
and she was shocked to find it was so unsettling.  “Or with my cousin.  I shall
not keep you from it.  Good day.”  She nodded politely, then brushed past him
toward the street with a curious Flora in tow.

“I have no business with Lord Heffner or Lady Mary,”
said Hal as he easily fell into step beside her.  “I came to see you.”

She couldn’t hide her surprise, but hoped her
pleasure wasn’t as obvious.  “A woman you do not even know?”

“Ah, but we were just introduced.  I confess I have
been most curious since coming upon you the other night and wanted to formally
make your acquaintance.”

Mel nervously looked over her shoulder to see if
Flora could hear their conversation.  The maid had closed the gap between them
and was looking annoyingly attentive.  Lord Henry saw what Mel was doing and turned
to the maid, flashing his smile.

“I trust you are Miss Sutton’s maid?”

Flora bobbed a curtsey and smiled slyly back at him. 
“Milord.”

“I do not suppose you could run to the bakery for
me.  I confess I have a weakness for sweets and would like some treacle
tarts.”  He pulled out several coins and dropped them into the hand Flora had
immediately held out.

“Lord Henry!  That is most inappropriate,” said Mel,
even as Flora turned to walk away.  “Flora, you cannot simply leave me.”

“You mean you wish for me to accompany you to ‘Mrs.
Seton’s?’” asked Flora with a speaking glance that made Lord Henry look at
her.  “I thought we was goin’ to go our separate ways again.”

Mel knew that if she made Flora return the coins,
she would have to replace them out of her own pocket later to prevent the girl
from telling what she’d seen and heard.  Honestly, how her aunt had ever hired
such a girl, Mel had no idea. But then she thought of the alternatives to
earning a living in service, each worse than the next, and knew she would never
have the girl dismissed.  But the situation was vexing in the extreme.

“Very well, Flora,” said Mel.  “Go on your errand. 
You and I shall meet later at our regular time and place.”

“What about coin for the hack?” asked the girl.

Mel sighed and opened her reticule.

“I trust this should get you where you need to go,”
said Hal, as he gave the servant a few more coins.  “Now, I suggest you go to
wherever it is you need to be.”  He smiled again to take the sting out of his
words, then watched as the maid hailed a hack.  Once she was out of earshot he
turned back to Mel.  “Now, may I escort you to wherever you shouldn’t be?”

*                    *                    *

Hal hadn’t known what to expect as he’d made his way
to the Earl of Heffner’s home to make Miss Sutton’s acquaintance.  His memory
of her from the night outside of Dill’s was hazy at best.  He’d been, in Miss
Sutton’s words, drunk as a sailor.  It had been dark, and her dress had been
somewhat dowdy, with most of her hair pulled under a cap.  If it hadn’t been
for the brief glimpse of her embroidered stockings he’d caught several weeks
earlier, he wasn’t sure if he would have noticed her looks.

But he would have noticed her actions.  Standing up
to that harridan reform leader would have been impressive enough even if there
hadn’t been an audience of drunken lords in attendance, not to mention Conrad
Patton and his burly footmen.  But the chit had shown no fear and she’d had the
good sense to keep Mrs. Seton out of Dill’s, where her very presence would have
caused a riot.

He knew very few women or men who would have done so
well.

Now it was the light of day and he was almost
entirely sober.  He realized with no small amount of relief, given the wager,
that Miss Sutton was very much a lady he would like to know better.  While her
carriage dress was modest, there was no mistaking the curves it concealed.  Her
stylish bonnet framed a heart-shaped face and beautiful, wide hazel eyes.  
Soft wisps of her mahogany hair had escaped the bonnet and he hoped more of it
would come undone.  She had slight smudges beneath her eyes, perhaps from a
late night, which was unsurprising given her reform activities.  But they only
served to accent the color of her eyes.  She’d blushed most charmingly during
their conversation and he would give all of Arthur’s inheritance to learn why.

That she was up to something suspicious was
obvious.  Her impertinent maid was in on it, and was most likely being paid for
her silence.  For a moment, Hal considered whether Miss Sutton was on her way
to an assignation with a man.  He was surprised to learn just how much he
didn’t like the idea.  He didn’t think that was the case, for she seemed just a
bit too proper for such a thing in the middle of the day.  Not to mention that
maid of hers would likely bankrupt her with blackmail.

But Miss Sutton was concealing something.  And he
doubted it was simply a meeting with Mrs. Seton.  Suddenly, it occurred to him
that she was alone and not only was that violating the rules of propriety, but
it could endanger her if she was going someplace like Dill’s again.

“Tell me, Miss Sutton, where are you off to?  And
please don’t gammon me with tales of a meeting at Mrs. Seton’s.”

“I don’t tell tales,” she said, somewhat
repressively.  “And I hardly think this is any of your affair.”

“Actually it is, since I was the one who sent your
maid on an errand.  Do you think I shall ever see a treacle tart?”

“I would not count on it, sir.  Flora is a good girl
at heart, but rather….”

“Mercenary?” asked Hal.

“Certainly not.  She just looks out for herself. 
The world can be a very difficult place for an unprotected woman.  She is in
service, but there is no guarantee she won’t one day lose her position.”

“No doubt for when her blackmail demands are too
large to conceal any longer.”

“Regardless of Flora’s, er, peculiarities, there is
no logical reason why I cannot go about on my own.  In Philadelphia, I had much
more freedom.”

“But even there, I cannot imagine your father
allowed you to demonstrate in front of gaming establishments.”  Hal wondered
whether anyone was truly looking after the chit.  From his casual acquaintance
with the earl, he wouldn’t have thought him to be such a lenient guardian.

“My parents died when I was quite young,” said Mel with
a slight catch in her voice.  She then  looked away from him, as if hoping he
hadn’t heard the emotion.

“My parents passed away, as well,” said Hal, not
knowing even as he said it why he should speak of such a thing to a relative stranger. 
He rarely talked about it to anyone and certainly to no one outside of his
family.  Perhaps it was because he’d heard the catch in her voice.  She was
someone who understood loss, as well.

Best not to dwell on that.

“Miss Sutton,” drawled Hal, with his most charming
smile.  “I am afraid I must take a page from your servant’s book.  If you don’t
tell me where you are going, I shall be forced to exact payment from you.”

“My lord,” said Mel, her voice once again its strong,
repressive and sultry self, “I have very little money and even less intention
of being beholden to you.”

“I do not want your money, Miss Sutton.  But I must
insist you share a treacle tart with me.”  He indicated a sweets shop but a
block away.  “Since Flora will not bring me my treat, I must be satisfied
somehow.”

From the look of surprise upon her face, he’d caught
her off guard and he was glad of it.  Normally it didn’t take much to persuade
a lady to let him escort her anywhere.  He usually had to think up any number
of excuses to avoid it.  But Miss Melanie Sutton would rather walk the streets
of London alone than accept his company.  And now she looked like he’d offered
her Thames swill instead of treacle tarts.

But perhaps she thought better of her churlishness,
because she finally smiled and said “Perhaps just one, my lord.”

“Excellent.  But you really must call me Hal.”  He
pulled her arm through his, then escorted her across the street and into the
sweets shop.

The small but elegant establishment smelled of
cinnamon and baking bread.  Hal ordered for the two of them, then sat back to
study his prey.

She must have had some hint of his thoughts – none
of which could be stated to an innocent such as she – because she looked away
and her cheeks flooded with color. “My lord,” she began, blushing prettily.

“Hal,” he corrected, as he placed his hand upon hers.

“Hal,” she said, as she looked up at him from
beneath her long lashes.  “This is most embarrassing, but I must find the….that
is to say….”  She bit her lip and looked away.

“Oh!  Of course,” said Hal as he rose, then pulled
out her seat.

She smiled shyly at him again, then set off toward
the back of the shop.

Hal watched her go, then took his seat.   This bet
of Francis’s was going to be a problem.  Obviously the girl had lived a very
sheltered life if just his gaze could make her blush such a brilliant hue.  He
had to figure out a way to kiss her but at the same time let her know he didn’t
mean anything serious.  Then he had to find a way to get Francis to stick to
his original promise to show discretion.  But that would never work because the
wager was already in the book.  Perhaps he could publicly forfeit the bet, but
make Francis pay up on the side.  But that was patently dishonest.  Mayhap he
should walk away from the wager all together and admit his loss.  He could
stand a few jokes at his expense.  The most important thing was that the chit’s
reputation not be harmed.  That meant he had to leave her alone.

He found he didn’t like that one bit.

It would be no hardship kissing her.  She might be
American, but she was really quite fetching.  She blushed a bit much for his
sensibilities.  But maybe that was because the courtesans he spent time with
couldn’t summon a blush for love nor money.  Well, possibly money.

But she’d been so innocent that she couldn’t excuse
herself to use the facilities without blushing.  She might actually faint if he
kissed her.  But as he’d look at her lips while speaking to her, he’d been
drawn to how full they were.  How soft they looked.  They seemed almost
familiar.  It was as if he knew what they’d taste like.

He laughed off the fanciful notion and looked out
the window just in time to see Miss Melanie Sutton step into a hack.  For a
moment, he was stunned and could only look at the lady.  He regained his wits
and rose from the table, just as the proprietor brought their tarts. 

“Is there an exit in the back?” Hal asked him.

“Why yes, milord.  It lets out into the alley which
leads back to the street.”

Just as the hack was about to leave, Melanie Sutton
turned in his direction.  Her marvelous hazel eyes widened for just a moment, then
she smiled and waved.  Hal wanted to run after her, but he knew that by the
time he paid for their tarts and reached the street, she’d be long gone.

He had no idea how he’d been duped.  And so easily,
too.  All he knew was that Melanie Sutton was going to get kissed.  Repeatedly.

CHAPTER FIVE

Mel was late and it was all Lord Henry Kellington’s
fault.  She rushed up the stairs of the boarding house and hoped there were at
least a few women still remaining.  Many of them were suspicious by nature and
it took a long time to gain their trust.  Mel tried to never break a promise to
them and made it a point to always be punctual.  She would have made it in
plenty of time today if it hadn’t been for Lord Henry’s interference.  The look
of shock on his face when he saw her drive away was almost worth being late. 
She just hoped he wouldn’t vent his displeasure by telling her uncle about her
activities.  But she couldn’t worry about that now.  She had bigger things on
her mind.