The Earl Claims a Bride (15 page)

“You delight in troubling me, don’t you, my lord?”

“No, but there have always been some rules I have trouble following.”

“My thoughts would be that you break more than you follow.”

“Unfortunately, that would be true.”

“What if you should forget and say my name…” Her voice trailed off. Suddenly her steps faltered and she stopped. Her gaze was looking past him.

Harrison turned to see what had caught her attention. A gentleman dressed in a military officer’s uniform stood near the entrance to the ballroom. His back was to them, but Harrison knew by the faraway look in her eyes that he was the gentleman she had been searching for since the Season began. Her entire countenance softened.

A knot tightened Harrison’s stomach.

“Excuse me,” she said without looking at him. “I see someone I must speak to.”

She never looked back at him, but started toward the soldier, weaving between the people, knocking their arms, bumping their shoulders, ignoring their greetings. Harrison stayed right behind her. He wanted to see the man, too.

The captain was tall, with light-brown hair that fell to his collar. He was slim, almost too slim. His coat looked as if it had been made for a larger person. As they neared the soldier, a tingle of awareness prickled Harrison’s skin. Something wasn’t quite right.

Harrison gave him another once-over and saw what had bothered him. There was a narrow black string tied around the back of his head. A thread of recognition wove through Harrison and with it a twitch of dread for Angelina. He knew what the narrow band meant.

Angelina stopped and said, “Captain Maxwell.”

The gentleman turned.

She expelled a loud breath of shock and then quickly sucked in a deep gasp.

“Damnation,” Harrison whispered to himself as he came up to stand beside her.

Harrison was right.

The man wore a patch over one eye. Beneath the small swatch of black fabric the reddened and discolored skin puckered with welts and indentions of scarring that looked very much like the healing from a wound that had destroyed the muscle and bone beneath the skin. The battle at Waterloo was over two years ago. This injury was new and still healing, so it had to have happened recently.

The shock on Angelina’s face dimmed the light of gladness in the captain’s eye at seeing her. And it was slight, but Harrison saw him stiffen.

“Miss Rule,” he said, and then almost immediately glanced past her to Harrison. He nodded to Harrison and said, “Sir.”

Harrison had to give the man credit. He hadn’t missed the fact that Harrison was shadowing Miss Rule. A good soldier was always aware of his surroundings, and he could quickly size up who was friend and who was foe. And it didn’t take Harrison more than an instant to size up the captain, either. The man was smitten with Miss Rule.

An unnatural hush settled over the three of them before Angelina spoke up and said, “Forgive my manners. Lord Thornwick, please allow me to present Captain Nicolas Maxwell.”

The man was older than Harrison had thought he would be. He’d assumed the captain was close to his age of thirty, not nearing forty. The graying hair at his temples and lines around his eye were a telling sign. And perhaps being laid up from the injury was the reason he didn’t fill out his coat. The man had probably spent months recovering from his wounds.

“My apologies, Lord Thornwick,” the army captain said with a bow.

“Captain,” Harrison greeted.

“Welcome home,” Angelina said with a little smile.

“Thank you,” he said, keeping his expression cautious. “It was a long journey.”

“I’m sure. You were injured while away.”

“It was several months ago.”

Her eyes took note of the scarring. “It looks well healed,” she said, and by the expression on her face, Harrison knew she believed that.

Angelina’s tone was soft, her words slow and guarded. She never took her eyes off the captain’s face. She was behaving the way any man in similar circumstances would want her to—concerned and accepting, not aghast or glib.

Harrison wondered how many people tonight had thought to say the simple words
welcome home
. He’d known the afternoon he’d talked to Angelina about rescuing strays that she had a deep capacity to care. She could also offer comfort and kindness in a way that wasn’t distasteful to the recipient.

There was no doubt she’d been shocked to her core when she first saw him, but she had recovered quickly and immediately started soothing the captain. Harrison had a feeling that because of the dogs she rescued and fed, Angelina was at her best when she was tending to and reassuring the wounded.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

Captain Maxwell gave her a cautious smile before glancing at Harrison again. “Not anymore.”

“How long have you been home?”

Maxwell continued to regard her with uncertainty in his expression. “A couple of weeks.”

“My grandmother wrote a note to your aunt about your return but didn’t receive an answer.”

“I asked her not to.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to attend any of the parties this Season. I had to give it a lot of thought. I didn’t want my appearance to offend anyone.”

Harrison thought he caught an edge of bitterness in Maxwell’s voice as his gaze cut around to Harrison’s once again. He couldn’t blame the man if acrimony had seeped into his soul.

“Nonsense, Captain, you could never offend anyone,” she said earnestly. “I’m glad you decided to attend.”

“That’s kind of you to say, but I will not deny the obvious. My face does require some getting used to, Miss Rule. Even I wasn’t sure I wanted to look at me again after the first time.”

She stepped closer to the captain. “You have no cause to be so unkind to yourself. Everyone will feel as I do.”

His gaze turned intense. “And how is that, Miss Rule?”

“Grateful that you lost only an eye and not your life.”

“Are you truly?”

Harrison remained quiet and listened to their exchange. He watched her gentle, caring gaze skim up and down Maxwell’s face until it settled on his cheek that was tattered with scarring. She was pouring her sympathy out to him for the hurt and pain he had been through. It was natural and unhurried. Harrison could tell she wanted to soothe the wounded soldier much in the way he imagined that she soothed her father after his wife’s death, and all the wounded strays who passed by her house. She wanted to help shoulder his hurt and his sorrow and if possible make it easier for him to bear.

“Of course,” she continued. “I don’t know what brave act caused your injury, but I’m thankful it wasn’t worse.”

Maxwell glanced at Harrison for the third time. He got the feeling the captain was wondering what Harrison’s relationship was to Angelina: a friend, an acquaintance, or a beau? The man had been gone over a year. And now he was wounded and scarred. He had to have a mountain of fears and doubts about Angelina swirling and racing through his mind.

Especially since there had been no formal promise between them before he left.

Harrison couldn’t help but think of all the foolish things he’d done in his life and had never gotten seriously injured. There were so many times he could have lost a tooth, an eye, or a limb. Hell, he could have lost his life when he, Adam, and Bray had shot buckets and bottles off one another’s heads, raced their curricles over rocky terrain, and jumped from high peaks into rocky waters. They’d only wanted the thrill; most of the time they were too drunk to give a damn about the danger.

“The loss of my eye doesn’t keep me from dancing, Miss Rule, and I believe I asked you to save a dance for me when I returned. Perhaps later this evening, if you’re available.”

“Yes, yes, of course I remember. I’ve been waiting for you to return and claim that dance. Yes, thank you, Captain, I would very much like that.”

She was overdoing it with her acceptance. Harrison knew it. The captain knew it, and Angelina knew it. They all understood why.

“Good. I’ll see you later in the evening.” He glanced at Harrison, nodded, and walked away.

Harrison could venture a good guess about all the thoughts jumbling together in Angelina’s mind. He heard the last call for a quadrille, and without thinking said, “The music is just starting, Angelina. Let’s dance.”

“No.” She shook her head.

“It will do you good to have something to do right now.”

“But I—”

“No buts. Let’s dance.”

Catching hold of her wrist, he led her onto the dance floor where they joined the others who were already twirling, hopping, and clapping to the music. It was Harrison’s least favorite of all the dances, but he was certain it was just what Angelina needed. It was fast, easy, and noisy. It wouldn’t give her time to think. She didn’t need to right now. Later when she was in the quiet of her home, she could think about the captain and his injuries.

The dance ended after they sashayed under the umbrella of arms and he led Angelina off the dance floor.

“Why don’t I get you a glass of champagne before I take you back to your father?”

She stopped and looked up at him. “I really don’t want a glass. I didn’t want to dance.”

“What do you want to do?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I—I’m so ashamed of myself for gasping and recoiling when I first saw him,” she whispered earnestly and lowered her lashes over her eyes.

Harrison ushered her away from the middle of the room to the wall. He wished he could take her in his arms and hold her. He didn’t know much about consoling anyone but she needed comfort. She needed to be told that everything was going to be all right even if it wasn’t.

“He expected you to. He knew you would be shocked.”

“No,” she whispered and shook her head again. “He didn’t deserve that. I was mortified I behaved so badly.”

Harrison had no doubt of that.

“You didn’t behave badly, Angelina. You were human. That’s all. And it’s easy to forgive people for having human emotions and reactions. You more than made it up to him by saying all the right things afterward.”

She looked up at him with a distressed expression, her blue eyes watering, and said, “He lost an eye.”

Her heart was breaking for what the captain had been through, for what he’d lost. Harrison could understand that and he hoped to hell the Army officer could too. She was looking for solace and Harrison wanted to give it. He wanted to pull her into the circle of his arms. He wanted to stroke her back, kiss the top of her head, and whisper her name softly. Those pesky rules of Society prevented that.

“Don’t think about what he’s lost or what happened to him, Angelina. Look how he’s handling his life now. Only a brave man could have walked into the ballroom tonight in his situation.”

Her gaze swept up and down his face. “Do you really believe that?”

“That he’s a brave man? Yes. Everyone in this room does.”

She breathed in deeply and on exhale said, “I just feel so sorry for him. He must have felt so alone, so far from home. I wish I could have been there and done something for him when it happened. I wish I could have helped him in some way.”

“He wouldn’t have wanted you there.”

“What?” She gave him a curious look. “Of course he would have. I should have been there. From the scars, I can tell that he must have been in excruciating pain.”

“Which is exactly why he was glad you weren’t there to witness it.”

Why the devil was he trying to help Angelina deal with the captain’s scars? Why was he defending the man?

“But he needed comfort. He deserved it.”

Harrison had little doubt about that. “Don’t dwell on any of that. I’m sure it was traumatic for him, but it’s over now. As you’ve already pointed out, he didn’t lose his life.”

“You aren’t sounding very sympathetic.”

Harrison remembered how Captain Maxwell had looked at him. The captain was thinking that Harrison was a rival for Angelina’s attention whether or not she was aware of it. And Harrison had a hunch the man was feeling quite inadequate at the moment. But Harrison had no doubts Maxwell would get over that feeling in time, rediscover his courage, and pursue Angelina with all haste. He was a soldier and used to fighting. He would fight for Angelina with the same dedication he fought for his country.

“But I do feel compassion. He deserves it. No one wants to be disfigured like that. And take my word for it, I am the last man he wants sympathy from, and he doesn’t want yours, either, Angelina.”

“Rubbish. Of course he does.”

“No, he doesn’t. No man wants anyone feeling sorry for him. He doesn’t want your pity. That is the last thing he would want from you.”

“How dare you think that I pity him?” she said indignantly. “I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. I do. There isn’t a person in this room right now who doesn’t. It’s human nature.”

“No.” She shook her head, as if that would give strength to her denial.

“Disavow it to yourself and to him all you want, but don’t try to deny it to me. I know better. And quite frankly, Angelina, Captain Maxwell knows better, too.”

Her angry glare softened. “You’re wrong. I will not let myself pity him.”

“Good, if you can accomplish that,” Harrison said quietly and ran his hand through his hair, feeling a stab of impatience. Why was he trying to help the captain?
Because I do have compassion for the injury he suffered and how it left him
. “He obviously isn’t letting his misfortune affect him. He came to the ball holding his head high and asked the most beautiful lady at the ball for a dance.”

“As he should have.”

At that moment, Harrison knew he would never let Angelina go into the captain’s arms without a fight. Competing for her was the last thing he wanted. If it wasn’t so outrageous, it would be laughable. He’d vowed to never be vulnerable to love again, never fight for a lady’s love again, and here he was admitting what he thought the moment he saw her standing at the entrance to the ballroom, what he knew after he’d kissed her. He wanted her to be his. She might claim to love the captain, but they weren’t married yet. Not even betrothed. Harrison had time to win her heart.