The Runaway Heiress by Emma Orchard

Author:Emma Orchard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2023-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Cassandra could not prevent a gasp from escaping her, and Lord Irlam reached out, as if by instinct, and took her hand again, clasping it firmly. Even through her horror at Wilson’s words, she became aware of a growing buzz of excited conversation around her and a sensation of being watched by avid eyes. She thought that to pull her hand from his grasp by force would make things worse, cause more gossip, and in truth she did not want him to release her. She felt a desperate need for the comfort he could give her.

His Lordship’s face was grim and his voice cold as he said, ‘Really? Well, I have been eager to make the acquaintance of these gentlemen for quite a while, although I could wish it had been in less public circumstances.’ He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and tucked it through his arm, saying in an altered tone, ‘Shall we go and confront them, Miss Hazeldon, or would you prefer if I dispose of them alone? I wish to do whatever you would like best. I am only sorry that they should have come to spoil your pleasure in this fashion, at the most inconvenient moment possible.’

She clung to his sleeve without speaking for a heartbeat, and then said with resolution, ‘I will come with you. It would be cowardly to do otherwise. I must face my uncle one day, and it might as well be now.’

‘Very well, my dear, it shall be as you wish. No one could ever accuse you of cowardice.’ Lord Irlam gave her a reassuring smile, and she tried to match it, without any notable success. He said warmly, ‘Be assured that I will not allow them to insult you, whatever their intentions may be. Where are they, Wilson?’

‘In the hall, my lord. I regret to say that they do not appear to be entirely sober, and have already attracted an unpleasant degree of notice. Sir Jasper has most unfortunately recognised various gentlemen among your guests whom he claims as acquaintances, and attempted to accost them.’

‘I see. We will go to them, Wilson, but you need not accompany us. Do you seek out my aunt and my sister, man, and Lord Carston too if he should happen to be nearby, and explain to them swiftly what has occurred.’ The butler bowed, and left them, and Lord Irlam steered her through the throng, ignoring the very lively curiosity that could be seen springing to life on many faces on either side. They passed through the double doors of the ballroom into the entrance hall, and Cassandra could not repress a shudder when she saw the two men who awaited them. Her companion felt it, and tightened his hold on her.

They were much as they had been when she had seen them last: both dressed in evening clothes and both evidently, as Wilson had warned, to varying degrees inebriated. Her uncle was a stocky, oleaginous little man in his fifties, who still retained the remnants of good looks, though drink and dissipation had rendered them coarse and blurred.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.