Seduction Diaries 1 - Diary of an Accidental Wallflower by McQuiston Jennifer
Author:McQuiston, Jennifer [McQuiston, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Regency, General, Romance, Historical
ISBN: 9780062335012
Google: mv6WoAEACAAJ
Amazon: B00KPVB4JA
Barnesnoble: B00KPVB4JA
Goodreads: 22401001
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2015-02-24T05:00:00+00:00
Chapter 17
Panic ripped through her. The rest of the crowd fell away, and Clare felt only the choking absence of her family. âWhere do you think they are?â
Daniel peered up at the wire, his eyes crinkling in thought. âYoung Geoffrey looked rather determined to meet Madame Sylvie,â he mused.
âSurely he wouldnât have,â Clare protested, her fingers curling around the wilted posies. Her heart tumbled in her chest, seeking traction and finding none. âSurely Lucy wouldnât have. We instructed them to stay together.â
âTrue. And I imagine they haveâjust not with you. Your sister and brother strike me as the sort of souls who might twist those instructions to suit their own advantage, especially when thereâs a bit of adventure at the ready. Geoffrey wandered off for a bit at St. Bartâs, too. I found him knee-deep in the morgue.â
âThat doesnât make me feel better,â Clare retorted, nausea being the natural response to the thought of Geoffrey anywhere near a morgueâbe it as voyeur or victim.
âIf it eases your mind, I donât think he intends any offense. Heâs still possessed of a boyâs curiosity. They will have turned back to the scaffolding, I suspect.â
âBut . . . theyâll be alone!â
âHardly. Theyâve each other. And they are with your maid, who seems worldly enough.â
Clare emitted a strangled gasp, thinking of the looks the maid Maggie had been dropping toward Daniel all morning, and the way the servant had winked at Geoffrey when she looped her arm through his. âIs that supposed to reassure me?â
She pivoted on her heel, determined to plunge back the way they had come.
But in the moments since their feet had found the pier, the crowd had closed in behind them, thick and jostling. She dropped the posies and pushed ineffectively against the wall of bodies with her hands, then began to pound on shoulders and backs and bellies alike, but it was like kicking a bare foot against Hadrianâs Wall.
Not that she wouldnât sacrifice a phalange or two for her brother.
Toes. Sheâd meant toes.
Oh, curse Daniel Merial and his maddening interference in her life!
âClare.â A touch on her shoulder froze her frenzy. Danielâs voice reached down to her, distinct through the throbbing pulse of the crowd. âIt will stay too tight to navigate until Madame Sylvie passes. You may trust me on this, after my experience at Kennington. The mob is like an animal. You can coax it, but you cannot change it. There is naught to do but wait.â
She whirled back around to face him, her fists clenched, ready to fight. But the look on his face trapped her objections in her throat. He looked . . . determined. The realization that he wanted to find Geoffrey and Lucy, too, calmed her somewhat.
Daniel stretched out his hand and beckoned to her. She numbly placed hers in it, not knowing what else to do. âThey will be fine,â he told her. âI promise.â
But his promise felt a bit like that pole in Madame Sylvieâs hand, swaying in the breeze.
He squeezed her hand, and the strength in his touch made her want to believe him.
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