Lil stepped between them. “Stop it!” she burst out. “This is my fault, Mr. Thorne, not Miss Francesca’s! I wanted to come, and Miss Francesca insisted on accompanying me. She did it as a kindness to me.”
Francesca threw him a burning look, before reassuring Lil. “It’s not your fault. I came because I wanted to, and I’m very glad I did.”
Sebastian said nothing. Ahead of him he could see the line of waiting cabs, and it was tempting to rush out and hire one, and bundle Francesca into it. But the danger was far from over. He held up his hand, forcing them to halt, while he surveyed the situation with narrowed dark eyes.
An old woman approached with a basket of violets tied up with ribbon. “Posy for the pretty lady,” she asked with a gap-toothed smile. “Come on, sir, buy your wife some flowers.”
“She doesn’t deserve them,” he muttered, but he was already reaching into his pocket and taking out a shilling.
The old woman’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, sir!”
The violets were pressed into Francesca’s hand, and the next moment he was urging her forward toward the cabs. “Come on, damn it!” He felt her stiffen, but for once she bit her tongue.
He soon had the two women loaded into the cleanest of the cabs, with Rosie tu
cked in between them. He gave the address in Wensted Square to the driver, with the fare. When he turned back to Francesca she looked worried, although she was trying to hide it.
“Mr. Thorne…”
But he wouldn’t allow her to wind her spell around him, not now. Better if she stayed angry.
“Go home,” Sebastian said forcefully, “and stay out of trouble. I may not be here to rescue you next time.”
Oh yes, that did it. Her eyes flashed.
“Good-bye, Mr. Thorne. And I did not ask for you to rescue me this time.”
“Someone had to, and I look upon you as mine, Miss Greentree.”
“Yours?”
“Miss!” Lil hissed.
“Because I want you in one piece.”
Francesca was oblivious to her maid tugging on her sleeve. “You want me…?”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
The color burned in her cheeks. She was looking into his eyes, and he knew she’d seen his desire for her. Did she also see what he already knew? Their night at the inn had been the start, not the end. Francesca opened her mouth, but he never discovered what she would have said.
Lil cried out shrilly, “Drive on! For Gawd’s sake drive on!”
The cab lurched forward, just as there was a shout from behind them in the street. Their pursuers had found them. The cab clattered across the road and into the traffic, which was thankfully light, with Francesca’s pale face turned back to him. Sebastian gallantly tipped his hat to her.
“Sebastian,” Francesca groaned. Her hands were clenched, mangling the violets, their sweet scent enveloping her. She watched, helpless, as he turned away and began walking down a side street. The group of running men paused, looking one way and then the other, before they plunged into the shadows after him.
“He can look after himself, that one,” Lil said knowingly. “You shouldn’t fret about him, miss.”
Francesca turned to stare straight ahead. “I’m not fretting.”
But it was a lie. Francesca knew she wouldn’t be able to forget him, not really, not deep inside, until she saw him again and knew he was safe.
Chapter 12
“What happened last night then?” The voice strained and slurred its way through the sentence, as if the speaker was losing the ability to channel her thoughts into words.
“They got away,” said Jed. “Two doxies took the girl in a cab, and the gen’leman took off on foot. Our men went after them, but it were no use.”