The soft inflection of her voice drifted to him in brief, indistinguishable phrases. She was talking to someone, he mused, although thus far there had been no reply.
He soon found out why.
“Russet, what is it? What do you see?”
A flash of copper and a rustle of fabric accompanied Daphne’s questions, and Pierce emerged from the trees to see a bushy tail disappear from view and Daphne struggling to her feet.
“I’m afraid I’m the cause of your friend’s flight,” he chuckled.
“Pierce!”
Breathless, with a smudge of dirt on her nose and tawny hair tousled about her shoulders, Daphne looked as innocent as a child and as captivating as a wood nymph.
And delectably happy to see him.
“I startled you. Forgive me.” Pierce drew nearer, halting only when he could gaze into those mesmerizing hazel eyes. “And forgive me for frightening off your friend.”
Daphne glanced back over her shoulder at the now-deserted foxhole entry. “Russet is wary of all people, since most have treated him with abysmal cruelty.”
“I caught a glimpse of orange. Russet, I presume, is a fox?”
She nodded. “And a very loyal friend.”
“I see.” Pierce’s fingers brushed lightly over the fading welts on Daphne’s cheek. “And, when I arrived, what were you confiding in your very loyal friend? Were you telling him of the ugly bout with your father? Or were you speaking of the ball’s more exhilarating encounter?”
Pierce could actually feel the tiny shiver his words elicited.
“Both.” She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Pierce, if my father finds you here—”
“He’s gone.”
Her eyes widened. “Gone? Gone where?”
A cocky grin. “Let’s just say I’m extremely resourceful when I choose to be.”
“You summoned him from Tragmore?”
“I lured him.”
“Is there a difference?”
“A vast one. If I’d summoned him, I’d have to receive him. Since I lured him, I used bait other than myself, and as a result can remain detached and anonymous. Consequently, he’s on his way to London and I’m here.”
“But—”
“I needed to be alone with you,” Pierce murmured, threading his fingers through Daphne’s hair. “Moreover, I had no intention of allowing the blackguard time to finish the beating he began at Gantry. I am in time, aren’t I?”
Quietly, Daphne nodded, ingesting Pierce’s words. “So you came here to rescue me?”
“You sound surprised.”
“No, not surprised. It’s only that I hadn’t expected to see you again so soon after—” She blushed.
“So soon?” Pierce shook his head in amazement. “Since those moments in the garden, I’ve thought of nothing but the feel of you in my arms. Had I not gone home that same night, I would have sought you out at dawn. As it was, I left immediately after the ball. I had to arrange for my move to Markham.”
“You’ve moved already?”
“Yesterday.”