Ecstasy (Notorious 4)

She took the handkerchief Lasseter offered her and brutally bit back a sob, cursing herself for being such a weakling. When she felt his penetrating gaze on her, she turned her face away and clenched her jaw till it ached.

Raven had herself under better control when the carriage drew to a halt. But she sat staring out the window a long moment, knowing there was no way to avoid a tempest when she faced her relatives.

“Do you need more time?” Lasseter asked. Amazingly enough, his dark gaze held sympathy.

“Yes, but I suppose it would be pointless, since the outcome wouldn’t change.” She stiffened her spine. “There is no hope for it. I must brave the dragon.”

“Dragon?”

“My great-aunt, Lady Dalrymple. She has been waiting for me to cause a scandal since the day I arrived in England. No doubt she’ll derive great satisfaction because I have lived up to her poor opinion of me.”

“You think she will hold you to blame for what happened?”

“Absolutely. I’m certain no other young lady of her acquaintance would have managed to be abducted on her wedding day.”

His sensual mouth curved in a half smile that strangely was devoid of sarcasm. “You are indeed rather unique in my experience, Miss Kendrick,” he remarked, making it sound more a compliment than a slight.

He opened the carriage door and carefully descended, then turned to help Raven down. When he shut the door and made to accompany her, she shot him a quizzical look.

“I intend to see you safely inside,” Lasseter said, and Raven didn’t argue. She was absurdly glad to have him beside her.

They had started up the flight of steps together when she saw him grimace. Realizing his wound must be paining him, she offered her arm for support. Lasseter gave her a long, measuring glance, but after a moment’s hesitation accepted her assistance, draping his arm around her shoulders and allowing her to bear some of his weight.

“You really should have a cane,” she murmured, striving to ignore the intimacy of the contact. “My grandfather keeps several here at my aunt’s house. I will find one for you.”

Thankfully he released her when they reached the landing. Her stomach churning, Raven pushed open the front door and entered with Lasseter behind her.

For a brief moment she considered taking the coward’s way out and simply sneaking up to her rooms. But the two footmen standing at attention in the entrance hall had already spied her. And just then her aunt’s butler appeared.

“Miss Raven!” Pleasure and relief wreathed his lined face. “You have returned! Were you harmed?” The aging butler caught himself. “Forgive me, miss. We have been frantic with worry, awaiting word of you.”

“Thank you, Broady.” Raven managed a smile. “I wasn’t seriously harmed. Will you please inform my aunt that I am home?”

“Certainly, miss, and his lordship as well. Your grandfather has taken to his bed, he was so distraught over your disappearance.”

Raven felt a renewed surge of guilt. She had been so concerned with her own dire circumstances, she hadn’t wanted to think about how her grandfather’s health would be affected by her abduction. The shock of her ruination might very well kill him.

Just then her aunt called out from the rear parlor. “Raven, is that you?” The silver-haired dame came into the hall. “In God’s name, are you all right?”

“I’m well enough, Aunt.”

“What happened? We feared the worst.”

“Perhaps we should speak in private,” Raven suggested, preferring not to air the shameful details in front of the servants.

It was no doubt a measure of how overset Lady Dalrymple was that she ignored the suggestion. “All we could think of was that someone held a grudge against Jervis…or perhaps Halford. Who were those brutes who abducted you?”

Raven gave Lasseter a quick glance. His mouth was set grimly, and she sensed the tension in the muscular lines of his body. He expected her to denounce his brother, she knew, and yet she found herself hesitating.

What point would be served by naming Sean Lasseter as her abductor? Did she truly want to see him in prison? And what of the consequences to Kell? He could very well be implicated in his brother’s machinations.

She owed him more than that, Raven realized. He had saved her from his b

rother’s violence, after all. And he had behaved honorably last night, after a fashion. He’d succored her in her dire need without taking advantage of her terrible vulnerability. How many other men would have acted with the same nobility? And then she had shot him for his efforts…

Raven took a steadying breath, committing herself. “I’m not certain who they were, Aunt. They wore masks and never showed themselves before they struck me unconscious.”

Beside her, she sensed Lasseter’s sharp glance. She could feel his gaze boring into her as she went on with her fabricated tale. “Thankfully, this gentleman rescued me. This is Mr. Kell Lasseter, Aunt. Mr. Lasseter, my great-aunt Catherine, Lady Dalrymple.”