Page 54 of A Relentless Rake

Her shoulders slumped. Her mind was playing tricks, that was all. Between the pressures of the school’s mounting debts, Henry’s peculiar behavior, and her suspicions of what he was hiding from her, she’d been on edge for weeks. None of it was helped by her confusion between the masked man, who teased and taunted her, and Alec, whose play was far more serious.

How could someone so devoted and loving to his family be the same rascal whom society claimed irredeemable? Was it possible that someone so charming and witty could also be a heartless rogue?

And God help her, how could she desire a man who threatened to arrest her brother?

Madness!The man was a scoundrel and a menace. He was irritating and aggravating with no sense of social propriety, or at least no sense of being willing to follow it whenever he was around her.

Yet knowing that didn’t stop her from fantasizing about where the encounters might have led if she hadn’t discovered his true identity.

Henry slowly rose from his chair and made his way toward the door at the rear of the box.

“Where are you going, Everett?” one of his friends called out.

Olivia watched her brother curiously.

He flashed them a slightly foxed grin. “To fetch us ices. What would an evening at Vauxhall be without treats?”

He ignored the teasing insults from the group and left.

A moment later, Olivia snatched up a discarded mask from the corner of the box and slipped out after him.

She moved carefully to keep Henry in sight yet also remain far enough behind not to be seen. He was up to something…but what?

Ices? Ha! Henry never would have volunteered to fetch treats. No, he would have made a grand show of calling over one of the attendants and ordering the man to bring them. Besides, Henry hated ices. As if to prove her right, he strolled in the opposite direction from the refreshments stands, away from the boxes and crowds, and toward the dark labyrinth of close walks at the rear of the gardens.

Olivia tied her mask in place and followed after.

She swallowed her fear as he made his way deeper into the dark gardens, yet she went on, heedless of her own safety. He led her down a winding path, farther and farther from the distant cacophony of the crowds and entertainments at the front of the park by the grand avenues with their supper boxes and bandstands. Illuminated by only a scattering of lanterns hanging from trees, the gardens turned into a strange fairyland around her. Men and women in fancy dress and masks slipped off into the bushes together, and from the darkness rose soft sounds of deep laughter and light giggles, moans and squeals of delight. Olivia did her best to ignore all of it and focused on not losing Henry amid the shifting shadows.

When he reached the end of the path, he stepped into a small clearing surrounded by thick bushes and trees. All the lamps had been extinguished in this far corner of the gardens, where crumbling walls of strategically placed follies resembled ancient Roman ruins, and the noise of the music and crowds was nothing more than a distant hum.

Silently, she slipped behind a yew hedge edging the clearing and peered through the tangled branches to watch. A movement caught her eye. A dark form slid out from behind the Roman temple wall and glided toward Henry.

Olivia breathed a silent sigh of relief.A woman.She nearly laughed. Henry had gone for nothing more than a tryst, after all.

As the woman approached, she lowered her mask. A tree branch stirred in the evening breeze just enough to part the leaves overhead, and a slant of moonlight revealed her face.

Baroness Rowland.

Olivia blinked. Impossible…Wasn’t it?How did Henry even know Lady Rowland, let alone have the opportunity to carry on an affair with her?

A terrible suspicion clenched Olivia’s chest. Was that where Henry had been during those nights when he’d gone missing—with the baroness?

As she watched the pair, their private conversation quickly turned into a heated argument. Henry grew agitated and gestured emphatically toward the main part of the gardens, while Lady Rowland stiffened and clenched her hands at her sides.

Olivia couldn’t hear what they were saying, too far away to discern their hushed voices. Silently, she stepped closer to the edge of the bushes.

A hand shot out of the darkness and covered her mouth. A strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against a hard body. She took a deep breath to scream—

“Hush,” a familiar voice warned.

She froze, except for the sudden lurch of her heart into her throat.

Alec.

Fourteen

Olivia’s skin tingled everywhere her bodytouched his. Alec held her pressed against his hard front, his palm over her lips and his mouth at her ear. The steady rise and fall of his chest rubbed against her back with each deep breath he took.