Page 6 of A Relentless Rake

“Olivia, where were you tonight?” he demanded, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“Where was I?” Her mouth fell open incredulously. “Where wereyou?”

Ignoring that, he swept his gaze over her, as if he knew she’d been attacked in the alley and was checking for injuries. She shifted to move her bloodied hem out of view.

“Why were you out so late?” Panic edged his voice. “Did something happen to you?”

“Nothing happened.” A swift prick of guilt accompanied the lie, but she didn’t want to upset him.

His frown deepened. “Olivia, the truth.”

Even when they were children, he’d been able to tell when she was lying. So she admitted with an annoyed sigh, “I went looking for you.”

He paled. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“But you’d disappeared. No one knew where—”

“You should have stayed here!”

The force of that startled her. He seldom raised his voice to her. “I was worried about you,” she said as calmly as possible, despite her racing heart. “Where were you?”

His hands tightened on her shoulders. “You were safe, then? No one forced you to go with them?”

“Of course not.”Forcedher? Why on earth would he think…Good God.Fear prickled at the backs of her knees. “Henry, where were you?”

He dropped his hands to his sides, then rubbed one at his forehead as he turned away. “I had business to attend to.”

“What kind of business would you—”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Personal business.”

Oh no.She wouldn’t be dismissed that easily, not after everything she’d been through tonight. “For two days?” she challenged. “Why didn’t you send word?”

“I couldn’t. I wanted to, but I…” His voice drifted away.

A chill snaked down her spine. “If you’re in trouble, then—”

“I wasn’t in trouble,” he bit out. “Damnation, Olivia! You’re not the only one who’s allowed to keep secrets.”

His words hit her like a blow, and she staggered back, gaping at him. He’dneverused her past as a weapon against her before.

Guilt immediately gripped his face. Apologetically, he reached for her hand, but she pulled it back, keeping well away.

“Icouldn’ttell you,” he repeated firmly, as if that should be explanation enough. “It had to do with my work.”

“Your work?” she whispered, too wounded to speak more loudly. “This had to do with the Royal Society?”

He hesitated as if weighing whether he could trust her. Then he blurted out in a rush, “You know how much earning a fellowship means to me. So when I had the chance for dinner at one of the fellows’ country boxes, I couldn’t just pass it by. It was the perfect opportunity to ingratiate myself with them.”

“Fortwo days?”

“You know how society men are. Dinner turned into a night away, and the next day there was hunting, drinking, cards, followed by another dinner and another night… I only managed to finally make my excuses and sneak away tonight to come straight back home. Don’t you see? I couldn’t let them think that I had to report to my little sister or to the school. They wouldn’t respect me if I did.”

“Why didn’t you send a message, then?”

His shoulders slumped in self-chastisement. “The servants would have told the host if I’d sent a message. He’d have wanted to know what it was about, and I couldn’t say my little sister needed to know my plans. That’s why I couldn’t contact you.”

“And the alley?” She wanted to believe him. After all, he had answers for everything. But so many pieces didn’t fit… “I found a note with directions to an alley in the City and a meeting time.”