Lady In Distress (The Langley Sisters Book 3) (31 page)
Read Lady In Distress (The Langley Sisters Book 3) Online
Authors: Wendy Vella
Skirting two boys playing in a puddle, he increased his pace, thinking of the horse he was going to buy if he made it to the rendezvous with Daniel in time. At the end of the shops, he turned right and ran into someone coming the other way. Catching the body as she cried out, he staggered backwards until his back collided with a wall. The air expelled from his lungs in a loud whoosh. Wrapping his arms around the woman as she tripped on his feet, Simon pulled her into his chest until she steadied.
“Please accept my apologies, madam. Are you unhurt?” he said as he fought for breath.
“Forgive me, sir—in my haste, I did not see you coming.”
He knew that voice.
“Claire?”
“Dear god!” She stumbled back a few paces, staring at him, her brown eyes wide and stricken.
“What's wrong?” Simon said, advancing, which made her scurry further backwards. “Claire, why are you here alone…dressed like that?” he added, looking at her worn black coat and bonnet. Searching around them, he saw no sign of a maid or anyone who should be accompanying her. His eyes narrowed as they returned to her and took in her shabby appearance. Claire Belmont was never anything but elegantly attired. Every item she donned showcased the beauty of her soft cream skin, strawberry blonde curls, and lush body, yet dressed in that, she could have passed for a servant.
“I…uh, have to go.”
She was pale and scared; fear announced itself in every line of her face and the rigid way she held her body. She was looking everywhere but at him, almost as if she was searching for someone.
“Who are you looking for?
Her eyes quickly returned to his, the brown depths wary. “I must leave at once, Lord Kelkirk. Please excuse me.”
“If you think I'll let you walk about here unescorted in a distressed state, then think again,” Simon reached for her arm as she prepared to leave, but she evaded him and then, to his stunned surprise, she picked up her skirts and ran. “Claire!” She didn’t stop as he roared her name, and in seconds, he was following. She was fast—he'd give her that—but he was bigger and his stride longer, and he was soon gaining on her. She turned briefly to see how close he was, and that gave him the opportunity he needed.
“Claire, stop.” He grabbed her arm, but she swung her reticule, and whatever was inside connected with his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. She didn't pause as he cursed, and in seconds, had fled. Simon waited until his ears stopped ringing and then followed. Once out of the lane, he looked up and down the street. There were plenty of carriages and hackneys but no sign of Claire. She could be inside one, but he had no hope of catching them and opening each to look. Slowly retracing his steps to where she’d collided with him, he looked down the narrow lane. Why was she here dressed in old clothes, and what the hell had the haughty Claire Belmont so upset that she would run from him like that?
He had known her for two years, since their best friends had married, but their relationship was not what one would term close. For the most, they rubbed along with each other, however when he was with Lady Claire Belmont, Simon always felt as though someone was jabbing him in the side with a dull edged instrument. It was a nasty, irritating feeling he had never been able to shake even though he’d tried. She wasn’t like other women, who seemed more than happy to like him. Claire challenged him constantly. She said he needed provocation, as most women just gazed at him adoringly. Of course he provoked her back, because there was nothing quite as enticing as seeing Claire Belmont ruffled, her usually immaculate feathers standing on end.
His eyes went to each of the shops. Had she come to visit one of them? Walking slowly towards the first, he looked in the small window filled with bottles and oddities. Deciding it was in her best interest to investigate further, he entered. If Claire was in trouble or ill, then she needed help and he would offer his services; however he wanted to know what he was dealing with first.
An elderly woman appeared, dressed in so many colors that Simon blinked several times just to assure himself his eyes had seen her accurately. He was fairly certain she was wearing every color of the rainbow, starting with the large yellow bow placed on the top of her tight grey curls.
“Good day to you. My name is Lord Kelkirk, and I would like to enquire after a lady who may have entered your establishment just minutes ago. She was dressed entirely in black.” The woman didn’t offer a nod or smile of encouragement, just studied him with her faded eyes. The scent of dried herbs was almost overpowering, and he could feel a sneeze coming as he took a few moments to look around him. Hanging from every available space was an array of dried things. Some were herbs and others appeared to be the appendages of dead animals. All were covered in dust.
“No lady of that description has entered this shop, sir.”
“You’re sure,” Simon questioned. After all, she was elderly and may just need another prod. His uncle was getting on in years and could be vague upon occasion.
“Because a body is old it does not mean it’s dimwitted, sir. If I says no woman of that description has entered this shop today, then she ain’t.”
“Would you tell me if she had?” Simon questioned. The woman cackled just as Simon thought a witch would. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he attempted to hold back a sneeze. Once started, he was unsure he could stop without leaving the shop.
“Well now, that depends on what a person is willing to pay for the information.”
Snorting, Simon handed over several coins, which she promptly tucked into her bodice.
“No woman of that description has come to this shop today,” she said with a wide, toothless smile that left Simon with no doubts he had just been hoodwinked.
“Very cunning, madam.”
“You needs to rise a bit earlier to get anything over Bea Bugs, my lord.”
Simon’s eyes narrowed. “Is that really your name?”
“Course not. Don’t know as my ma had many brains, yet don’t think she’d come up with something like that. Has quite a ring to it, don’t it?”
“An illustrious title, Miss Bugs, for a colorful lady.” Giving her a bow because really, she had bettered him without blinking and he, gullible fool he was for thinking that with age came a dulling of wits, had allowed it to happen. Pushing aside what looked to be a hanging bunch of small, pointed teeth, he then left.
Shaking his head a short while later, he walked from the last shop with as much information as he’d had when he'd entered the first and considerably lighter pockets. No one had known anything about a lady dressed in black. So if she had not come here to visit a shop, then perhaps she, like he, had been passing through the lane en route to meeting someone. But why would the proper Miss Belmont have cause to meet anyone here? It made no sense at all.
Now hopelessly late to meet Daniel and purchase the horse, Simon made his way back to the main street and then towards the club. He wouldn't mention this little incident to his friend, not until he knew what the hell had just happened. And he would find out. In fact, he would be questioning Claire when next he saw her, which would very possibly be this evening.
His first impulse had been to storm around to her house and demand an explanation, but that would achieve nothing. She would simply refuse to see him, and in turn, her family would be alerted to whatever she was doing. He was fairly certain her brother had no idea she was skulking about dressed like an old crone in a lane that, whilst not the worst in London, was hardly the best.
Was she meeting a lover? Simon had to stop while he thought that over. Claire Belmont with a lover. No, it did not settle well with him, nor did he want it to. Ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in his chest, he started walking once more.
Was she ill? Had she come here to get something she desperately needed for her health? This thought made the pain intensify. Claire always looked a picture of good health, to his mind. Of course that was because she was always perfectly dressed, her hair never out of place. In fact Claire did everything perfectly, never did anything that would raise the collective eyes of society. She smiled when she should and spoke about the correct topics to the correct people. She was the epitome of all a young lady should be, at least until today. Today she’d behaved irrationally, and he was determined to find out why.
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Rescued By A Viscount
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Regency Rakes
The Langley Sisters Series
Lady In Distress
Stand Alone Titles
Christmas Wishes
(Novella)
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