The Lady Plays Her Ace (The Langley Sisters) (11 page)

Shut up, Thea, you are babbling.

"Of course they did," Daniel said. "No sense sitting out in the cold after what you’ve just endured."

He was immaculately tailored like Oliver, but, unlike his brother, he had a ready smile that lit his handsome face. Thea suspected he did not have the hard-earned edges and cold control either that his elder brother had perfected, and that was perhaps due to circumstance rather than family traits, as Oliver had lived a hard life.

Her cup was replenished as around her the Dillinger family chatted softly. She thought that normally their voices were a great deal louder, but as she was in the room and injured they were keeping them lowered.

"Is Uncle Oliver coming soon? He promised to let me ride on his back."

"He is busy, Liam, but will arrive later," Daniel said, stripping off his coat. "However, if you care to mount up, I shall be your steed until his return. You must be quiet, however, as Lady Althea has a sore head."

Thea, who was still reeling from the fact that Uncle Oliver let his nephew ride on his back, could not quite believe what she was seeing as Liam climbed on his uncle’s back. Daniel Dillinger was soon galloping around the furniture in his tailored trousers whilst Liam smiled gleefully on his back, to the obvious delight of the rest of the family.

"The carriage has arrived, Grandfather." One of the twins popped his head around the door.

"Off now, Liam." Daniel Dillinger stood again and came to her side, where he held out his hands. "Take my hands, my lady, as I can see you are in pain."

"Th-thank you." Thea took them and slowly regained her feet. Her head pounded and her jaw gave a fierce tug.

"Thank you all so much for taking care of me," Thea managed. Pressing the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Dillinger, she then let Daniel lead her from the room.

"You shall look like Oliver by the morning, after a fight," he said, placing an arm around her back.

"You saw your brother fight?" Thea concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

"No. My brother left home at twelve, my lady, and I did not see him again for ten years. But he was always in fights before he left us, and my mother concocted that paste you now have on your chin to bring out his bruises.

"I see." She didn’t, but now was not the time to ask further question, especially as she was feeling extremely light-headed again.

Ted, who was seated beside the driver, jumped down as soon as he saw Daniel Dillinger leading her down the stairs.

"My lady, what has happened to your face? I thought the Brown family lived in number ten?"

"They do, Ted, but…oh, dear," Thea sniffed.

"Ted, your mistress was attacked whilst she walked in the park. She has hurt, both her jaw and head," Daniel Dillinger said. "My parents were also in the park and came to her aid.

Ted didn’t speak, just took her other arm and lead her to the carriage. He then opened the door and helped her inside.

"I shall leave you in Ted’s capable hands now, my lady."

"Thank you, Mr. Dillinger, for everything," Thea said. "And please thank your parents again for me."

"Of course." He gave her a bow. "I’m sure we shall be seeing you again one day, my lady." With those words, he left, climbing the steps and back inside the lovely, warm, cozy house.

"I should have stayed with you." Ted said these words as he climbed in beside her and shut the door. Pulling a blanket from beneath the seats, he then placed it over her legs as she was shivering again.

"I told you to go, Ted. Please, no blame is necessary." Thea leaned into the side of the carriage in the hope it would alleviate the throbbing in her head.

"Take a small sip of this, my lady." Uncapping the lid on a flask he had pulled from his pocket, he handed it to her.

Thea swallowed and the liquid left a warm trail down her throat, and then took another before handing it back to him.

"Are you certain there is nothing further I can do for you, my lady?"

The worry on his face made her want to weep but she didn’t, instead forcing a smile onto her lips she shook her head. As soon as the carriage started moving, she braced her shoulders and took several deep, steadying breaths. Weeping and feeling sorry for herself would do nothing to aid her cause. She was injured and would heal, and she would not think of those moments in that park, where that man could have killed her, again.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ace knocked on the door and stood back to wait. He had just left his family after a visit and they’d told him about Lady Althea.

"She’d been like a ray of sunshine when she’d entered the park, son, happy and smiling, and then a few minutes later she was screaming for help," his father had said. "Pale and shaking, there were tears in her eyes that she refused to shed. I tell you, Oliver, that woman was in pain when I carried her into the house, but she sat there drinking tea and pretending she wasn't."

Someone had attacked Thea, laid their hands on her and hurt her and he wanted to kill them. Rip them limb from limb. The anger he had felt at his father’s words had been so swift it had taken Ace a moment to speak.

Daniel and his mother had added to the story, but Oliver had not heard much more as his head had been filled with worry for her. Lady Althea Ryder, the woman he could not have but yearned for, had been attacked, and he wanted to hunt down whoever had done this to her and make them pay.

He didn’t like to think of her hurting. It made something churn inside him and that just made him angry, as no one but his family created that kind of reaction in him, and he should not feel anything for her, because she was not a woman he could ever contemplate a future with.

Spending the past few mornings riding through the park with her should not have been the highlight of his day, but it was. He would wake with a foolish smile at the prospect of seeing her. She would then tease and torment him into doing what she wanted, and he loved that, too.

"I thought Ted was to tutor me, my lady," he’d said to her the first morning his lessons had begun, to which she’d replied that Ted was sensitive and she feared he could not withstand any of the insults Ace was likely to throw at his head.’

She was mouthy, sharp-witted and the need inside him to see her was becoming dangerous, and something he needed to address soon. And now someone had hurt her, and Ace hadn’t hesitated—he needed to see her to make sure for himself she was all right, so he was at present standing in the cold on Luke's doorstep.

God, what a mess.

"Mr. Dillinger." The butler smiled at him after opening the door. "I’m afraid Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher are from home, but we expect them back at any moment."

"Good evening, Vickers." Ace walked inside and then handed his outer clothing to the man. "It is actually Lady Althea that I wish to see. I have just heard about the incident in the park today."

"Yes, a nasty business," the butler said. "She is taking tea in the front parlor. I shall see if she is receiving visitors."

Ace stood in the entranceway, looking around him as the butler walked down the hallway. Bella had made the house homely and it vastly differed from the one he had walked through many months ago with Luke, who at the time was unsure if he wanted to purchase it. Back then, his friend had been straddling two worlds, unsure where he fit, but now he knew his place in society and was happy to be one of the new breed of men whose numbers were steadily increasing in England—industrialists and businessmen who lived on the periphery of those who fought against change.

"Mr. Dillinger has called, my lady." He heard Vickers speak and impatience made him move towards the door.

"Please show him in then, Vickers, and bring some fresh tea."

He heard her voice and relief coursed through Ace. If she could talk then surely she was not too badly hurt. Walking passed the butler as he left, he found her seated before the fire in a pale lavender dress with a blanket over her legs. At her feet were small, matching slippers which told Ace her feet were bare, and for some foolish reason he wanted to see them.

"Mr. Dillinger, I’m sorry, I was not expecting company and I’m afraid Luke and Bella have gone to visit friends briefly."

She hurried to slip her feet back into her slippers, giving him only a glance at the pale, slender toes, before she then stood. There was no book on the table beside her or letters; in fact ,she appeared simply to be staring into the fire. Ace studied her face, saw the vulnerability that he had never seen before and then the darkening bruise on her jaw.

"Dear God." He was at her side in seconds, his fingers on her chin. "This must hurt like the devil."

"I-I, it is better now," she whispered, wrapping her hand around his wrist, but doing nothing to push his hand aside.

"No, it’s not," he rasped. "From experience, I know it hurts like the devil.

Her lashes fluttered closed briefly. "Yes, it does, and in truth I’m quite tired of saying it doesn’t." Her words were whispered and the smile that trembled on her lips was small. "I have no idea how you endured this during your time fighting, Mr. Dillinger. Yet another reason why I was deluding myself into believing I could ever climb into the ring with anyone."

"You, my lady, are the strongest woman I know, and battles do not need to all be fought using strength."

"I-I have always thought of myself as brave, Mr. Dillinger," she said quietly. "However, today I was not. The fear that he would kill me and I would die there alone in that park has made me weak." Her fingers tightened around his wrist. "I have never been so scared before."

He closed his eyes briefly at the pain and fear he saw in her gray eyes.

"Not weak, my lady, only human like the rest of us. I felt some of your fear when my father told me what had happened. I made my driver race through the narrow streets to reach you so I could assure myself you were all right, that they were not lying to me." He shouldn’t be speaking this way to her; he had no right to do so.

"Oh," she sighed as he leaned closer.

"Tell me to leave you, my lady. Tell me to walk out the door and never return, as I fear what I am about to do is wrong."

"I-I cannot."

She was breathing fast now, and her eyes were wide as they held his. Ace rose and moved to close the door; he then returned to where she stood and took her hands in his.

"Why have you closed the door, Mr. Dillinger?" Her tone didn’t suggest she was concerned, it was merely a question.

"Ace or Oliver."

"Pardon?" A line appeared down her forehead as she struggled to comprehend what he was saying.

"My name is Ace or Oliver. I would have you use one of them, but not Mr. Dillinger."

"And my name is Thea," she whispered. "Will you use that also?"

"Yes, but only when no one else can hear me." The fingers inside his were shaking. This wasn’t some kind of miss-ish display. She felt what he did, the need to be close to each other.

"I saw you this morning, Thea, and you were laughing at my ineptitude whilst cantering. In fact, I believe you compared my skills to those of a six-year-old child." Ace gave her a soft smile. "Yet here you sit, pale and hurting and many miles from that woman, and seeing you like this makes me ache. How I wish I could take your pain away."

"I have rarely had reason to question the confidence that I walk through life with, Oliver." She turned her hands over in his and he gripped them tighter. "I have been protected my entire life. Oh, I believed I had taken risks." Her laugh held no humor. "Yet today I realized that was in fact not true, and that in a matter of minutes, the life I believed I was in control of could have ended and there was little anyone could do about it."

"You will have to trust me when I say that your reaction to what you believed a life-threatening situation is normal, and add that in a few days those anxieties will ease," Oliver said.

She looked at him, her soft, gray eyes vulnerable.

"You sound as if you are talking from experience."

"Perhaps," Oliver said as he pulled her into his arms. This strong, beautiful woman was hurting, and he wanted to comfort her. He felt her fingers clench around his lapels as she pushed her face into his chest and heaved a shuddering sigh. Ace kissed the top of her head as he held her. She felt good in his arms, her head brushing his chin, her body pressed against his. Of course with that came the rush of lust he felt having her so close. Inhaling the orange blossom, he tried to control his body. This woman needed his comfort and nothing more.

"I’m sorry to be so pathetic."

"I think a blow to the head and jaw would reduce most people to a pathetic state, therefore you have done nothing that you need apologize for. Although," Ace added, "there was that moment yesterday when you called me hard-headed, and followed that up with several unflattering descriptions of my intelligence."

She gave a little snort. "I believe those words were spoken with regards to your equestrian skills, Oliver, not to your actual character."

"Lord, you frightened me." The words were dragged from him as he thought again about what could have happened to her today. Cupping her cheeks, Ace turned her face towards his. "And I do not frighten easily."