“Are you all right?” Drake asked from where he was. He wished he could move closer to see how she was doing, but he did not dare.
For a brief moment, Lady Leonora closed her eyes. Then she inhaled a deep breath and opened them once more. “I’m sorry I startled you.”
To his surprise, Drake could not help but chuckle. “Startle is a bit of an understatement; would you not agree?” He glanced around their dark surroundings. “What are you doing here?”
A bit of a frown came to her face. “You sent me a message.”
Drake stared at her. “I asked you to inform me of the next function you would attend. I did not ask you to once again visit me over here in my home without a chaperone.”
Averting her gaze, Lady Leonora sank her teeth into her lower lip, a bit of a sheepish expression coming to her face. “I was impatient,” she whispered, then looked back up at him. “Perhaps it was unwise.”
“Unwise,” Drake echoed, once again running a hand over his face, still certain that on some level he was dreaming. “You need to leave. Now.” Did she not know what she was risking by coming here?
Taking a step forward, Lady Leonora shook her head. “Not until you tell me…why you wanted to see me.” Drake could see that she was trembling, a most insistent quiver in her jaw, all the more pronounced as she once more sank her teeth into her bottom lip. Still, she stood her ground, determination in her eyes as they surveyed his.
“Very well,” Drake heard himself say, and a part of him wondered if he had lost his mind to allow her to stay. Nevertheless, in the state she was in, he could not simply send her from his home. Yes, the way back was short and no doubt well hidden in shadows, but right here and now, he doubted that he would be able to persuade her to leave. “Come inside then.” He gestured toward the open door to his study and waited until she moved toward it. Then he fell into step behind her, still careful to maintain his distance.
Inside, Lady Leonora immediately moved over to the fire in the grate, rubbing her hands together against the chilled night air.
“Shall I leave the door open?” Drake asked as he had before the other day when she had sneaked over here for the first time. Was this becoming a habit?
Lady Leonora looked at him, then at the door and then back to him. Then she shook her head no. “It’s all right. I’m fine.”
Nodding, Drake closed the door, then turned to look at her. “I suppose it was my mistake for sending the letter.”
Lady Leonora looked ready to argue this point when she suddenly stilled, her lips slightly parted and a bit of a faraway look coming to her eyes.
Drake frowned. “Are you all right?” Perhaps it was finally sinking in what she was risking by coming over here to see him.
“I’m fine,” Lady Leonora said yet again, giving herself a bit of shake as though to help her focus. “What was it that you wanted to tell me?”
A part of Drake could still not believe that she was truly here. “It could have waited until tomorrow.”
A slight chuckle drifted from her lips as she once more averted her eyes. Sometimes she looked at him with such frankness as he had never seen before, and sometimes it seemed that she was afraid to truly look at him. “I suppose.”
“Yet, you are here.”
She looked up at him again. “I am here.”
Drake cleared his throat, determined to send her back home as quickly as possible. “Well, as I have stated in my message, I have no news with regard to that evening’s guest list. However, I spoke to your new brother-in-law and—”
“You spoke to Phineas?” Lady Leonora exclaimed all of a sudden, her eyes wide as she looked at him. “About me?”
Drake felt oddly reminded of the moment Phineas had first introduced him to the two sisters at Windmere Park when Lady Louisa had realized that Phineas had spoken to Drake about her secret without her permission. “He came over here to inquire about my intentions toward you,” Drake tried to explain. “It would seem that he and his wife saw you sneak over here the day of their wedding.”
Lady Leonora’s jaw dropped and her hands flew up to clasp over her mouth. “They saw me?”
Drake nodded. “They are concerned, and as it became clear to me that your brother-in-law is aware of…that night’s events, I took the opportunity to inquire whether or not he could provide additional information that might help us…unmask your attacker.” Drake held her gaze for a long moment, willing her to see that his intentions had been honorable.
Lady Leonora nodded, understanding coming to her face while her arms rose to wrap around herself once more. “My grandmother sent him after us that night,” she whispered, her gaze once again distant. “He brought us home.”
Drake carefully filed away every bit of information she was bestowing upon him. Apparently, not only her sister and brother-in-law were aware of that night’s events, but also her grandmother. Indeed, Drake remembered the dowager countess from the house party when she had addressed him, inquiring after his opinion on Lord Gillingham as a potential suitor for Lady Leonora.
“Would you like to sit? Or a drink?” Drake inquired, uncertain what to do in moments like these. Never before had a lady confided in him in such a way.
Lady Leonora blinked, then once more turned toward the fire, her hands falling from her arms. She held them out toward the flames, then rubbed them together once more. “I’m fine.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What thought did you wish to share with me?”
Drake inhaled a deep breath and moved forward, not closer, but forward in a way so that she would not have to look behind herself to see him. “Your brother-in-law spoke of how your sister needed to find the strength to stand up for herself in order to make peace with her impediment. He suggested that it might not be enough for us to simply unmask your attacker.”
Lady Leonora cringed, and Drake could see her face fall, all hope vanishing and leaving her with nothing to hold onto. Her eyes closed, and her arms once more returned to wrap around her body. “That was what you wanted to tell me?” Disappointment swung heavy in her voice.
“No,” Drake stated in a firm voice, waiting for her to open her eyes and look at him.
“It is not?” A whisper of hope once more lingered in her blue eyes.
Drake steeled himself, aware that what he would be suggesting was far outside the range of normal conduct. “What is it that you fear?” he asked carefully. “Is it that what happened at the masquerade might happen again? That you will not be able to defend yourself should someone choose to attack you?”
His questions seemed to strip away every last bit of strength she had, making her seem deeply vulnerable in that moment. She was still trembling, her arms wrapping even more tightly around herself. Tears misted in her eyes, and yet, for once, she did not avert her gaze. Still looking at him, she nodded.
Drake could not help but wonder in that moment why she did not fear him, why she did not fear being alone with him in his house at night with no one around to protect her. “That is what I thought,” he replied softly, “and that is why I believe it might help you to learn how to defend yourself.”
Her forehead furrowed. “To defend myself? How do you mean?”