Drake shifted his gaze to where the dowager countess sat snoozing in a chair.
“Did she speak to you?” Phineas inquired as he moved to face Drake more directly, his eyes watchful. “Truth be told, the old lady supported my pursuit of her granddaughter long before Louisa came to look upon it favorably.”
Drake frowned. “What do you mean?”
Raking a hand through his hair, Phineas laughed, disbelief in his eyes. “What I mean is that apparently Grandma Edie had decided that I was the one for Louisa long before Louisa herself came to look at me that way.” His gaze narrowed as he looked at Drake. “I was simply wondering if perhaps Grandma Edie has had similar thoughts about you.” His brows rose in challenge. “Has she spoken to you? Encouraged you to seek out Leonora?”
Drake once more glanced at the snoozing dowager. “She did speak to me once. At the Christmas house party. She asked my opinion of Lord Gillingham and whether or not I considered him suitable for Lady Leonora.”
Beside him, Phineas laughed. “I believe, old friend, Grandma Edie has set her sights on you, which I admit makes me wonder.”
Drake could not say that he liked his old friend’s inquisitiveness. “About what?”
Phineas looked over at the dance floor to where Lady Leonora was still engaged with Lord Sedgwick, her face rather stoic and her movements stiff. “I wonder what is truly going on between the two of you. After all, Grandma Edie was right about Louisa and myself. Perhaps she’s right about you two as well.” He frowned. “She does come to you when she vanishes from home, does she not?”
Drake looked at Phineas carefully, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“I see,” Phineas mumbled, casting another glance in his wife’s direction. “And if I might inquire, what do you do?” His brows rose, and Drake detected no small measure of suspicion in his friend’s eyes.
Drake crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his friend. “Do you truly believe that I would take advantage of her after everything she has been through? Is that the kind of man you think I am?”
Again, Phineas laughed. Drake could not say he cared for the reaction. “I must say your defensiveness speaks volumes, old friend. No, of course, I do not believe you are taking advantage of her. However, it is most obvious that there is something between the two of you. You watch her like a hawk, and whenever she is most nervous, her eyes inevitably search for you. The moment she sees you, a new calm falls over her. Have you not noticed?”
Drake felt a sudden urge to avert his eyes but knew that doing so would only confirm Phineas’ thoughts. “She looks to me for reassurance,” he replied simply, wishing he could abandon this conversation.
Phineas frowned yet again. “When she visits you, what do you do? Why is it that she looks to you for reassurance?”
“If you must know,” Drake began, knowing that his old friend would never let this rest without receiving at least some answers, “I took your advice.”
“My advice?”
Drake nodded. “I’m teaching her how to defend herself.”
Phineas’ jaw dropped and he gawked at Drake in a most unbecoming way. “Pardon me? Are you saying you’re teaching her how to fight?”
Drake frowned at his friend. “Was that not what you suggested? That she learn how to stand up for herself? How did you think I would accomplish that if not by at least providing her with some tools to ensure her own safety?”
Phineas heaved a deep sigh, his hand rising and raking through his hair as he thought Drake’s words over. “I’m not saying you did wrong. It’s simply…an unusual approach. Perhaps though,” he glanced at Lady Leonora as Lord Sedgwick escorted her off the dance floor, “it is the right one.” He turned back to look at Drake. “I assume you have not yet managed to unmask her attacker.”
Gritting his teeth, Drake shook his head no. “I’ve hired an investigator as you know, and he continues to add names to the list of guests that night. I expect it will take a while longer before it is complete. In the meantime, I’ve hired yet another investigator to look more closely at those men present there that night. Thus far, though, nothing suspicious has come to light.” His gaze wandered to Lady Leonora, and he felt no small measure of relief at seeing her once more safely ensconced within her family circle.
Her eyes rose to sweep across the room, and it did not take long for them to find him. A smile came to her face then, and he could see her shoulders rise and fall with deep breaths as though the very sight of him somehow calmed her.
“See?” came Phineas’ insistent voice. “She’s doing it again.” He chuckled. “As are you. Don’t pretend you don’t care for her because it is most obvious that you do.” And with a companionable clap on Drake’s shoulder, Phineas turned and walked back to his wife, no doubt eager to inform her of all he had learned.
Drake remained behind, the warmth that had flooded his being at seeing Lady Leonora’s response to his presence threatened by a most disconcerting thought. What if he did care for her? Would that not inevitably pose the question of how she felt for him?
After everything that had happened, Drake wondered if Lady Leonora would ever again be able to give her heart to someone. What if the night of the masquerade had changed everything for her?
Chapter Eighteen
Love & Affection
The first few signs of spring showed as Leonora and Louisa walked arm in arm through Hyde Park one afternoon. The sun shone brightly overhead, warming the air and teasing the first blossoms into blooming. Colors returned to the world, eager for spring and warmth.
“So, how often do you visit Lord Pemberton?” Louisa asked without preamble.
Completely caught off-guard, Leonora’s feet pulled to a halt and her head spun around to stare at her sister.
Louisa laughed. “I sent Phineas to tease some information out of Lord Pemberton at last night’s ball. It would seem, despite his usual tight-lippiness, he was most forthcoming.”
“What did he tell him?” Leonora gasped, surprised that he would share their secrets with Phineas. He always seemed so concerned that anyone might find out.
Louisa frowned. “Are you upset that he said something?”
Leonora did not know what to think. She merely shrugged, trying to sort through her thoughts.
“Well?” Louisa prompted. “Do you go to see him whenever Grandma Edie pretends you are somewhere in the house, that she just saw you but doesn’t know where you went?”
Sighing, Leonora nodded. “Yes, I go to see him a couple of afternoons a week.”
“And…is he truly teaching you how to fight?”
Leonora’s mouth dropped open. “He told Phineas that?”
Louisa waved her sister’s surprise away. “Oh, don’t be upset with him. After all, he knew that we knew that something was going on with the two of you.”
Leonora frowned. “Since when do you defend him? I always thought that you somehow…disliked him.”
Turning back down the path, the two sisters walked ahead. “I didn’t dislike him,” Louisa corrected. “I simply did not know if I could trust him. He always seemed so sinister.” She shrugged her shoulders. “However, after everything Phineas has told me about him, I suppose I misjudged him.” She stopped once more and turned to look at Leonora. “He seems truly concerned for you.”