Lorraine had imagined the journey back to London would be one of laughter and triumph. After all, she was free. She was safe. Ewan, the man she loved, had come for her, as she had known he would.
But silence hung over the coach the men had hired for the return journey. No one spoke. No one looked at her or at each other. Lorrie didn’t expect the men to have much to say to her, but weren’t they old friends? Had they had a falling out?
Ewan’s silence was familiar to her, but she could not deny his refusal to look at her hurt. She did not regret giving him her virginity, but perhaps he regretted taking it? Had she talked too much during the act? Had she failed to please him? She’d woken alone, and when she’d come down after dressing, he’d only nodded at her. Did he think she would force him to marry her? That was the last thing she would do.
But why didn’t he want her? She knew he loved her.
And if only they could speak of some of this! But they had no privacy, and Lorrie suspected that even if they had, she would have had to pry answers from Ewan. All she could do was wait until they reached London and her father’s house. Then she would see what Ewan did. Please let him declare his love and beg for her hand.
Please.
By afternoon, the coach rattled through Piccadilly, taking her back to Mayfair and home. The men had used old blankets they’d found under the seats to cover the windows so they would not be seen by those passing by. Mr. Wraxall had asked the coachman to take them to the back of the duke’s town house, and Ewan had hurried her out of the coach and into the servants’ quarters faster than a hare chased by a hound.
Once inside the house, Lorrie was immediately engulfed by servants, who rose from their chairs in the dining hall. One footman took Welly from her arms while Mrs. Davies embraced her. “Oh, my lady! You are home. You are safe!”
“Yes, Mrs. Davies. Thanks to Mr. Mostyn and his friends.” She managed to extricate herself, and then Nell took hold of her.
“My lady! I feared I’d never see you again!”
Lorrie hugged her maid back. “I fear your days of dressing my hair are not yet at an end. No doubt it will behave as unruly as usual.”
Nell wiped her eyes. “I don’t mind a whit.”
The sound of a man clearing his throat cut through the chatter, and Lorrie glanced over to see Bellweather in the doorway. “My lady, we are most thankful for your return, and it would be best if you went to your father and mother at once.”
“Of course.” Lorrie looked behind her, relieved Ewan still stood in the dining hall, waiting for her. His face was stoic and unreadable, his blue eyes clear and steady. He nodded to her, as though urging her onward. Lorrie took a deep breath, lifted her borrowed skirts, and followed Bellweather.
As soon as she stepped into the drawing room, her mother, father, and two brothers rose and exclaimed all at once. Lorrie ran to her father and then her mother, while her two brothers patted her on the back and said, “We knew it wouldn’t be so easy to be rid of you!”
Lorrie laughed and stood smiling as her mother held her at arm’s length to look her over. “Are you hurt?”
“No. The men who abducted me were not kind, but they did not harm me. I do believe they simply wanted the ransom.” She looked over her shoulder at Ewan. He stood against a wall, a gentle giant who looked as though he would have preferred to be anywhere else. “Mr. Mostyn and his friends from Lieutenant Colonel Draven’s troop saved me. A Mr. Wraxall and a Mr. Grantham, I believe.”
Ewan nodded.
“They have our thanks,” the duke said.
“They must come to dinner,” the duchess added. “We wish to thank them personally.”
“And we will make certain you are rewarded as well, sir.” The duke moved forward to shake Ewan’s hand.
Ewan offered his hand but did not smile. “I don’t want your blunt.”
The duke clapped Ewan on the shoulder. “Then another gift. We will discuss it later.”
Ewan nodded. “I’d like to meet with you in private.”
The duke furrowed a brow. “Of course. The library in an hour.”
Lorrie moved toward the two men. “I’d like to be present as well.”
“No,” the men said in unison.
Lorrie huffed. “I assume this meeting has something to do with me. I have a right to be present!”
“Now, my dear,” the duchess said, moving forward. As petite as she was, she possessed a tone that brooked no argument. She took Lorrie’s arm and led her from the drawing room. “You need to rest. Let the men have their little talk. Nell!” She motioned to the maid, who stood waiting outside the drawing room. “Have the footmen fetch water so Lady Lorraine might bathe. Then you must put her straight to bed.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Nell bobbed and rushed to do the duchess’s bidding.
The duchess led Lorrie away and toward her room. As they walked, she said, under her breath, “We have managed to keep your abduction quiet, but God knows as loyal as our servants are, someone will talk. They always do.”
“And I was in the presence of men who are not relations, unchaperoned for several days,” Lorrie said.
Her mother gave her a penetrating look. “Fortunately, those men did not hurt you, but that will not quell the scandal. It does not help that you are infatuated with that soldier.”
Lorrie gasped, tripping over her feet on the landing leading to her bedchamber.
The duchess caught her elbow. “Did you think I didn’t know? Your face has always been an open book. The men who abducted you may not have touched you, but he has.”
Lorrie’s face flushed scarlet. Her mother held up a hand. “Don’t bother replying. You will only stammer or babble on. This is not the situation I wanted for you, but then you have never done what anyone wanted. We will marry you with haste, and please do not dare suggest Francis Mostyn.”
“I would never marry him!”
“Or his cousin.”
“But, Mama!”
The duchess glided to the closed door of Lorrie’s bedchamber and opened it. “I have a short list, Lorrie. Very short. You will marry one of those men or you will expose us all to scandal and ridicule. Is that what you want? To see your brothers and your father humiliated? To watch as they are shot on the dueling field because they are forced to defend your honor?”
“Dueling is illegal.”
Her mother sighed. “Lorrie, you are no longer a child. Cease behaving like one.”
“Then cease treating me like one! I shall marry whom I like.”
“Not with my blessing or that of your father. Think about that, Lorrie. And while you do, consider your future. Do you really wish to be saddled with a man who spends his nights brawling with drunkards outside a gambling hell? I thought I raised you for better than that.”
“There’s more to him than that,” Lorrie insisted.
“I know. He also debauches young girls.” And with that, her mother walked away.
Lorrie stared after her, then, sensing a movement, spotted Nell stepping out of the shadows. “I don’t mean to interrupt, my lady.”
“You heard?” Lorrie asked, moving into her room. Nell followed.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I could not help it.”