How To Build The Perfect Rake (24 page)

Pulling the door open, she stared down at
the prone form of her host. A bowl lay on one side of his head, a
jug – the water from which had mostly landed on Howe’s waistcoat
and breeches – on the other. He was holding his nose and Olympia
could see a trickle of blood seep through his fingers.

‘Oh dear.’

‘You broke my dose!’

Olympia frowned.
‘You
kidnapped
me. I think I’m still the wronged one here.’

‘It hurts!’

‘Oh for heaven’s sake. It’s probably just a
bloodied nose.’ She had grown up with four brothers who had fallen
into innumerable scraps. Any queasiness she might have felt about
minor wounds had long since disappeared. ‘An application of a wet
cloth should fix it quickly enough.’

But Lord Howe apparently
felt no inclination to go and find one. He continued to lie on the
floor, groaning and holding his nose until Olympia quite lost
patience with him. ‘
I
will find a cloth then as you do not seem capable. Kindly
roll to one side and let me pass.’

‘I feel ill.’

‘There is a bowl next to your head. Why
don’t you try and sit up. The couch is more comfortable than the
floor.’

He groaned again, but took one hand away
from his bloodied nose, blindly searching for the bowl. Olympia
wrinkled her own and looked around. There was a lace doily beneath
a crystal vase and she removed it, passing it down to him. ‘Here.
Use this.’

Staunching the sluggish red flow, he managed
to sit up after what seemed forever. ‘I’m going to be sick!’

‘In the bowl, if you please.’

Howe dropped the doily and reached for the
bowl, managing to get it in place just in time. So it was that when
the door crashed open moments later, the sight that greeted the
eyes of Luc and Jasper was that of Lord Howe on the floor hurling
his heart out while Olympia loomed over him, hands on her hips,
expression one of pugnacious disgust.

They both paused, astonished at the sight.
Typically, she recovered far more quickly than they did.

‘Oh thank heavens! I was wondering how I was
going to get home. Give me a hand, if you please. Lord Howe has had
rather a lot to drink and I think he needs to sit down for a
time…’

Lucien had never been so happy to see
anybody in his life. The sight of Olympia, unmistakably unmolested
– and Howe, just as unmistakably miserable – had done his heart the
world of good. He had stopped himself from scooping her into his
arms for there was a militant light in her eyes as she looked him
over that boded ill and reminded him how they had parted. She had
not yet heard that he intended to break of his engagement on the
morrow. Hopefully the news would go some way to softening her
rage.

He had not known what he
and Jasper would find when they had approached the small house that
bordered the heath. They had gone around to Howe’s rooms,
determined to discover the whereabouts of the place he’d called his
‘little love nest’ a small cottage that had belonged to a relative
and that he occasionally used for his affairs. His lordship’s valet
had at first expressed ignorance of any such place but had changed
his mind when a little bit of persuasion was applied. Luc, sick
with worry, had been prepared to apply a
lot
of persuasion but it had not
been necessary.

The five miles between London and Hounslow
was nothing for two enthusiastic riders and they had arrived less
than half an hour after leaving the quivering valet. Even so, it
had been an eternity and as he had ridden hard by Jasper Grayson’s
side, Luc had felt his insides twist with sickening anxiety.

It does not matter what
has happened
, he told himself
tightly.
Whatever it is, I will make this
right for Olympia. We will get married and bury any scandal.
Whatever has happened…

He just had to find her, quite possibly kill
Howe and then take her away.

Which was why, when he and Jasper broke
through the door of the elegant little place in Hounslow,
discovering that Olympia seemed to be in no need of anybody’s help
was at once an enormous relief and a source of considerable
exasperation.

He and Jasper paused, taking in the scene.
Howe looked like hell; bloodied nose, unhealthy pallor (although
that could have been the lighting) and a general air of utter
misery, which was only enhanced by his retching into a bowl. In
contrast Olympia looked remarkably lively.

They walked forward slowly and Jasper shook
his head. ‘What the hell?’

‘He kidnapped me. I believe he is in need of
a wife and decided to take the shortest route to one,’ Olympia
informed them coolly.

They all looked down at Howe whose head was
still firmly placed over the bowl.

‘Can you think of any reason why I should
not call you out for this?’ Luc demanded coldly.

‘Don’t bother. Just kill me now,’ Howe
groaned.

‘You are not calling anybody out,’ Olympia
said impatiently. ‘There is no need. I am fine.’

‘He tried to ruin you,’ Jasper pointed
out.

‘He did not succeed. If we
return now Aunt Flora need never know I was gone. It isn’t
too
late, is it?’ she
added anxiously.

‘Gone midnight. She’ll be at her cards till
at least one. Even so, we’d best be off.’

They all looked down at Howe.

‘Perhaps we should help him?’ Olympia said
doubtfully.

‘Don’t help me!’ Howe begged, setting the
disgusting bowl down carefully. He did not get up. Actually he
looked like he might be on the floor for some time. ‘I would take
it as a kindness if you would all just leave.’

‘I don’t believe we owe you any kindnesses,’
Jasper muttered, then glanced at Luc. ‘Even so…?’

Luc nodded. ‘I think you know, as well as I,
what a mistake it would be to ever approach Olympia again,’ he told
the fallen nobleman softly. ‘I would take it in very bad part.’

‘As would her family,’
Jasper added, voice grim. ‘
Very
bad.’

‘Believe me when I say that Miss Grayson is
safe from my attentions,’ he glanced up at Olympia fleetingly, ‘and
I would like to offer her my apologies.’

‘Oh, that’s all right.’
Strangely enough, of all of them Olympia seemed the most cheerful.
‘You fared rather more badly from this encounter than I did.’ She
looked at her brother. But
not
, Luc noted, at him. ‘Shall we
go?’

‘I’m afraid we came by mount. You’ll have to
double up.’

‘Certainly.’

They left Howe on the floor, closing the
door behind them. Outside, Luc touched Olympia’s arm. ‘Are you all
right?’

She moved away, just a little. ‘Fine, thank
you. Can we go? I’m a little cold.’

Without a word, he took his jacket off and
placed it around her shoulders. For a moment he thought she would
hand it back but she slipped her arms into the sleeves and pulled
it around her.

The ride back to London was a great deal
less fraught than their wild gallop to Hounslow had been. They took
it slowly for Jasper’s mount was carrying two and arrived back at
Martin Street a little before one. Luc hesitated at the bottom of
the steps.

‘I suppose I had better go home. I shall
call around tomorrow morning.’

‘Why?’ Olympia demanded, tone frosty,
removing his coat and handing it back to him.

Luc was silent for a moment, then, ‘Jasper,
may I have a moment with your sister?’

‘Certainly.’ Jasper gave his sibling a sweet
smile. ‘Leave his eyes intact,’ he recommended, before running
lightly up the steps.

‘I don’t want to have a word,’ she declared,
turning to follow her brother but Luc reached out a hand and snared
her wrist, stopping her.

‘Olympia. Please.’

For a moment, he thought she would pull free
and disappear into the house but, after a long moment, she turned
back to face him. ‘Please do not take too long. I am… I am
tired.’

For the first time he heard a catch in her
voice, beneath the bravado. He had known all along that she was
putting a courageous face on things. No matter what she might say
to the contrary she had been through hell tonight. How could she
not have? Even if she had bested Howe there must have been some
point when she had been frightened, if not for her physical safety,
at least for her virtue.

‘It had been a hell of a night,’ he said
quietly, ‘more or less from start to finish. I ruined what should
have been the most magical moment of my life when you kissed me.
But I want you to let me try again. If this night has taught me one
thing it is that we belong together. I will not let anything stand
in the way of that. I promise you.’

Olympia looked up at him, her eyes pools of
darkness, face aglow in the moonlight. She took his breath away and
he wanted nothing more than to fold her into his arms and make her
forget tonight. So that they could start afresh.

‘You are engaged to Carisse, Luc.’

‘Tomorrow morning, before I return here, I
am calling on at the Houghton household. I am breaking off my
engagement.’

She continued to look up at him, eyes
searching her face. ‘Some would consider that a dishonorable thing
to do. To make an offer for a girl and then to withdraw it the very
next day,’ she said slowly.

‘The only dishonor in this entire situation
would be if I married a woman I did not love. Especially when I
love another. It would certainly not be fair to Carisse.’

He heard a quick intake of breath.
‘Luc…’

‘I know. You’ve been through a great deal.
Go inside now. I will see you in the morning.’ And, unable to
resist the temptation of those soft, luscious lips, Luc bent his
head and kissed her quickly. Unable to help herself, Olympia
responded, meeting the brief pressure of his mouth immediately. He
wanted nothing more than to stay exactly where he was and wrap his
arms around her. He wanted to kiss her soundly, profoundly, until
she could think of nothing and no one but him.

Unfortunately, they were standing very
publically in front of her house and, even at this early hour of
the morning, it was always best to remember that in Society, one
was never truly alone.

Just the same, when he raised his head he
did not go far, resting his forehead against her hair. ‘Dearest
Olympia. It is going to take some hard work on my part but I
promise I shall make the last few hours up to you.’

‘It might not be all your fault,’ she
admitted softly. ‘I did not know myself…’

‘No,’ he agreed wryly, kissing the top of
her head. ‘Go to bed, love. I will see you in the morning after
-’

‘Oh Luc! It’s going to be awfully
unpleasant.’

‘But necessary,’ he said firmly. ‘And
ultimately, Carisse will marry her duke and be deliriously happy.
Just as long as she hasn’t told anyone yet.’

They were both silent, thinking about the
consequences of Carisse telling friends and family that she was
engaged.

‘Come to see me straight afterwards,’
Olympia commanded. ‘Straight afterwards! I shall not be able to
sleep a wink, waiting to discover what has transpired.’

Nor would he, Luc was sure. But his resolve
was undiminished. He watched Olympia walk up the steps and let
herself in the door and knew that, no matter how unpleasant, he
would tell Mrs. Houghton and her lovely daughter that he was not
going to be joining the family after all.

Chapter Eleven

‘So you did not kill him then,’ Jasper
enquired, standing in the doorway of the library, a little used
room in the Richmond household since Mr. Richmond had passed away.
He was holding a glass of brandy.

Olympia trailed across the entry hall
wearily and together they sat in the chairs that rested on either
side of the cold fireplace. Her head had begun to throb in earnest
and she knew that she really needed to go and get some rest. ‘He is
redeeming himself in the morning. If he can find the courage.’

‘He’ll find it. I have never met a man so
caught up in the throws of love, now that he has discovered his
true feelings.’

She looked at her brother. ‘I was a fool
tonight. I feel I must beg your pardon for acting without
thinking.’

‘Going off with a rogue? Truthfully, it was
one of your less intelligent choices.’ Jasper cocked an eyebrow at
her. ‘May I ask how he got you to his little love nest?’

‘He said that he’d seen
you on the terrace with a female. Well, I could easily
believe
that
. So
I went out to look for you. And then, he said he would check that
you had not gone into the garden -’

‘Why the devil would I have gone into the
garden?’

‘If only I knew what your romantic technique
was I might have shown more sense. As it was, I thought it was
possible you were wooing among the hydrangeas.’

‘Good lord.’

‘He was gone a little time and I was just
thinking I would go back inside when he called out that he had
fallen and hurt himself. And as it didn’t seem like a good idea to
be found out there with him alone -’

‘It was only then that it occurred to
you?’

‘Oh do be quiet. I’m trying to explain.’

‘Continue on.’

‘Well, I found Howe on the ground. He said
that he had twisted his ankle and I went to help him up. But then,
he didn’t seem to be hurt and he threw me over his shoulder -’

‘There’s more to the man than his clothing
suggests if he flung you over his shoulder.’

‘ –
and I wriggled around
so much I hit my head and rather passed out -’

‘You
what
?’ Immediately, Jasper was on
his feet and beside her chair, his fingers probing her skull. She
gave a small squeak when his exploration encountered her lump.
‘Good God Ollie, why didn’t you tell me you’d received a
whack?’