.
Rachel allowed Aunt Esther to take the lead as they walked through the pleasure garden, two afternoons later. All the while, she was very aware of the eyes that watched them. The pleasure gardens, while lovely, were more frequented by the working class, so whenever a lady visited, there could be quite a stir. Rachel and her aunt had been given the royal treatment since they’d arrived, having been served tea at the best table in the garden, and offered the finest of cakes. Rachel had chosen this one, The Lucky Inn, because it was owned by former residents of the Best Home, but also, because she felt bad for not taking Aunt Esther to see the art at the docks. Too afraid of running into Reuben again, she’d brought her aunt to a place where the sights would be almost as lovely.
They were at the end of the west side of the hedges, when Rachel noticed the crowd growing thick. It was because of her, she knew. When word got around that a real lady was visiting, the Lucky Inn’s profits for the day would rise.
The inn was located just north of the heart of the city, and the hour trip was worth the sights. This time of year, the flowers were in full bloom, and their fragrance was not diluted by the smell of the city.
They’d reached the heart of the garden, a small fountain, before anyone approached them. A gentleman dressed in a pale blue jacket with tan breeches strolled right up to them. He was handsome, with fair hair and pale eyes. A stunning man, though Rachel had never met him.
“Lady Rachel.” He bowed low. “I am Mr. Kimberly. I hope you don’t take any offense at my approach, but I saw you, and simply had to make my introductions.”
The name was familiar, but not his face, and Rachel was sure his was a face she’d have not gotten. He was very beautiful, and his clothes, much the same.
He held out his hand and she offered her fingers, allowing him to kiss the air above her knuckles before turning to introduce her aunt.
Her aunt, who was usually a very social person in spite of her affliction, stiffened at the sight of Mr. Kimberly, and nearly looked unfriendly, which, in turn, made Rachel wary. “Rachel, do you know this man?”
She shook her head and shouted in Esther’s ear. “No, we’ve just met.”
Esther grabbed Rachel’s arm as she smiled tightly at Mr. Kimberley. “So nice to meet you. Good day, sir.”
Rachel had no choice to move when her aunt did, but was startled when Mr. Kimberley moved to block their path.
“A fine day, it is, isn’t it?” He looked around the garden, before returning to grin at Rachel. “The leaves shine within your eyes, my lady.”
Rachel didn’t know what to say. The compliment was as tasteless as the man’s insistence. She was ready to call one of her roaming footman for aid, when she felt his presence before he spoke.
“Mr. Kimberley, I didn’t know you had an appreciation for gardens,” Reuben said at Rachel’s back, seeming to come out of nowhere. She’d never been more grateful. She straightened, as though his being there, gave her strength.
Aunt Esther relaxed her grip on Rachel as well.
Mr. Kimberley paled at the sight of Reuben, blinking before he found his voice again. “Reuben, I—”
“It’s Lord Eastridge now,” Reuben said. “Or does Lady Jacobs no longer receive the papers?”
As if possible, Mr. Kimberley’s face paled further, and his mouth hung open, before he shut it. Then he bowed. “Lord Eastridge. Ladies. Good day.” Then he fled, as though the devil were at his heels.
Rachel turned to Reuben and was awestruck by the lethal set of his eyes. He looked every bit as dangerous as the gossip made the soldier sound.
And then he turned those eyes upon her, and though the expression didn’t change, she was unafraid, knowing in her heart that Reuben would never hurt her.
It was Aunt Esther who broke the tension. “Oh, Lord Eastridge, I’m ever so glad you’ve come. We were just about to head to the east side of the garden, but I’d actually enjoy a respite by the fountain. Perhaps, you can Rachel could tour the other side?”
Rachel turned to protest, but her aunt cut her off. “Don’t let me stop you from enjoying the company of this nice fellow. Go and enjoy.” She turned and took the few steps needed to take her the stone bench.
As if waiting by, staff from the inn descended on Esther, offering her tea and other pleasures. One man even offered to read to her, which her aunt laughed at. She’d only come to the pleasure gardens for Esther’s enjoyment, and it seemed her aunt would do that, whether she walked or not.
Reuben held out his arm. “To the east side, my lady?”
She stared mutely at him, and debated how it would appear if she stomped away from this infuriating man. Two days, over forty hours of diligent waiting, and there had been no word from him at all. She’d spoken with his sister, and had been told he was working on something quite important, but Rachel was done waiting on this man.
She wanted to stomp away, but with so many people about, it was likely to cause scandal that would reach the papers. So, she took his arm and allowed him to lead her away, deciding she would ask him the questions that pressed upon her heart.
“YOUR SISTER said you were working?”
Rueben looked down at Rachel, at the stiff set of her shoulders, and the coolness in her eyes, and decided he did not like this Rachel very much at all. He didn’t like the tension between them, thought he knew it was all his fault.
He’d been working, not on finding the assassin, but on news of where his sister Rose’s father had fled. He’d been forced to leave London in order to speak with his informant. What he’d heard had given him pause. Reuben just hoped that what he’d discovered about Stonewhire would not upset Rose too greatly, yet all the while, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
And now he was back in London, to discover he’d made a mess of things with Rachel.
They moved into the portion of the garden that had higher shrubs, but he knew they were far from being alone. They were being followed by men, women, and children who would all tell their family and friends about seeing a lord and lady that day. Reuben imagined he’d been the same way as a child, always surprised when he caught sight of beautiful people.
Until the day he’d learned who his father was.
“Where you, in fact, working?” Rachel asked, when he didn’t answer.
“Do you not approve of a lord that works?” he asked, truly wanting to know her answer.
Rachel stared forward, and even though she held his arm, he could feel the distance between them. “Well, a true lord wouldn’t work. Surely, he could partake in hobbies or politics, but it is the right of a lord to fill his days with those pursuits that are less laborious.”
Her words cut him like a sharp razor. “Well, I’ve never been a true lord, and never will be.”
Her fingers tightened on his arm, and she finally looked up at him, her expression softer than before. “That’s not what I’d meant.”
“Yet you are not wrong. I’ll never be like other gentlemen.”
“Reuben,” she didn’t finish her statement, instead electing to move on to other topics. “Who was that gentleman back there?”
Reuben pressed his lips together. “He is not a gentleman, but a leech. He attaches himself to wealthy women, and then forces them to pay his way through Society.” And at one point in his life, Michael Kimberley had attached himself to Alexandra, forcing her to work from sunup to sunset, so that he could have the best of everything.
“How do you know him?” Rachel asked innocently.
“We grew up in Best Home.” Reuben sighed. “You could say that he and I have much in common.”
Rachel pulled on him until he stopped walking, until he turned to face her. Her gaze was vicious. “You are not a leech, in any way.”
He shrugged. “But I’m not much a gentleman, either.”
She frowned. “It takes more than just blood to be a gentleman.”
“Not according to the ton.”
She stomped her foot and he almost smiled at that. “What will it take for me to convince you that you’re as every bit a gentleman as any other lord?”
He did smile then, as he thought about how formidable a wife Rachel would be. “I followed you here.”
That shocked her, making her reel back, even as she tightened her hold on him. “Why?”
He grabbed her free hand and wished he could do more, but they had an audience. “You know I would die for you, Rachel. You mean so very much to me.”
Her eyes began to glitter. “Why?” she whispered, almost desperately. He knew what she was asking. Why had he pushed her away, only to follow her here, and to the party the previous night.
“I want you.”
Her face and neck flushed, and he could tell from the rise and fall of her chest how his words affected her. “I don’t believe you.”
“The very thoughts I have of you, prove me to be ungentlemanly.” He was speaking from his heart. “But then there are other thoughts. The pleasure of catching your eye across a room, or at a dinner table. The joy my heart feels whenever you smile. Your laugh. The way your nose twitches when you’re upset. I…”
She touched his cheek, as her smile widened.
Reuben felt his heart begin to bleed. Her touch rendered his mind useless. His every breath was for her. It had been that way since she turned her eyes to him at Rose’s wedding. He was glad they’d stopped walking, for he was weakened by the pace of his heart. He could feel the black ugliness within him being banished under her sweetness and…
“I love you,” she whispered.
And Reuben didn’t care who was watching. He grabbed her head between his hands and claimed her with his lips, allowing her essence to sweep away whatever other impurities he had. Who cared what anyone else thought of him? She loved him, and it was enough. She was enough. She’d always been.
There were gasps around them, but their mingled breathing and the blood beating in his ears drowned them out. “I love you. I love you, Rachel.” He kissed her lips, eyes, nose, cheeks.
She laughed and clung to him. He tasted salt in his mouth, and knew it to be from her tears. They cleaned him further, breaking and mending him, making him stronger. He wanted to curse and give thanks at the same time. What had he been thinking to set her aside, to allow any other man to have her?
They couldn’t. His kiss became hard and possessive.
Rachel moaned.
“Lord Eastridge.” The outrage in Lady Esther’s voice split them apart, but Reuben clung to Rachel, his lifeline, his rope of salvation from the stormy seas of life. He’d not allow anyone to take her away from him.
“We’re getting married,” and he shouted it loud enough for Lady Esther to hear, which in fact, meant everyone else heard as well.
Rachel’s aunt looked ready to have an apoplexy. There were cheers and great clapping from the common folk, and Reuben knew it to be a day they’d not forget.
He just hoped Rachel wouldn’t refuse him.
He turned to Rachel then, and found her to be smiling up at him, rather bonelessly, in his arms. His arm alone kept her upright. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
He’d never heard a sweeter word. It rang in his ears and through his mind like soft music, lulling him closer to this woman. “I love you.” He kissed her again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
It was long moments, maybe even an hour, before Reuben managed to usher both ladies to their carriage, past the people who wished to give them their congratulations.
“I’ll ask your father tomorrow,” he said to her, through the window of her carriage.
The tenderness in her gaze had him fighting to not take her mouth again, and yet he refrained.
“Tomorrow,” she whispered, and Reuben stepped away to allow the driver to take her away.
It was then he allowed himself to think about the consequences of his actions.
And he smiled.