Page 110 of From Rakes to Riches

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Once the Cascade show had ended and the crowd dispersed, Lola hurried to the pavilion, located Sofia and together they’d walked home with her brothers. Yet Lola had waited until she was upstairs in her room with Sofia before she’d revealed what had happened.

“You need to tell Bow Street,” Sofia repeated for the umpteenth time.

“I don’t think it will make any difference. I didn’t see the man who threatened me. I have nothing to share except his words, and I’ve learned from the past that words mean little without proof,” Lola insisted. “I don’t want the Runners to take an interest in me and start prying into my life.”

The thought of lawmen pressuring her to answer more questions was distressing enough, but if they somehow connected her to what had happened in Ipswich, her greatest fear of being discovered would be realized. She’d have to run away again and she wasn’t ready to leave behind her new life and friends.

OrTheodore.

Nevertheless, the threatening experience had left her shaken. The stranger had called her by name. She supposed being the only rope walker at Vauxhall, the information was available, but that didn’t calm her nerves. And she couldn’t tell Sofia how frightened she felt because Sofia would try to protect her. She would tell her brothers or worse, tell Marco. Sofia was a good friend and meant well, but none of those possibilities helped Lola.

“Please, Sofia, keep my secret.”

“But I worry about you. What if this man is watching you? What if he intends to harm you?”

“He was just trying to scare me,” Lola said with false confidence. “And he did. From now on whenever I go out, I will be more careful. And since I have no plans to invite his anger, I think this was a single incident.”

“But what if it isn’t?” Sofia went on, her voice growing anxious as she waved her hands for emphasis.

“I can take care of myself.” She had, for over two years now.

“What about the earl?” Sofia asked with her brows raised. “I think he fancies you. He would want you to be safe. You should tell him. He can protect you.”

“No,” Lola said firmly. “He would follow me around just like Marco. Besides, what does it matter if he fancies me? We are as different as the sun and the moon.” Her heart turned over. She was such a liar. She was drawn to him with the same intensity he’d expressed this afternoon.

“Dio mio!The sun needs the moon. They work together to balance the world in light and dark.” Sofia tutted her tongue as if Lola was a child who didn’t understand. “An earl’s attention would make my heartbeat race.”

“I think you have that reversed,” Lola teased hoping to ease the mood. “If you caught an earl’s attention, your brothers would race to chase him away.”

“Aah, I suppose that is true,” Sofia scoffed. “Anyway, I should return now and see if my overbearing brothers are ready for dinner. Are you feeling better? Do you want me to come back upstairs later?”

“No, I’m fine.” Lola returned her friend’s smile. “And you’re just downstairs if I need you.”

“Sì. Now lock your door.” Sofia paused before she entered the hall. “I will tell Alessandro to check the downstairs door as well.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine,” Lola said before she closed the door and turned the latch. Now if only she could convince herself.

When the sunrose the next morning, Lola hadn’t changed her mind. She wasn’t going to Bow Street, but she would go out. Years ago, as a child in Ipswich, whenever something disappointing happened, her mother took Lola and her sister, Anna, shopping for a new hair ribbon or sweet treat.

Remembering that long ago feeling of her mother’s love and concern, Lola left the boarding house and walked a few blocks until she found a hackney for hire. She directed the driver to Bond Street and settled on the seat, taking in the passing scenery as she approached the better part of London. Little by little, the world around her changed.

Men and women in serviceable gray work clothes and stained aprons transformed into gentlemen in distinguished trousers with embroidered waistcoats or ladies dressed in fashionable day gowns of lace-trimmed muslin and imported cotton. Blocks of tightly pressed rental houses and run-down tenements evolved into stately town houses with brick-faced facades, set back from the curb where only decorative pots of lavender marked the entryway. If she needed another reminder of thedifference between her world and the earl’s, she’d only had to take a ride this morning.

She paid the driver when they reached Bond Street, the hour not long after ten. Window shopping was always enjoyable, but perhaps she’d indulge and purchase something special to ward off the uneasy emotions alive in her heart. She’d developed strong feelings for Theodore. Dare she label it love?

But the situation at Vauxhall last evening and the threatening stranger with his knife at her back provided her a convenient reason to avoid the earl. He’d take one look at her face and know something was wrong because, for no reason she could explain, they’d connected on some strange soul-knowing level. Then he’d ask questions she had no intention of answering and that could only lead to an argument. So, it was for the best to avoid him. Even if she knew she was behaving like a coward.

Theodore directedhis driver to Lola’s address and climbed into his carriage. The card game this evening was still several hours away and his usual restlessness had taken hold. Even though Lola had insisted he not escort her home last night, he wanted, no, heneededto see she was safe. In truth, he needed more. To touch her and breathe her in. Or maybe these were all just excuses to visit her today. He wouldn’t lie to himself.

He’d spent most of the morning meeting with his man-of-all-things, assured Wyndham would make all the necessary arrangements for their travel to Ipswich. Theodore hoped speaking to Fremont’s valet would prove beneficial. Usually, a gentleman’s valet was an invaluable asset, a servant who provided many purposes beyond dressing. Even though Theodore doubted his friend disclosed confidential matters, if Timmons shared knowledge of Fremont’s mood or some strange meeting or appointment, the information might shed light onthe issue. If Timmons was aware Fremont kept a journal and knew where the book was kept, then that would be worth its weight in gold.

Everything was interconnected and complicated, tangled together like knots in a rope. His thoughts turned to Margaret and the confessions she’d made the day before about having been involved with Lord Mowbray. It certainly added another layer of difficulty to the matter.

The carriage rolled to a stop and shook him to the present. With any luck, Lola would be pleased to see him. As he stepped down, he wondered if that was a fool’s wish. He mounted the stairs and knocked on the door to the boarding house. It opened immediately and a young woman stared up at him.

“Lola isn’t here,” she said with a coy smile. “I’m Sofia Gallo. I live with my brothers in the rooms on the first floor.”

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