Page 111 of From Rakes to Riches

“Hello, Miss Gallo. Lola has spoken highly of your friendship,” Theodore said. “I am Lord Essex.”

“I thought so.” Sofia’s smile grew wider. “Lola has mentioned you.”

A knowing beat passed between them.

“But she isn’t here this morning, my lord,” Sofia went on, her expression growing pensive and concerned. “I urged her to go to Bow Street, but if I know her as I think I do, she’s probably only gone out for a walk.”

“Why would she need to go to Bow Street?” he asked, all at once concerned. “Is something wrong?”

“Dio mio!” Sofia huffed and hesitated. “I’ve said too much. Lola will be angry with me.” She stepped out onto the stoop and closed the door so they could speak privately.

“I believe you’ve said exactly what you’d intended to say,” he assured her. “Now please be a good friend to her and tell me why you’re worried.”

“It is better, I think.” Sofia hooked her finger in a loose curl near her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “Lola is always so strong, but in this she needs protection.”

“What happened?” He asked, trying hard to keep a leash on his patience.

“Last night, when Lola watched the Cascade, it was a mob,” Sofia explained. “So many people. It was ridiculous. She was alone in the crowd and a man moved up behind her.” Her words came out quickly now, her hands gesturing in circles in front of her as if to hurry them even faster. “He held her neck so she couldn’t see him or pull away and he pressed a weapon to her back as he told her to mind her business. He said he would hurt her if it happened again.”

Theodore’s chest pounded, his heart in an anxious, angry rhythm. “Is Lola all right? Did she share anything else?”

“Lola is strong. She never shows weakness, but I know she is shaken,” Sofia said. “She didn’t see the man so she thinks it is a waste of time to talk to the Runners. That’s all I know.”

“She doesn’t want to inform Bow Street?”

“No.” Sofia scowled, her own frustration evident. “Lola keeps secrets she doesn’t share with anyone. Not even me. She fears the Runners will pry into her personal life.”

“Did she tell you anything else about this stranger?” he asked.

“Not very much. She couldn’t see him, but Lola said he wasn’t much taller than she. His mouth aligned with her ear when he held her neck.”

“Anything else?” Theodore’s temper ticked up another notch. A man of smaller stature was hardly an effective clue.

“He smelled of cigar smoke and cologne,” Sofia added, a confused grimace on her face. “I know that sounds strange, but that’s all she remembered. It happened very fast.”

“He was a gentleman,” Theodore said, thinking out loud. “Thank you, Miss Gallo. I’m glad you were here to talk to Lola.”

“She is my friend. I don’t want anything to happen to her and please call me Sofia,” she answered, a slight smile making a reappearance. “At least whenever my brothers are not about.”

Lola strolledalong the Bond Street Bazaar, the spacious shopping area one of her favorite spots in all of London. It was a good decision to come here. She felt better just by being outside and away from the confines of her neighborhood. It brought back memories from her past. Good memories. Things she’d kept tucked away, reluctant to revive for fear of the pain they’d cause, but she’d been wrong to ignore them.

She paused before a magnificent window display in front of Harding Howell & Company, one of the city’s finest department stores. The grand scene in the showcase was one of a lavishly decorated drawing room filled with all the wonderful treasures available within the store. It portrayed a life of uncomplicated luxury from the Ormolu clock on the mantel to the decadent Turkish rug gracing the floor. It immediately reminded her of Theodore and the tasteful interior of his home. Like one of the Vauxhall illusions, it tempted her to believe she could fit into such a life.

The next window was tailored more to the lady shopper. An elegant chaise upholstered in crimson velvet sat at the center of the display. Various feminine fripperies were draped throughout the interior, silky robes, frilly hats, hand-stitched leather gloves and delicate imported French underthings. The latter also reminded her of Theodore. The fire in his eyes right before he kissed her was a thing to behold. What would he look like were he to undress her and find a silky bit of lace beneath her skirt?The idea brought a mischievous smile to her lips and when she saw her reflection in the window a bubble of laughter escaped.

Moving on, she walked closer to the entrance of the extravagant shop, but then stopped, frozen in place by what she saw across the street. Her sister was being handed up into a carriage. Lola gasped. But it couldn’t be Anna. Pushing through the cluster of people near the curb, Lola tried to gain a closer look, but it proved a waste of time. The door to the carriage shut and the driver slapped the reins, the equipage fast to move into the flow of traffic and on down the street.

Doubting her eyes, she told herself that while the woman may have looked like Anna, it had to be a mistake. Maybe she’d imagined it, too caught up in reminiscence from the past. Nevertheless, the familiar pain of longing and regret overrode her previous enjoyment. The awful emotions were an ever-present shadow, always at the ready to remind of her choices in the past.

13

Wanting to expend some of his tension, Theodore rode his horse to White’s instead of taking his carriage. After handing off the reins to a stableboy in the mews, he followed the slates leading to the entrance of the club. It was nearly nine o’clock. Time for his game of cards with Huntington and Mowbray.

Time for Lola to walk the rope at Vauxhall.

He’d tried unsuccessfully to find her this afternoon. In a city of over one million people, attempting to locate one petite, fiery-eyed beauty when he had no idea where she’d gone, was an impossible task. Finding Fremont’s killer seemed easier. Theodore hoped tonight’s appointment would provide useful information. Otherwise, he’d rather be at Vauxhall.

These feelings were telling. He cared deeply for Lola and could no longer push the truth away and dismiss it with excuses of lust. But he had no idea if she felt the same. She was maddening. One minute she was pressed up against him, her lips and tongue driving him crazy with desire, and the next she was insisting he keep his distance.

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