Page 31 of Charming the Accidental Suitor
He overtook the Earl. “What about Felicity?”
They climbed into the coach and it set off promptly. Marlin, it turned out, truly did not know much. Only that Jane had relayed a message from Felicity and it was frustratingly brief.
If you wish to catch Everson, be at the warehouse. The time and date was today, in…
Albright consulted his pocket watch. In mere minutes.
“What is she planning?” He wasn’t actually asking Marlin. It was clear the Earl was just as in the dark as he was. He was talking to himself and trying his best not to panic. But all he could remember was that look in her eyes as she’d backed away from him the other night.
That look held fear and panic and…
And desperation.
And he’d done nothing to stop her, nothing to calm her. He’d done nothing but stare, lost behind a fiery wall of emotions he’d been unable to conquer.
Not until it was too late, at least.
He’d come back the very next day. And every day after. He’d done his best to talk to her. Because while her proposal had seemed to be in jest, there was more to it than that.
And she deserved to know why he’d acted the way he had. Why he’d been so callous and curt.
But right now all that mattered was getting to Felicity before she got herself hurt. He turned to Marlin as the coach seemed to crawl through the crowded streets of London. “Did Jane know anything more?”
Marlin shook his head with a frown. “She only relayed the message. But she did say Felicity was…out of sorts.”
Albright’s heart pounded. He hated the idea of Felicity upset, and hated it even more that his boorish demeanor might have something to do with it. “How was she out of sorts? Was she upset? Was she…” His heart twisted. “Was she crying?”
Marlin shook his head. “No, nothing like that. According to Jane, she was…quiet.” He said the word slowly, as if trying to make sense of it.
Albright’s heart fumbled. “Quiet.”
Marlin nodded, his lips thinned. “I personally do not see someone being quiet as cause for alarm?—”
“But it is,” Albright interjected. “It is most definitely cause for alarm when that someone is Felicity.”
“Yes,” Marlin murmured. “That is precisely what Jane said.”
“Did Jane say anything else?” Albright asked.
Marlin hesitated. “Only that she and her friends are worried. Apparently there was a…” Here Marlin paused to wave a hand in front of his face. “A look.”
“A look,” Albright repeated.
If Marlin were a man to fidget, Albright suspected this would be the time for it. Instead he grew even more serious as he repeated. “A look. In her eyes.”
When Albright continued to stare at him, Marlin gave a helpless shrug. “I apologize, that’s all she said. It’s not terribly useful, is it?”
But it was. Albright swallowed hard and nodded. “It is useful. Please give my thanks to Jane when you next see her.”
Unfortunately, he was nearly certain he knew exactly what Jane meant. It was likely a similar look to the one he’d seen in her eyes just before she’d left him by the tree.
And if that was her state when she’d hatched this plan…
His heart felt like it might explode with an all-consuming fear that was horribly familiar. He’d felt it only once before when his wife was on her deathbed and he’d been unable to do anything to help her.
It was a useless feeling. It made him powerless and left his whole body drowning in dread. And…blast.
He’d told himself he’d never experience it again. That he’d neverlethimself feel this way.
