Page 28 of A Viscount's Stolen Fortune

William’s thoughts tore at him, and he shook his head to himself. If he was being entirely honest, then yes, he would admit that he had almost pressed a kiss upon Miss Lawrence’s willing lips. Relieved that he had not done so, he had stepped away from the ballroom with his feelings in complete disarray.

Signing to himself, he pushed one hand through his hair and dropped his head. It was just as well he had not done so, for he had no intention of allowing any feelings to arise when it came to Miss Lawrence. The situation was already difficult, and it would offer very little help to either of them to make it all the more confusing.

Dropping his hand, he brought his thoughts back to the present and looked again towards Lord Gillespie’s house. He had been standing quietly, studying it, for the last hour, but thus far there appeared to be no signs of life. There were no flickering candles in the windows, and given that dusk was soon approaching, he would have expected there to be at least one or two lights if anyone was in the house. The front door was firmly closed, the knocker had been removed from the door, and no servants had been seen at any of the windows. To William’s mind, it appeared that Lord Gillespie’s servants were no longer in the house and that no one had come as yet to sort through Lord Gillespie’s things – or to claim the house itself.

Frowning, William tilted his head. He assumed that Lord Gillespie had a younger brother who would take on the title, but such things could take some time, which meant it would be best for him to search the house as soon as possible.

Although this does beg the question of how I am to get inside.

It was not something he had given much thought to. His consideration had been solely on what he would do once he had entered Lord Gillespie’s study, rather than how he was to get inside in the first place. Grimacing, he pressed his lips flat against each other, thinking hard. Perhaps a window or a door to the servants’ entrance would be a little ajar, or even better, left unlocked in the shock and confusion after Lord Gillespie’s death. Mayhap he could just fiddle with a window lock a little, in the hope that it would permit him entry - although he could not imagine Miss Lawrence climbing through a window in a flurry of skirts. A grin spread across his face as he pictured it, which was then swiftly followed by rush of heat when he thought of what such an action might reveal.

“Have you been waiting for long?”

William jumped as Miss Lawrence's voice reached his ears. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had not seen her approaching. The burning heat in his frame doubled as he coughed, trying to regain his composure.

“You appear a little surprised to see me.” Miss Lawrence’s eyes looked back at him steadily. “Did you truly believe that I would not join you this afternoon? Did you think that I would change my mind and decide to remain home with my mama? I have a greater stubbornness of character than that.”

It took William a moment to reply, given that he was struggling with tugging his thoughts away from what he had pictured, his heart still beating furiously. Such a thought had been none too proper and now that he was faced with the object of this unusual, unexpected desire, he was not quite certain what to say. Coughing, he dropped his head for a moment, hoping that he would soon be able to forget such a thing if he was not looking at her.

“I was focusing entirely on watching Lord Gillespie’s house,” he told her, his voice rasping. “That is all.”

“I see.” From the slight curl of her mouth, William was not sure that she believed him. “And have you seen anything of importance?”

William nodded at the house.

“It appears that there is no one present there.” Whenever he could, he pulled his eyes from hers, for looking at her seemed to send his thoughts into turmoil. “I am going to wait until it becomes a little darker and then make my way towards the servants’ entrance.”

“And that is how we are to enter, is it?”

Shrugging as nonchalantly as he could, William threw her a brief smile.

“I am hopeful that we shall find a way in, yes.”

It was not unexpected when Miss Lawrence narrowed her eyes.

“You have no direct plan as to how we are to enter Lord Gillespie’s house?”

“I am certain we shall find a way.” Easing confidence into his voice, William gave her a brief smile. “Are you certain that your absence will not be noticed? Where are your mother and sister this evening?”

Much to his surprise, Miss Lawrence gave a brief laugh.

“Lord Foster, I am very good at being invisible.” Her laugh was not a pleasant one, but rather one that tried to hide pain. “I will show you. I will cross the road and walk directly towards Lord Gillespie’s entrance, and no one will even glance in my direction.”

She did not wait for his permission, nor his agreement, but strode across the road, walking past three other gentlemen - none of whom looked at her - and then turned directly towards Lord Gillespie’s townhouse. No one turned their head towards her. The last thing William saw was her head disappearing as she walked down the stone steps that led to the servants’ entrance.

With a mutter of frustration, he hurried after her, dropping his head as he walked past the same three gentlemen. One of them murmured something that sounded like his name, but he ignored it. A quick glance over his shoulder told him that none were looking back at him, and he scurried quickly down the stone steps - but there was no sign of Miss Lawrence. His heart began to quicken as he looked around, wondering where she could have gone, in what was a very small space. Had he lost her? His heart began to pound as memories of finding Lord Gillespie’s body returned to his mind. Was Miss Lawrence in the same situation? Was the man who had killed Lord Gillespie now returned to snatch away Miss Lawrence? It made very little sense, but the fear drove itself directly into William’s heart, and for a moment he could not breathe.

And then the servants’ door opened.

“Are you simply going to stand there gawping, or are you going to come in?”

Miss Lawrence’s eyes danced as she smiled at him. William’s breath was pouring out of him in heaving gasps, and he found his hand grasping hers as they stepped into the silent house. She was close to him now. The smile in her eyes faded as she searched his face, evidently seeing the concern which had filled him only moments ago.

“I am quite all right. I noticed that the latch was a little loose, and it did not take long for it to open to my prying fingers… and a hair pin.”

She smiled at him, but William did not return the smile, his fingers tight on hers, panic stealing every other emotion from him.

“I thought you might have been...” Closing his eyes, he dropped his head and squeezed her hand as if wanting to make quite certain that she was still very much alive. “This house holds a dark memory for me, Miss Lawrence. I feared that the same person who had overtaken Lord Gillespie had taken you also.”

---