Her body should have melted into his. Instead it stiffened into stone. Although she would be forever grateful to him for coming for her, he was still the man who didn’t want her. She was afraid that if she let herself find comfort in his embrace she wouldn’t be able to let go of him when they arrived at Finchley House.
‘She told me she had hired someone who would dispose of me later tonight. We were fortunate he did not return.’ She rubbed her forehead. ‘What do you think will happen to her?’ she asked into the darkness.
Julian shrugged. ‘She will not say anything about tonight. She would be sealing her fate at the gallows. I will make certain her debts are called in tomorrow. If she cannot pay them, as I suspect she can’t, she will be taken to debtors’ prison.’
She turned to him and met his gaze for the first time in the dim light of the carriage lantern. ‘Won’t her family help her?’
‘I do not believe so. I do not know the particulars, but I am aware that she does not speak to her brother.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Are you in need of a physician? Were you harmed?’
The sound of his true concern was evident. It was breaking her heart all over again.
Katrina shook her head. ‘There is no need. I have come to no harm.’
It occurred to her that the last time they had spoken it had been in a carriage such as this. As far as she knew, this might even be the same carriage they had travelled in.
She hugged herself tighter as the shards of her heart crashed around her chest. ‘How did you find me?’
‘I saw you taken from the terrace. I followed you out to the mews and was lucky to find Hart’s driver parked nearby. We tracked you to the crypt.’
Silence stretched between them. After some time Julian cleared his throat. ‘We will be arriving at the Finchleys’ soon. As much as it unnerves me to leave you alone, I will enter the ball and send Miss Forrester out to bring you back in through the garden. Although it’s a masquerade, and everyone is in disguise, it would be best to have her with you to ensure your reputation.’ He appeared to realise his commanding nature. ‘With your permission, of course.’
Katrina nodded. This night could not end soon enough for her liking.
They travelled the remainder of the way to the house in silence. It didn’t take long before the carriage slowed, made a number of sharp turns, and eventually came to a stop. They were back at Finchley House.
She felt the hesitation when Julian withdrew his arm from around her shoulder. ‘Thank you, Julian, for coming after me.’
He gave her a solemn nod. ‘I am truly sorry,’ he replied before he opened the door. Looking at her one last time, he turned and left her.
Katrina didn’t have the physical or emotional energy to try to determine what he was sorry for, and she rested her head back on the squab while she waited for Sarah. It wasn’t long before the door opened and Sarah jumped inside.
‘Oh, thank God you are back,’ Sarah said, throwing her arms around Katrina and hugging her.
Katrina knew she would have to walk through the ballroom as if nothing harrowing had happened. In order to do that, she could not allow herself to sob in Sarah’s arms. It was taking all her effort to remain composed.
‘I was so very worried,’ Sarah continued. ‘Hartwick told me you had been taken. I made an excuse to my mother about you being sick. I told her you must have eaten something disagreeable and that when your stomach was better it probably would be wise for us to leave.’ She hugged her again. ‘Dear God, you’re shaking.’
Sarah took off her highwayman’s black cape and draped it around Katrina’s shoulders.
‘How long have I been gone?’
‘A little over two hours.’ She ran her hands up and down Katrina’s arms. ‘Are you well? Did they harm you? Who was it that took you?’
Although Katrina was relieved to see her friend, Sarah’s chattering was making her head pound. She quietly relayed all the details of what had happened as she donned the mask Sarah had handed her and they re-entered the garden to find Sarah’s mother.
Hopefully, it would be easy to get her to agree to leave the ball. Katrina just wanted to be safe—in her home. She should have learned that standing alone on a terrace during a ball was never a good idea.
* * *
Katrina entered her home an hour later. The familiar smell of lemon oil in the entrance hall made her muscles soften. She was home. She was safe. If only she could sleep for days.
She was well on her way to bed when her foot landed on the fifth tread of the staircase and it creaked.
‘Katrina, is that you?’ Her father’s voice called to her from the direction of his study.
She was about to call out her answer when he entered the hall in his dressing gown. It took all her effort not to run into his arms. ‘You are up rather late,’ she said.
‘I could not sleep. Did you enjoy yourself at the ball?’
She had never been able to lie to him. So she simply pasted on a smile.
‘Come with me to my study and you can tell me all about it while I put my papers in order.’
Reluctantly, Katrina walked down the stairs and followed him. He moved behind his massive desk, closed his inkwell, and shuffled through his papers.
‘Was the music to your liking?’
She nodded.
‘And the costumes? I imagine some were rather elaborate?’
Again, she nodded.
This time he looked at her over the rim of his glasses and tilted his head. When he narrowed his gaze on her, she shifted on her feet. He grabbed at her right hand from across his desk.
‘What has happened? Why do your wrists look as if you have been bleeding?’
She tugged her hand out of his. ‘It is nothing.’
‘Nothing!’ He stepped out from behind his desk to stand in front of her. ‘You have been injured. Was there an accident? Why was I not informed?’
His concern was too much. She could no longer continue the pretence that she was unaffected by what had happened. She threw her arms around her stunned father and held him tight.
Thankfully, he didn’t say anything when she began to cry. He just hugged her and patted her back as he had done when she was a little girl.
He waited patiently until she had finished crying before he spoke. ‘Tell me what happened.’
She took a deep breath and stepped back from him. ‘I am fine. Know that. The only harm that has come to me are these bruises on my wrists.’
He nodded, but there was wariness in his eyes. He guided her to a chair and she curled up on it. She told him what had happened and he listened without interrupting.
It wasn’t until she had finished that he finally spoke. ‘I knew any association you had with Lyonsdale would not end well.’
‘It is not his fault. You cannot blame him for what that woman did.’
Her father stood and paced the room. ‘That woman would not have done what she did if it weren’t for his interest in you.’
‘It is not as if he intended for this to happen.’
‘Why are you defending him?’ he demanded.
‘I’m not. However, I do find it grossly unfair to blame the man when the fault lies elsewhere.’
He stopped pacing and came to her. ‘We will agree to disagree on