Eventually Yours

17 Demure

I felt his eyes upon me the moment he saw me from the street. But that wasn't what let me know who it was that had found me. It was their reaction to him. Everyone in the bar turned, wide eyed and in awe. There was only one man I had ever seen inspire that much interest simply by setting foot in a room.

"How did you find me?" I asked miserably as he took a seat on the stool next to me and signalled the bartender.

"I'm not sure myself," he answered. I didn't question it. I didn't want to. I just took a sip of my brandy and sat in silence. He spoke again after a moment. "Brandy?"

I turned to see him smiling, raising a brow in that way of his. I rolled my eyes and turned away with a sigh.

"I hate wine," I told him. That seemed to catch him off guard.

"What?"

"Wine," I repeated. "Wine and champagne. It's all they ever give the women at those wretched events. Because we can't possibly handle anything stronger."

The corners of his mouth twitched up at that. It annoyed me. Why was he never offended? Why did he find everything I had to say so very amusing?

"I'm sure you're quite capable of handling much more than they give you credit for," he told me and it was my turn to be caught off guard. I glanced his way as the bartender set down a glass of brandy for him as well and he took a sip, not looking my way.

"I didn't mean for them to rope you into this," I told him. "I'm sure it was Elijah. He worries too much. As you can see, I'm perfectly whole and unharmed."

"Yes," he answered after far too long of a pause for inspection. "It seems so. However, this late at night in places like this, you have to be careful. Men-"

"That one in the corner smoking a pipe said some vulgar things to me the moment I walked in. The other two, friends of his I imagine, have been ogling me since I sat down," I told him and his head snapped in their direction while something that seemed remarkably like anger flashed in his dark eyes. "I'm not unused to men, Your Grace. I know you think I'm some doe-eyed teenager but I'm aware of the way the world works."

I downed the rest of my glass and slammed it down onto the counter, standing and turning for the exit. He reached out and grabbed my arm and something like lightning shot through my veins. His lips parted in surprise as though he'd felt it as well.

"You found her!"

We both turned to see Benthem entering the bar, tie undone, shirt unbuttoned, and hair a mess as he relieved the tension in his shoulders and approached, clapping the Duke on the back with a hand.

"Listen, Ella, Madison feels absolutely dreadful about what happened between you. Whatever she said to make you run off like that, I'm sure-"

"Madison?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes," Benthem answered, brow creasing in confusion. "She said the two of you had an argument and that's why you ran off."

"Oh," I replied, thanking my lucky stars to have had a friend like Madison in that moment. I couldn't bear the mortification if the Duke or anyone else for that matter, had discovered the true reason I had fled the ball this evening. I couldn't help but glance at him now, watching me as curiously as he always did, as if I was a puzzle he needed to solve. "Of course. Well, I'm very sorry for running off like that. As upset as I was with... Madison, I shouldn't have worried you so."

"It's Elijah you'll be needing to apologize to," Benthem told me with a frown. "Come. Let's go and find him before the boy rips all of his hair out. Victor, you should return to the party. Tell the Earl and the Countess that Ella took ill and Elijah and I drove her home."