Whirlwind Wedding

Miles looked him up and down then slanted a pointed glance at the mantel clock. 'Ten a.m. is a bit early for dressing in formal wear… or am I simply not privy to the latest fashion trend?'

'I'm not on my way out,' Austin said barely keeping his impatience in check.

'Ah. Then you must be on your way in. From where, I wonder? You're looking a bit ragged about the edges.'

'I was at my club, if you must know.' Austin made an exaggerated show of looking about the room. 'Where is the rest of my esteemed family? Hiding behind the draperies?'

'Your mother and Caroline are visiting the jeweler. Robert and Elizabeth are also out-where, I do not know.'

Austin strode across the study floor, paused at the decanters, then moved on. He'd had more than enough brandy at White's last night. And instead of finding the oblivion he'd sought, all he'd gotten was a wretched throbbing headache… and a loss of several hundred pounds at the faro table.

'You seem nervous,' Miles remarked from his chair.

He halted and realized with no small amount of irritation that he'd been pacing. 'I'm not nervous.'

'Really? I've seen gentlemen poised on the brink of imminent fatherhood who were more relaxed than you.'

Imminent fatherhood. The casual remark stung like salt on an open wound. Smothering a vicious curse, Austin walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. Staring through the glass with unseeing eyes, he concentrated on bludgeoning back the torturous images conjured up by the words imminent fatherhood.

He'd almost succeeded when his attention was snagged by a hired hack stopping in front of his town house. The door swung opened and Robert stepped out, his lips pressed into a grim line. He reached in and offered a hand and Elizabeth alighted. Her face appeared pale, her eyes huge.

Austin's fingers gripped the heavy velvet draperies. Where the hell had they gone? And why the hell had they taken a hack?

As he watched Robert again offered a hand assisting another woman down. She was small and thin, a dull brown bonnet covering her hair. When she turned Austin saw her face.

Black bruises surrounded her eyes, and her bottom lip was swollen and cracked. Recognition hit him like a plank to the head.

It was Molly, the serving wench, the whore, from the

Filthy Swine. God Almighty, what the hell was going on? Did she have information about Gaspard? Why were Elizabeth and Robert with her?

Dropping the curtain back into place, he strode from the room, ignoring Miles's questioning look. He arrived in the foyer just as the trio walked through the door. Elizabeth and Robert supported Molly on either side. The ragged woman looked about ready to drop to the floor.

'Don't worry, Molly,' Elizabeth was saying. 'Just a few more steps and you'll be settled in a comfortable bed. Then we'll take a look at your injuries.'

'What the hell is going on?' Austin asked his gaze alternating among the three of them.

Molly visibly recoiled at his harsh tone and cowered closer to Elizabeth.

'It's all right, Molly,' Elizabeth said. She looked at Robert. 'Will you escort Molly to the yellow guest chamber and instruct Katie to prepare a bath? I'll join you in a few moments.'

'Of course.' Easily supporting the frail woman's weight, Robert led her toward the stairs.

Elizabeth turned her attention to Austin. 'May I speak with you? Privately?'

'I was about to make the same request,' Austin said in a tight voice. Recalling he'd left Miles in his study, he led the way to the library and closed the door behind them. He watched Elizabeth cross to the center of the room, then turn to face him. Her face was completely devoid of color, and her eyes appeared like haunted circles against the stark background. The need to draw her into his arms nearly overwhelmed him, angering him at his own weakness for her.

He approached her slowly, deliberately. He'd half expected her to retreat, but she stood in place, her hands folded in front of her, her eyes steady on his.

When only two feet separated them, he halted. God how he missed her. Her warmth and smile. The sound of her laughter. Forget that! It's over. Gone. She doesn't want you.

Hurt and anger pumped through him, but he schooled his features into a cold mask and simply waited for her to speak.

Elizabeth stared at her husband's icy expression and her already cramped stomach tightened further. His glacial demeanor indicated she faced a battle with him, and it was one she was determined to win.

Lifting her chin a notch, she said 'I suppose you're wondering why Molly is here.'

He cocked a single brow. 'How astute you are. Yes, I would like an explanation, not only as to why a whore is in my town house, but also how she came to be here.'

Elizabeth's temper flared. 'I don't want you to call her that… word.'

'Why? That's what she is.'

'Not any longer.'

'Indeed? What is she now?'

She had so many things to tell him, and time was short. She had to examine Molly, and then she had to prepare for a trip. There simply wasn't time for elaborate explanations. Searching for a suitable answer to his question, one popped into her mind and she seized it. 'She's now a lady's maid. My lady's maid.'

If the situation had been the least bit amusing, she would have laughed at his shocked expression.

'I beg your pardon?'

'I've hired Molly to assist Katie with my, er, vast wardrobe.'

His hand shot out, fast as lightning, and gripped her upper arm. 'What nonsense is this?'

She tried to jerk her arm from his grasp, but he tightened his hold fueling her temper. 'This morning I happened to touch the jacket I wore the night we went to the Filthy Swine, and I had a vision. I saw Molly being beaten and I had to stop it. I convinced Robert to take me to the docks-'

'Robert took you to the docks!'

'Yes.' Fury flashed in his eyes and she quickly added 'Please don't be angry with him. After I pleaded and explained the dire circumstances to him-that a friend was in terrible danger-he agreed to help me, but not until I'd promised to remain in the safety of the carriage. When we arrived we discovered Molly huddled in an alley, beaten and robbed.'

She drew a deep breath. 'She'd left the Filthy Swine the night we met her and taken a small room above a warehouse. The men who robbed her took everything she'd managed to save in the hopes of starting a new life.' A shudder shook through her. 'Dear God Austin, the reason she even had enough coins for someone to steal was because we gave them to her that night.' Drawing herself up to her full height she said 'I intend to help her.'

'Yes, that much is clear.' His fingers tightened like a vise around her arm. The chill had melted from his eyes, replaced by white hot anger. 'However, did you even once consider the danger you placed yourself in by going there?'

'I did not go alone.'

'Do you honestly believe that meant you were safe? You could have easily been beaten and robbed yourself. Or worse.'

Under other circumstances, his anger, the heat in his gaze, might have led her to believe that he cared what happened to her.

But of course, he wouldn't want her harmed if she carried his child.

'Not only did you place yourself and my clearly idiotic brother in danger,' he continued his voice a low growl, 'but you obviously didn't consider how scandalous it is that you went to the docks and that you brought her here.'

'Scandalous? To help a beaten woman? Well, I don't care. And if it's her former occupation that concerns you, I have no intention of sharing that information with anyone. Molly certainly is not going to boast about it, and I trust Robert to keep it a secret.' She raised her brows. 'Do you intend to tell anyone?'

'No.' He let go of her arm and tunneled his fingers through his hair. 'But servants gossip. Word is certain to get