“There is no need.” She tried to get away from him, but he simply tightened his grip.
“We’ve discussed this, I’m not doing so again. Now what has you suddenly upset?”
“Do you always get your own way?” She ignored his question.
“I have seven siblings; I’m not sure how you think I would.”
“Are you the eldest then?”
“No. I sit at the top end, however.”
“Interesting.”
“Why is that interesting?” Daniel maneuvered her around something that smelled foul.
“You remind me of my eldest brother, Gabe.”
“Strong and silent?”
“Determined and unrelenting in the pursuit of what he wants. Gabe believes he also knows best what his siblings need or want, even if they don’t agree.”
He laughed. “I am the first, but the second describes my brother. He is the eldest.”
“And you respect him very much, I can tell by the way you speak of him.”
He did respect Oliver, but that was only part of what he felt for his brother. His emotions had changed over the last few years and were complex. He just wasn’t sure why they had undergone that change as yet.
“He is a good man.”
“But?”
“Must there be a but?” He watched something move in the shadows up ahead. He tugged Abby closer.
“What is wrong?”
“Nothing. Now tell me why you think there is a but.” A man and a woman walked out of the shadows, and he relaxed his shoulders.
“Well, there is just something reserved about the way you mention your brother’s name. Of course, I do not know you very well, but I still sensed something.”
Daniel did not share what was inside him, especially the dark thoughts, as they were foolish, and he should be able to dismiss them. Strangely, he couldn’t.
“My brother left when I was young and did not reappear for many years.”
“And you resent him for leaving?”
Yes. How had she come to that realization when others who were closer to him hadn’t?
“No. He did what had to be done. What of you, Abby? Tell me of your family.” He had no wish to continue with this line of conversation.
“There is not much to tell. Only that I am the only woman in my family since my mother passed. I have four brothers, all older.”
Daniel whistled. “That can’t have been easy.”
“They are protective.” She sighed. “Extremely so.”
“Do they know you were in that tavern tonight? And walking the streets of London alone?”
“But I am not alone; you are here.”
“You’re avoiding the question, Abby, and I am a stranger to them and you.”
“We are no longer strangers. After all, I watched you play your flute so beautifully.”
“Do they know where you are?” he persisted.
“No, and they would not be pleased if they did.”
“What of your employer? Is she a fair-minded woman?”
“Yes.” Just the one word. She did not elaborate, which told Daniel that maybe she was not happy in her work. “And now I am to leave you here.”
“Where is your residence?” Daniel looked around them.
“Up there.” She pointed to a row of terrace houses.
“I will walk you there.”
“There is no need.”
“Abby—” Before he could finish those words, she’d risen to her toes and kissed him.
He swallowed down the moan as his body responded to her nearness again. Wrapping his arms around her, he deepened the kiss. Daniel urged her lips open, needing more of her. Her arms slid around his neck, pressing her curves into his chest.
“Daniel.” She eased back and pressed her fingers to his lips as he tried to kiss her once more. Their eyes caught and held. “I—”
He didn’t know what she wanted to say, as the sound of a carriage rumbling toward them caused him to looked away briefly, and Abby took that moment to wrench from his arms and run.
“Wait!” He followed, but in seconds she’d disappeared into the darkness. “Abby!”
He listened for her footsteps, but even those had gone. Silence settled around him, and Daniel want to roar into it as he continued to walk up and down streets searching with no success.
He knew she was Abby Little, a governess. Surely, that was a good place to start looking for her. Why had she run away from him? Tomorrow, he would find her no matter what it took, because he needed to see her again.
Chapter 5
Wandering into the breakfast parlour, Abby swallowed yet another yawn.
“Good morning, Abigail.”
“Good morning, Gabriel,” she greeted her eldest brother. Abby then nodded to the other three who responded with a grunt. Gabe was the only one among them who liked mornings.
“I was home early last night, Abby, and came to say goodnight to you. I knocked and when you did not answer I tried your door. It was locked.”
Stay calm, they did not know.
“I retired early, Gabe.” Like her eldest brother, she was an early riser. Today, however, she struggled to leave her bed. She’d not slept well, as her thoughts had been consumed with Daniel.
Just his name had her stomach fluttering. The man had made her feel so many emotions in just the few hours they’d spent together. It had been a night she would hold close in her memories for a long time. A night she’d never have again. She felt the ridiculous need to weep at that thought.
He’d kissed her, laughed with her, and talked… really talked to her.
But she’d deceived Daniel, and that had kept her awake. Abby tried to never lie unless absolutely necessary. Necessary times usually involved her brothers. What would Daniel think of her if he ever found out she was actually an earl’s daughter?
“Good morning to you, Fairfax,” she said to the butler, who was standing just inside the door trying to blend into the furnishings.
“Good morning, my lady.”
“And how is Penny today? Has her burn healed?”
Fairfax was tall, on the slender side, but as strong as an ox. He never raised his voice and was always calm in the eye of a storm, of which there were plenty in the Deville household.
“Indeed, that salve has
