‘And my mother. I need to know she’s safe.’ Lady Elizabeth’s eyes were flicking over the crowd, the tension evident. He knew the moment she spotted her mother, saw the relief blossom on her face.
‘She’s moving in the same direction as us, further away from the fire. You can meet up with her in the street. The crowd will be impossible to get through until it thins a little.’
People were standing around dazed outside and Josh was horrified to realise no one had started to organise the effort to put out the blaze. There were shouts of ‘Fire,’ and people from nearby buildings had started flooding onto the streets, but as yet everyone was just looking in awe at the smoke billowing from the opera house, seemingly mesmerised by it.
He led Lady Elizabeth through the crowd, making sure she was a good half a street away from the fire before stopping and facing her.
‘Are you hurt?’ He looked over her, taking in the mussed-up hair and smudge of soot on her cheek. Without thinking for who might see, he raised his hand and gently rubbed the smudge away, feeling the softness of her skin beneath his fingers. He let his fingertips rest on her cheek for a moment even when the smudge was gone, before remembering where they were and what was happening.
‘Just a little shaken.’
‘You’re safe, you’re out of the fire.’
He glanced over his shoulder, not wanting to leave her but knowing he had to help put out the blaze or it would be more than just the opera house that burned today.
‘You’re going back.’
‘It takes a lot of water and a lot of men to fight a fire like this.’
She nodded and he saw her visibly square her shoulders and straighten her back.
‘Then I want to help.’
‘No, it is too dangerous.’
‘Mr Ashburton, you have no say whatsoever on what I do. You are neither my father nor my husband and as such I would thank you to keep your orders to yourself.’
‘You’re not going back near that burning building,’ he said, gripping hold of her hand.
‘I’m not stupid. I won’t go back inside. But I can help with the chain of water. I’m just as capable as any man of passing a bucket up a line.’
He eyed her for a moment, seeing the determined set to her jaw and the steely look in her eye.
‘Promise me you’ll keep right back.’
‘I promise.’
He had the urge to kiss her, to take her in his arms and kiss her without caring who else saw. Josh even felt himself take a step towards her, but quickly he caught himself. This wasn’t the time or the place for any romantic gesture and Lady Elizabeth was not the woman he should be bestowing a kiss on.
Chapter Six
The smoke was billowing out of the opera house now, great black clouds coming from the windows and the roof. Mr Ashburton still held her by the hand and Beth found the contact more reassuring than she would like to admit. Never before had she been in a fire, but she knew of the devastating consequences they could bring. Only a few weeks ago a cottage near their country estate had caught fire and now it was a blackened husk rather than the family home it had once been.
‘Leo,’ Mr Ashburton called, diverting from his original path and leading her over to his brother.
Leonard Ashburton was doubled over coughing, but he managed to straighten as they approached. His eyes flicked curiously to where his brother held her hand and quickly Beth pulled away, coming up short as Joshua Ashburton continued forward to embrace his brother.
‘Thank goodness you’re safe.’
‘You too. I was worried as you were still in the box, closest to the fire.’
‘We need to organise a water line.’
‘We do or the whole street will soon be in flames. Might I suggest we find your mother, Lady Elizabeth, and she can take you back home?’
Beth wanted to find her mother, to reassure herself that she really was safe and well, but there was no way she was going home when she might be of use, even in a very small way.
‘Thank goodness you’ve not been hurt, Elizabeth.’ Her mother pushed through the crowd to the left of them and came and embraced her daughter stiffly. Even after such a horrific experience Lady Hummingford still struggled to hold Elizabeth for more than a few seconds and even that felt uncomfortable and forced. ‘Thank you for getting her to safety, Mr Ashburton.’
Beth had to suppress a smile as her mother looked between the two men in front of her, still struggling to tell them apart.
‘It is my brother we have to thank, Lady Hummingford. He escorted Lady Elizabeth from the opera house.’
‘Thank you, Mr Ashburton.’ Her eyes narrowed slightly as they settled on Josh, and Beth could tell her mother was wondering why the wrong Mr Ashburton had been the one to play her hero.
Mr Joshua Ashburton nodded briefly, then excused himself and began hurrying back over to the entrance of the opera house. She heard him shout a few words, gathering the men in the crowd close to him and issuing instructions. He looked as if he were born to lead, a natural at giving orders and expecting them to be followed. Beth found herself watching him with interest for a few moments before remembering what was happening and the company she was in.
‘I must go help my brother,’ Leonard Ashburton said, bowing formally to her and her mother.
‘Come, Elizabeth, we should go home. I have no idea where the carriage will be but I’m sure we can walk a little way without too much trouble.’
‘I’m not leaving, Mama. Not yet.’
As Lady Hummingford looked at her in surprise Beth squared her shoulders and straightened her spine. If she was
