“Hmm?” Teddy glanced in her direction but didn’t really look at her. She was too distracted.
“Teddy,” Billie said firmly. “What is so important that you’re ignoring every word I say?”
“Nothing,” she replied noncommittally. “I’m a little tired.”
Billie sighed. “I don’t believe you, but I am not going to make you tell me something you clearly do not want to.”
“Thank you.” Teddy tried her best to give her sister her complete attention. “I do appreciate your kindness.”
“Now you’re condescending.” Billie snorted. “Are you certain you’re tired? I was going to suggest a nap, but what I think you really need is some exercise to clear the cobwebs from your mind.”
Teddy frowned. Her sister might be correct. She’d been maudlin all day and staying indoors wasn’t helping her mood. “That is a suggestion I do believe I’ll take. If you don’t mind, I’m going to have my maid accompany me for a walk in Hyde Park. A stroll along Rotten Row might help.”
“I can go with you…”
“No,” Teddy said decisively. She waved her hand dismissively. “I need time to myself. I love you, but you’ve been hovering over me for days. Go annoy your husband. I’m certain he’ll enjoy your attentions.”
Billie’s lips twitched. “He might.”
“I do not want to know what idea you suddenly have regarding your husband.” Teddy put her fingers in her ears. “Say nothing.”
Her sister reached over and pulled on one of Teddy’s arms. “Stop being obtuse. As if I’d enlighten you on the details pertaining to the inner workings of my marriage. You are unmarried, and these things are not discussed with those that are still…innocent.”
“I’m not as ignorant as you believe me to be.” She hated that Billie was acting as if marriage made her more worldly. “You’re the one being condescending now. Since I don’t have to listen to your cryptic statements, I’m choosing to leave. Besides, my tea is cold.”
Billie threw her hands up in the air and blew out a frustrated breath. “That’s what I asked you.”
“No you didn’t,” Teddy insisted. “I’d have remembered that.”
“Go before I give in and smack you.” Her mouth formed a thin white line.
Had she asked her if tea was cold? She might’ve, now that Teddy thought about it. Billie had been talking, but she’d been barely paying attention. Her mind was stuck on one topic—Viscount Carrolton and his liaison with the widow. Somehow, she had to find something else to occupy her time and her thoughts. She stood and said, “I am going now. Do enjoy the surprise you have for your husband, and remember not to tell me about it.”
Teddy exited the sitting room before Billie did slap her. She’d overstepped and honestly didn’t care. Billie had become overbearing of late, and Teddy was tired of it. She went in search of her maid, who she found polishing her shoes. “Mary, I am going for a walk and need you to accompany me. Please meet me in the foyer in a quarter hour. I need to retrieve my wrap and bonnet.” There was a chill in the air, and she didn’t want to catch a cold.
After she had her wrap and bonnet, she went down to join Mary. Her maid was waiting for her near the front entrance. “Are you ready, milady?”
Teddy tied her bonnet in place, then nodded. “Let’s go.”
They walked in silence as they headed in the direction of Hyde Park. It was past the normal social hour when most of the ton decided to promenade, but there might still be some gentry in Rotten Row. Teddy didn’t normally walk in Hyde Park so close to the social hour. She didn’t want to see anyone or be noticed either. She wanted to be left alone, but today she needed to walk off her frustrations and get some fresh air.
They reached the park, and Teddy went down the path to the Serpentine, ahead of her maid. Teddy didn’t pay much attention to what her maid did and kept a bruising pace. She had an affinity for bodies of water. While she’d been honest when she told Lord Carrolton she didn’t swim, she hadn’t told him that she found ponds, lakes, and rivers soothing. The Thames was not pleasant to be around as the stench could be unbearable. She preferred the Serpentine.
“Lady Theodora,” a man said. “How fortuitous I should cross your path again.”
Teddy turned around and froze. It was the evil man again. What had Lord Carrolton called him again? “Lord Eaton,” she said coolly. “I assure you I do not return the sentiment. There’s nothing fortuitous about this meeting. What do you want?”
He took a step closer to her. Teddy took a step back until she was near the water’s edge. She wished she had someplace to retreat too. If she stepped back any farther she might end up in the lake. He sneered. “What I want, my dear, is what I was denied three years ago.”
“I do not know what you are referring to.” She held her chin high. “I owe you nothing.”
“That’s where you are wrong, my dear. You owe me a great deal, but I’ll settle with having you under me first. We can work out the rest later.”
Teddy swallowed the lump in her throat. As she’d told Billie earlier, she wasn’t ignorant of what happened in the marriage bed. The baron wanted to take her innocence, and she was certain he wouldn’t offer marriage first.
She glanced past him, searching for Mary and frowned. Her maid was lying on the ground beneath a tree. Teddy’s heart raced as she frantically searched for a way to escape. “What did you do to my maid?”
He took another step. “Don’t worry about the chit. Soon you’ll have other things to concern yourself with.” He snagged her wrist in his grasp. Pain shot through her arm.
“You’re hurting me.” Her voice wobbled as she spoke.
Lord Eaton laughed. It was a menacing sound that chilled her. “You have no idea what pain is, but
