Daniel realized one thing as he looked at Abby: How could he have been so foolish not to see this woman for who she truly was? It was there in small ways, like the tilt of her head and her clothes. It was bred into her bones, and because he’d been so enamored with her, he’d not taken the time to look. That, and the fact he’d believed her story.
He had studied nobility—had to when he’d wanted to live and work among them. They carried themselves differently.
“We see what we want to see,” his mother used to say, and that was certainly the case here. He’d wanted to believe she could be part of his world.
“Good day to you, Lady Abigail.” He stepped back and away from her touch, and the hand she held out to him lowered to her side. She flinched at the formal way he’d addressed her. Not Abby; she’d never be that to him again. Oh, perhaps in his head in those moments when he was unguarded and she slipped passed the gatekeepers.
“I owe you an apology, Daniel.”
“You owe me nothing, my lady.”
“I wanted to tell you the truth that day when my brothers confronted you. Will you listen now while I do so?” He looked across the stalls and away from the vision before him and saw Dimity. She was smiling at Abby, then engaged the elderly woman he’d seen Abby with in the park that day in conversation. The woman he’d thought her employer.
“There is no need to explain. I understand, my lady.”
Her head tilted slightly as she studied him. He’d thought her eyes just blue, but there was nothing simple about them. Flecks of gold were in the right, and some gray also. She wore a long pale blue coat today, unbuttoned, he saw the white dress beneath. Plain, and he should add simple, but not on her. The blue bonnet matched the coat and was tied with two wide satin ribbons.
“What do you understand, Daniel?”
“I think it would be best if you call me Mr. Dillinger.”
Her lashes dropped briefly, hiding her eyes. When they returned to his, they held no emotion. Like him, it seemed she had the ability to shut them away.
“As you are aware, I have four brothers. They are good men, if a little overzealous in their control over my movements. Going out those nights was like taking off an ill-fitting pair of shoes. The freedom was tantalizing, and when I met you and we talked, really talked, it was the first time I had done so with a man in my life. I had no wish to ruin that by telling you who I am.”
“I do not like being played, my lady. Nor will I be a game for a wealthy, bored woman of noble birth.” Daniel felt the anger he’d pushed down begin to simmer inside him once more. “Find another to have your experiences with; it will no longer be me.”
He’d felt on edge all day, which was likely explained by his family and their meddling, but this, what he felt looking down at the sweet, lush creature before him, was so much more. It was like he’d shrugged into Alan’s jacket and the cut was not quite right. He was off-balance, and it was her fault, and it had to stop.
He wanted to strike at her for no other reason than she’d hurt him… which was an excellent reason, when you got right down to it. But he was a gentleman and would never treat a woman in such a shabby way, no matter how much he thought she deserved it.
“I am not a game player and never wanted to mislead you, Mr. Dillinger. It just happened, and for that I will always be sorry.”
He watched as she exhaled a shaky breath, clearly as unsettled as he.
“You spoke with me openly that night, as if I was just Abby. You allowed me to accompany you to the flute lesson, and I have never enjoyed an evening more. Yes, I deceived you about who I was, and that was unforgivable. But I wanted…”
“What did you want?” Daniel prompted as her words fell away.
“To be free,” she whispered.
“No one has freedom, my lady, and you are foolish to believe it can be so. Had anyone who knew you encountered us that evening, then your reputation would have been destroyed.”
“I knew what I was doing.”
“I doubt that,” Daniel said. “In fact, I doubt you have any