The Secret Wallflower Society - Jillian Eaton Page 0,111

had appeared in the garden. She told them of how terrified she’d been, and how he’d allowed her to pack some of her belongings. A smile teased the corners of her lips when she recalled the sweet muffins Lucas had brought her, and a warm blush filled her cheeks as she told them about that first kiss, when everything had started to change.

“He–he kissed you?” Helena blurted.

“And you didn’t…er…” Calliope tipped her empty wine glass.

“Faint?” Percy said wryly. “No, I’m pleased to say I remained on my feet.”

“How was it?” Helena asked, her countenance rapt with fascination.

“It was…” How did someone describe heaven? “Wonderful,” she said succinctly. “It was wonderful.”

“But Mr. Black kidnapped you,” Calliope said as she reached for the wine bottle. “Isn’t he, well, the bad person is all of this?”

“He is a thief,” Percy acknowledged. “And a criminal. And a rogue. But…”

“But?” Helena prompted.

Bringing her legs to her chest, Percy wrapped her arms around them, her empty glass dangling loosely from her hand. “But he didn’t treat me as if I was some broken, helpless thing,” she said quietly. “He was sweet, and compassionate, and at times he seemed to understand me better than I understood myself.”

“He sounds…very nice,” Calliope said with a quick glance at Helena.

“Very nice,” Helena repeated.

“I know how ridiculous I must sound.” Percy leaned her head on the sofa and gazed at the ceiling. “How trite it all must seem. Like a plot from one of those romantic books you so adore, Calliope.”

“Those books are the height of literature,” Calliope said defensively.

“They are quite good,” Helena agreed. “I’ll admit I was skeptical, until I read–what was it called?”

“Pride and Prejudice,” Calliope supplied.

“Yes, that’s it. Pride and Prejudice.” Helena grinned as she sipped her wine. “Mr. Darcy can come call upon me any day.”

“What about Stephen?” asked Calliope.

Helena waved her hand in the air. “I’m head over heels for him, of course. Everyone knows that. But I believe we can all acknowledge that we’d lift our skirts for Mr. Darcy.”

“I found him rather pompous,” Calliope said with a shrug.

Helena gasped. “You take that back!”

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”

“Not if they’re wrong.”

Before her friends could dissolve into fisticuffs over a fictional character, Percy stepped in to play peacemaker. “You are both blessed with wonderful men who are so incredibly lucky to call you their own. Surely, that is a better romance than any book.”

Helena pursed her lips. “Stephen is lucky, isn’t he?”

“As is Leo,” Calliope said happily. Then she saw Percy’s wistful expression, and her smile faded. “You’ve truly come to care for this Mr. Black, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I…I love him.” As a dull flush settled at the top of her chest, Percy looked at Calliope, then at Helena. “Unfortunately, he’s made it painfully clear that he doesn’t love me.”

“Because he sent you home to us?” Helena asked.

When her throat swelled, Percy could only nod.

“But…maybe he did that because he loves you,” Calliope said earnestly.

“I concur,” Helena said with a toss of her head. “If everything you’ve told us about your Mr. Black is true, and we’ve absolutely no reason to doubt that it is, then it’s obvious he is crazy about you. It’s also obvious he thought he was doing what was best for you.”

Percy bit her bottom lip. “And if what’s best for me is to be with him?”

Calliope and Helena exchanged another glance, this one notably longer than the last.

“Then you are going to have to tell him that,” said Helena.

“Maybe you can write him a letter,” Calliope suggested.

“And send it where?” Lucas hadn’t exactly left her with a forwarding address. He’d covered the windows of the carriage when he kidnapped her, and covered them again when he sent her back. She’d tried to keep track of the twists and turns they’d taken on the way to Berkley Square, but she had soon lost sense of her surroundings until the carriage came to a halt in front of Helena’s townhouse.

“We’ll figure it out,” Helena assured her.

“But first,” Calliope put in gently, “you need to rest and recover. You’ve been through an incredible ordeal. Once you’re feeling like yourself again, we can pursue the matter of Mr. Black…if you still want to, that is.”

Percy wasn’t oblivious. She heard what her friends were saying…and what they weren’t. They thought she was tired, and overwhelmed, and her feelings for Lucas would fade as soon as she felt like herself again. But she knew her own heart. And she knew it wasn’t soon to