Chapter Seventeen

"W hat the fuck is this?"

Peter woke to a man's voice shouting obscenities. He was buried in cushions; a fat, silken pillow covered his face, blinding him. He flung it away, rubbed his bleary eyes, and when his vision cleared, saw Fulbert looming over him. The older man's expression was murderous, his thin brows twisted and his neck flushed pink. Sarah hovered behind him, trying ineffectually to tug Fulbert away by the elbow. Heloise stood before the bench, facing down her uncle.

"It's none of your concern," Heloise said, right to Fulbert's furious face.

"The hell it isn't!" Fulbert was almost salmon colored. "Anything that threatens my business is my concern. What if my investors hear of this?"

Heloise seemed completely nonplussed. She smoothed her hair and wound it up into its usual twist. "They won't."

"No one's going to trust me with their money if they get wind of a scandal. I could lose clients." Fulbert's voice held a peevish, wheedling tone, which Heloise ignored.

No one in the room had looked at or addressed Peter. He struggled out of the nest of cushions and stood beside Heloise, doing his best to smooth his sleep-wrinkled waistcoat and cravat. "Sir—"

"Quiet." Heloise tossed the word over her shoulder, then slipped a hairpin into her twist. Peter shut his mouth.

Fulbert and Heloise stared each other down, Fulbert breathing hard, Heloise with her chin set at a stubborn angle. Sarah had withdrawn to the back of the library and was watching the proceedings with her hands in the pockets of her white apron.

"You said this wouldn't be a distraction," Fulbert ground out. Peter guessed that the ‘this' in question was him. "But you've been pretty bloody distracted."

"I take full responsibility," Peter said. Though the scene was playing out oddly, and he had the nagging suspicion that he was missing something, he felt compelled to defend Heloise.

"Shut it, you reprobate," Fulbert replied. "Do you seduce all your female pupils, or only the rich ones?"

"I seduced him !" Heloise snapped. In the back of the room, Sarah coughed and cleared her throat.

"Well, it's over." Fulbert crossed his arms and looked down his narrow nose at Heloise. "The man's too much of a liability."

Peter felt an icy panic slide over his skin. Heloise stood to his left, her posture casual. Meanwhile, sweat had broken out on Peter's scalp at the prospect of being parted from her. He had realized that nothing was more important than being with Heloise. His appointment at the college, his dreams of scholarly revenge; none of it seemed of the least consequence, compared to what was between them. He had only just grasped the significance of their attachment, and now it would be snatched away. His pulse thudded in his ears, and his mind grasped for a solution.

"We intend to marry," Peter said.

All the anger drained from Fulbert's features, replaced by stark shock. "You do?"

Peter nodded eagerly. "I'll take back my position at the college. We'll find a house to rent. We can…" he turned to Heloise, hoping she might contribute some suggestions. When he saw her face, the words died on his lips.

The pain in her eyes knocked the breath out of him. Her face was twisted with naked hurt and betrayal. She could not have looked more wounded if he had struck her. Peter had the swooping sensation of the floor falling out from under him. He tried to stammer, to explain, but his tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth.

"Is this true?" Fulbert's voice sounded faint and far away.

"Of course not." Heloise answered her uncle without turning her head. As Peter watched, her expression shuttered, her features drooping into tired resignation. Peter felt as though a heavy hand were crushing him.

"I can take care of you." Peter struggled to draw breath past the fearful ache in his chest. "You won't have to be his ward anymore."

"I'm not just his ward. I'm his business partner."

A resounding silence descended over the library. Fulbert, who had gone from blustery to twitchy in the space of a few minutes, took a hasty step forward.

"She's only joking." Fulbert patted convulsively at his stiff, sticky hair.

"We've worked together for the past ten years." Heloise's voice was light, and she kept her eyes on Peter. "Didn't I tell you we struck a bargain? He finds the clients, and I manage the investments. I've a knack for speculation. I pick risky ventures with a high rate of return. Don't I, uncle?"

Fulbert nodded miserably.

"That's what he doesn't want discovered. That his empire is run by a twenty-two-year-old girl. I never cared. I just wanted to be left alone." Heloise had recovered now, and gave Peter a small, patronizing smile that reminded him of their first conversation. "So, you see, I've no need of your protection. I believe I'll bring our lessons to a close. We have nothing more to learn from each other."

"Heloise—" Peter's mouth was full of sour hopelessness. He reached for her, but she turned and strode away, her back painfully straight. When she reached Sarah, the older woman put an arm around the girl's shoulder, and the two left the library in a swish and rustle of skirts.

"Wait!" Peter made to follow, but Fulbert lunged and grabbed him by the arm.

"You'd best not repeat any of this." Fulbert's voice was a hiss, his fingers digging cruelly into Peter's bicep.

"Let me go." Peter struggled to throw Fulbert off, but the man only snarled and gripped him tighter. Peter thrashed, straining toward the door. It had all gone wrong so quickly. If only he could catch her, he could explain, and make it right again. He couldn't bear the thought of that false, impersonal smile being the last time he saw her face.

Peter twisted, and his elbow connected with Fulbert's teeth. The older man gave a grunt of pain and yanked Peter backwards by the shoulders. They both slammed against the writing table, sending a precarious pile of books tumbling to the floor. Peter's feet went out from under him, and he landed on his back on the thin carpet, stunned. Fulbert clambered over him and pinned him with a knee to the chest, shouting at Sarah to send for a constable. From his position on the floor, Peter called out for Heloise. She didn't come, but he kept calling until he was hoarse, and the last bit of hope was gone.