Chapter 10

Chapter 10

William could not put his finger on what had compelled him to halt his carriage outside Gunter's, only that he wished to visit the famous tea shop for the first time in years. A fruit ice was exactly what the day called for, and it was a craving he wished to satisfy. He was positively thrilled the moment he set foot on the ground and looked forward to what was ahead. He strode to the establishment's front door and reached for the handle.

Was that...? All of a sudden, a flicker of movement inside Gunter's caught his eye. Someone moving with difficulty. William sensed something about to go wrong before it did, which had him snapping into action. Despite his reputation as a terrible scoundrel, he had a warm heart and would assist those in need.

He pulled the door open quickly and, without thinking, rushed inside in one swift movement. His arms flew out to catch the lady as she tumbled. Instinctively, he knew that she would fall, even before she did. He caught her before she hit the tiled floor.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped. "I'm so terribly sorry..."

As she spoke, he recognized the delicate lilt in her tone. It did not take him long to fit everything together and to realize that the impossible was happening.

He had already assumed that he would never see this young lady again; he had all but resigned himself to it, yet here she was in his arms once more.

This definitely was not the night of the carriage accident, yet there were elements of it that brought that night rushing back to the surface.

"Lady Katherine Langley." William could not believe his eyes. What a shock. He had certainly not expected to find himself standing in Gunter's with those beautiful green eyes peering into his. She was utterly mesmerizing and captivating; no wonder she had been on his mind. How could he ever begin to forget a face as beautiful as this one? "Are you all right?"

The intensity of her innocent gaze sent a tingle down his spine. He could not take his eyes off her however hard he tried. Nor did he want to. These were the eyes he could quite happily enjoy looking into for as long as she would let him. What enticed him even more was the look Katherine gave him, as though she felt exactly as he did.

The world simply stopped moving as he gazed lovingly at her. Nothing or no one else mattered at all. It was almost as if no one else existed, and it was just the pair of them tangled up in this gorgeous moment.

If only no one else was around. Oh, the things he could do...

"I...I am terribly sorry," she stammered anxiously, reminding William quickly that this was not one of his dreams but a moment with a woman in genuine distress. "I did not mean to make quite so much of a fool of myself."

William lifted her ever so slightly, but she did not seem to be too strong on her feet. She struggled to balance, so William did not let her go. He wondered if she could sense how powerfully his heart had begun thundering in his chest. Could she sense how nervous she made him? William did not often find himself so full of emotion around women, but Katherine was different. Their eyes continued to lock, and it was as if the rest of the world had vanished, and only the two of them remained.

Perhaps it was because he had been there when she was involved with the carriage collision, or maybe it was something so much more. He suspected the latter as her lips turned up in the tiniest smile.

"You have not made a fool of yourself whatsoever," he declared in encouragement. "I do not believe anyone has even noticed."

She darted her eyes around, seemingly trying to find evidence to the contrary. William breathed a little easier when she did not seem to find a thing. Thank goodness, for he did not want this lovely lady to suffer more than she had.

People had seen, of course; this was the city of London, the center of all gossip, after all. But they were going to save their whispers until later on so as not to be too obvious.

Unfortunately, that also put him in the firing line for talk once more, not what he was looking for when he set foot into Gunter's, but if it could protect Lady Katherine then he would take all the attention off of her in a heartbeat.

He might not have known her for long, but he was already utterly certain that he would not care who talked about him as long as they left her alone.

"What is happening here?" A fierce whisper interrupted the moment and brought William's eyes away from Katherine. The hand of a gentleman rested on William's arm to truly shatter the tender moment. "This is certainly not appropriate behavior."

William narrowed his eyes as he tried to place in his memories where he had met the man before. This was certainly not someone he could think of as a friend, or even a mere acquaintance for that matter, but it was someone he had spoken with in the past. If his mind served him correctly, this was someone he had not enjoyed the company of. Someone he found stuffy and arrogant, almost unpleasant at times. This current situation was not doing a thing to change his mind.

"Jonathan, do not make a fuss," Katherine insisted as she pulled herself back from William. But she could not bear to completely let go of him. Not yet. Either for balance or because she liked to hold onto him, William could not be sure.

"I must make a fuss." The gentleman grew red in the cheeks with a very obvious anger. "I do not know who this man is, but he is risking your reputation here. As your brother I shall not allow something like this to happen."

All of a sudden, it became very clear to William. He recalled this man now. Lord Jonathan Langley. A gentleman that he had once come across in a business setting, who seemed to think himself incredibly high and mighty. Much better than everyone else in the room, despite the fact that it was all hard-working men.

William wanted to argue with Jonathan at the time, it had been incredibly hard to bite his tongue, and now he almost wished that he had not bothered. This man had a chip on his shoulder than needed to be swept away.

He had been grateful to never come across this man again. Until now.

The negative impression he'd received when they first met became even clearer in his memory. The fact that this gentleman was the brother of Lady Katherine Langley came as a great disappointment. As did the accusation that reputations were at risk here.

While William had been careless with what other people thought of him, he would never bestow any negativity on another person. Particularly not someone he thought of as highly as he did Katherine. The suggestion that he would was infuriating.

"What was I to do?" he demanded in a hushed tone, still allowing venom to drop off his tongue with each word. "Let her fall? I do not believe that would have been the correct way to behave. Nor do I think you would have done such a thing."

Jonathan did not appear to hear a single one of William's words. "Please, take your hands off my sister. I do not appreciate this at all." He took Katherine's hand and removed it from William. "We are in a public place. Gossip can spread easily."

William stepped back, hurt. Rationally, he could understand why Jonathan would wish to protect his sister from the tittle-tattle of idle gossip or any scoundrels roaming the city, but when he was only trying to help, Jonathan's reaction felt over the top. He opened his mouth, wishing to yell exactly how he felt, but before he could even begin, William noticed a crowd of onlookers watching and whispering. Gossip had already begun and no longer was anyone willing to wait until the parties being discussed were out of sight.

The silence between the two warring men caused the murmurs to grow in volume and intensity. If people were expecting this to escalate into some form of physical fight, they would be sorely disappointed. William did not fight when he was sober in the middle of the day. Not in the presence of women and children. If this was something that Jonathan was desperate for, then he would also be let down. William would not allow himself to be baited into anything. He was a much stronger man than that.

"Brother, please." Katherine placed her hand on Jonathan's shoulder. "Allow me to explain. I simply lost my footing, that is all. I am not good on my leg, as you already know, and I simply misstepped and fell. If it were not for this kind gentleman here, I might have ended up in real trouble. We should be grateful to him for assisting me."

William noticed that she did not mention his name. He was curious as to why. After all, they had only recently shared dinner together at her parents' house. Not that it troubled him; it was probably for the best. If Jonathan did not already remember William, then the mention of his name might encourage him to tell his sister all the rumors about him. Even without taking a look at the scandal sheets, Jonathan might know.

He seemed the type to know that sort of thing.

"You slipped?" Jonathan's expression transformed to one of immediate concern. It seemed there was another side to him after all. This intrigued William. He watched carefully to see how this man interacted with his sister. "Are you hurt?"

"I did not get hurt because I was caught." Katherine smiled but kept her eyes trained on her brother. "I do not wish to think of what could have happened to me had I fallen. The floor is very hard, and my leg—"

"Yes, yes, I know," Jonathan hushed her rapidly. It appeared to William that he did not wish for anyone to pay special attention to Lady Katherine's leg. "I suppose it is a good thing then, that you did not fall. That you were caught."

"Yes, I believe so, too. Thank you very much for listening to me."

"I think it is best you get in the carriage now," Jonathan told Katherine, as he seemed to remember that they were not alone. "We should not wish for there to be any more incidents today. I believe we might have caused more than enough trouble."

"But, Jonathan, I would like to thank the gentleman properly for his assistance..."

"I shall be in charge of that. It is my duty. Please, take my arm, and I will return you to our carriage immediately."

Katherine looked chastened. Jonathan's tone had made it evident to anyone listening that there was no arguing with his command. Even the onlookers who had been watching the scene with great interest made a concerted effort to get back to their previous activities so as not to embarrass the trio further. Although William was not fooled. He knew that each and every one of them would be seeking a way to continue watching, refusing to miss any potential drama.

William wished he could yell at everyone secretly spying to mind their own business, for Lady Katherine's sake. But he had caused enough damage today. It was better for him to keep his mouth firmly shut.

With a nod to William, Jonathan said, "You, sir, be so kind as to wait for me whilst I settle Lady Katherine in comfort."

William nodded his agreement and held open the front door. It was very obvious to him, watching the brother and sister exit Gunter's, that she remained in a great deal of pain. But more than that, embarrassment burned off her. She was not someone who sought out the attention of other people. Yet today she'd found herself in the center of it and unable to escape.

William stepped outside himself and waited for Jonathan.

Once Katherine was safely inside the carriage, William stared at Jonathan expectantly. He had said he would thank him on his sister's behalf, so this had to be the moment for it. Despite the obvious animosity between them, William already knew that he would accept the thanks with grace to show that he was a good man, not someone who wished to cause scandal.

But Jonathan, returning from the carriage to where William waited, said nothing. Instead, he eyed William curiously with his eyebrows knotted together, as if he wanted to work something out, but the answer wasn't coming to him easily. William waited, trying to be patient, while Jonathan came to whatever conclusion he was seeking. Then he hoped all this silliness could be put to rest.

Eventually, without uttering a single word, Jonathan backed away from William and climbed into his carriage. The horses leaned into their harness, the wheels began turning, and the carriage rattled away. Soon, William could no longer spot even the back of Katherine's bonnet.

He was left utterly speechless. What a strange situation. Odd as Jonathan's behavior had been, even odder was the feeling of holding Lady Katherine in his arms. While he had been simply assisting her and not attempting to ruin her reputation, the thoughts crossing his mind about her were unlikely to be considered appropriate. He had most definitely wished that he could kiss those wonderful lips of hers, that he could hold her late into the night, that he could watch her smile all day long.

It was a blessing Jonathan could not read his mind. If so, a fight might have been inevitable.

William considered continuing with his plan to head into Gunter's to buy a fruit ice, but in all honesty, the ugly situation had tampered his appetite. He no longer wanted to have any treats. With a deep sigh, he left the onlookers wondering what was happening, and he climbed back into his own carriage and made the decision to go back home. At least there, he could not get himself into any more trouble.

Well, not trouble that could cause gossip at any rate...