And by nightfall tomorrow, he would propose to her.
As Seth placed the bonnet on Cassandra’s head and tied the string,she said, “We should go straight to the carriage. That’s where Matthew and I agreed to meet if we were separated. With any luck, we should make it there before he does.”
“Eager to have me alone again?” he purred.
She shot him a side glance, but darted her eyes away with a blush. “Don’t you want to continue our lessons?”
Seth swallowed through a dry throat. His mind emptied as his blood shifted and he pulled Cassandra to him one last time and kissed her, lingering on her lips. She broke from him first and said, “If you keep doing that, we’ll never stop.”
He released her, grinned and opened the door. “Who is teasing now?”
She stepped into the alley with a smile as he closed the door, twisted the key in the lock, and placed it in his coat pocket. He would come back later and… fix things up. He turned to offer Cassandra his arm, but stopped at her wide eyes, frozen to the spot, her voice pitched, drawn out. “Seth…”
Instinctively, Seth pivoted, guiding Cassandra behind him, shielding her in the thin space between his back and the door frame. Four men emerged from the shadows, forming a semi-circle that shortened like a noose around them with every slow step, closing in, all avenues of escape blocked.
And a locked door at their back.
One man moved closer than the others, standing directly before Seth with an open, drunken grin, his stubble spread unevenly across his face. Behind him, a younger man shifted his eyes to the street where festival attendees passed by, cheering, laughing, and stumbling.
“You’m one o’ them finalists, in’t you?” the man with the patchwork face asked, repositioning his coat to show the metallic glint of a blade.
Cassandra remained silent behind him, composed and alert, but hershallow breathing betrayed her fear, unlocking something primal within him. Pulse quickening. Skin prickling. The hairs on his arms and legs rose. Lingering effects of ale and satisfaction disappeared. Thoughts organized themselves with lethal clarity. Emotions. Gone. Sympathy?
None.
“No need for a fuss. Right, boys?” he slurred. The others murmured their assent. Seth kept his eyes trained on their leader, leering at Cassandra. “Fine lass you ‘ave.Loud. Why not giv’ us a turn?”
“Touch her and I’ll kill you,” Seth promised.
The look-out’s eyes widened at his voice.
“Johnny—that man! That’s—“
“Shut up!I don’t give a damn ‘oo ‘e is!” Johnny snapped, glaring at Seth. Not appreciating the challenge he saw, he drew the knife and pointed it at them. “The lass,mi’lord, and yer pocket book while yer at it.”
“I’m serious Johnny, we should go—”
“Thengo!” Johnny roared, turning his back to Seth.
Seth lunged, grabbed the wrist holding the knife, andtwisted. A shrill howl escaped the man as Seth bent his arm backward. The knife fell from his hand, clattering to the cobblestone. The look-out ran away as the other two rushed to their leader’s defense. Cassandra cried out as one man grabbed for her.
And everything became simple.
Swinging forward, Seth’s jab connected with the man’s nose. A crunch as cartilage and bone gave way. Blood gushed into the man’s open mouth and he fell to the ground with a choked, gurgling scream.
An elbow to his gut had Seth breathing through his teeth, and the third man dove for the knife. Seth grabbed the back of the man’s coat and shoved him to the cobblestone, landing a swift kick to his stomach. The man retched, filling the alley with the pungent odor of alcohol andbile.
Seth grunted as a fist connected to his jaw. He swiftly split the taunting curl of Johnny’s lip with one punch. And another. Andanother. Hot blood coat his cracked knuckles. Blackness crept into his vision as he inched further and further away from self-control. Johnny freed himself and scrambled on hands and knees, grabbing for the knife, but Seth pressed his boot into his wrist. Seth yanked at his collar and hauled the man to his feet, fist readied once more. A voice tugged at him, distracting him, feminine, soothing as a sea breeze.
“Seth. Stop.”
But through thewhooshof blood in his ears, and his heartbeat hammering in his chest, hecouldn’tstop. A fire raged within. A shadow against the wall brought his attention to a hand reaching for him. “Seth.”
Another voice in the distance.
“Cassandra!”
A feather-light touch on his shoulder. He dropped Johnny, pivoting on his heel to the new threat. His palm connected with somethingsoft.Lavender bloomed around him, mixing with the scent of blood, turning his stomach. A gentle lulling broke through his darkness.