"Eloise," Edwina said frantically as she watched Dr. Blakeley step away from the front of the room and start making his way across the floor towards her. The crowd shied away before him as if they could sense the malevolence radiating off of his body. His black eyes glittered with barely checked anger.

My God, it looked like he was going to kill her right where she stood, witnesses be damned.

"Eloise, we need to leave," Edwina's voice rose in undisguised panic.

Edwina turned to discover the empty space where Eloise had stood earlier. She searched the room and to her dismay she found Eloise across the room with her head tilted towards Theo in deep conversation.

Before she could take a step towards her sister-in-law, her path was blocked by the broad chest of a tall man. Edwina swallowed and looked up into Dr. Blakeley's face.

"Miss Edwina Sharma, was it?"

Edwina nodded and swallowed again. Her throat felt suddenly dry. She blamed the hot room. What she wouldn't do for a glass of lemonade at this very moment.

"Yes, and...Dr. Blakeley, was it?" she replied, mimicking his dry tone. Dr. Blakeley gave her a slanted smile that didn't reach his eyes. He was not amused.

"Miss Edwina Sharma," he started again, "the sister of Miss Kate Sharma and the ward of Lady Danbury."

"Kate is now Viscountess Bridgerton," Edwina corrected and immediately regretted doing so by the flare of outrage in Dr. Blakeley's eyes.

"You are the sister of Lady Bridgerton and the sister-in-law of Viscount Bridgerton," he paused as if gathering his wits. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Edwina winced at the words. "I–"

Dr. Blakeley's hand suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her close, his eyes alert and his head tilted towards the entrance of the tavern. She gasped in alarm.

"Unhand me, sir!" Edwina hissed as she tried to pull away from him, but his grip only tightened. It felt like a manacle locked tight with the key thrown away into the deepest, darkest hole. She tugged again, throwing them both off balance for a second.

"Hold still, damn you," he muttered. A loud ruckus rumbled outside the building before the door slammed open.

"In the name of the king, you are all under arrest!"

Watchmen flooded into the room.

***

Damn, foolish girl, Lucas thought as he took Edwina by the shoulders and pushed her towards the back of the tavern. Glass shattered behind them and he covered her with his own body as the crowd around them broke into a frenzy.

"What is happening?" Edwina asked, her eyes wide with alarm.

"A raid." Lucas regretted not taking Dorset's warning seriously. If he had been thinking logically, Lucas would have already secured an escape route out of the tavern well before the assembly this evening. Instead, he steered Edwina farther into the building with no idea what they would find. Most likely a supply closet with no doors or windows, he thought to himself with a grimace.

His mind was still reeling with the fact that Miss Edwina Sharma, a lady of the ton and the woman he had fantasized about for months, was in a tavern, in the middle of the night, in the middle of London, and at the very moment, tucked under his right arm with her head buried in his chest. He felt her hot breath against his throat, a thought he would tuck away to enjoy later.

A man screamed behind them and Lucas pushed forward. He heard another door break open before them and he pivoted them both up a narrow flight of stairs.

"Where are we going?"

Instead of answering her, Lucas kicked in the closed door on the top of the stairs. He felt Edwina wince in his arms. He peered into the darkness and stepped over the threshold and promptly tripped over a broom. Lucas cursed. They were in a closet.

Edwina stepped away from Lucas, tugging anxiously at her gown as if trying to smooth out the wrinkles that were, without a doubt, there.

Loud crashes shook the walls. People below bellowed out in pain and fury and Lucas heard running feet heading up the stairs. They would be discovered in seconds.

"Come." He grabbed Edwina's arm and forced her deeper into the small room. At the far side, tucked in the corner was a small window. It was sealed shut. "Shield your eyes." Lucas smashed at the pane of glass with the point of his elbow until it shattered. He wrapped his right hand tightly with his cravat and used the heel of it to punch away at the remaining jagged points until the window was free of any glass.

"There is a ledge," he said, as he reached for Edwina and bodily picked her up by the waist. She was so small and delicate in his arms. His hands could nearly span her narrow waist. She struggled against his touch.

"I can climb through without assistance," she hissed back at him. "There is no need to manhandle me."

"Oh, there is every reason. Be glad I don't have you bent over my knee with a spanking that you well deserve for your escapade this evening."

Edwina looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock. Then, her large brown eyes narrowed and sparked with anger and her lips parted as if ready to give him a dressing down. Lucas was overcome with the need to kiss the anger from her lips, to press them against his until they were soft and wet and swollen.

"How dare you–" She beat against his chest with her fists and one knee landed dangerously close to his hardening cock. The fantasy fled his mind.

Lucas grunted. "Out you go," he said as he shoved her through the open window. He could hear a mad scramble as Edwina righted herself, before he followed her.

As he had hoped, The Swineherd was built close to the adjacent building, which appeared to be some kind of shop. Lucas took Edwina's hand and leapt the short distance onto the shop's rooftop. Edwina had no choice but to follow. They crossed several rooftops in the same manner, until Lucas was sure there was enough distance between them and the tavern and dropped down the side of one building into a darkened alley. His boots landed in something squishy and foul smelling, but he didn't look down to investigate.

"Just drop down. I'll catch you."

Edwina's head peeked over the side. He could see her calculating the distance in her mind. It was no more than six feet if she lowered herself carefully. Instead, she jumped.

A flurry of yellow silk and flailing limbs fell directly on top of Lucas's head.

***

Well, Edwina thought, as she collided into Dr. Blakeley and they both tumbled onto the ground, that was absolutely mortifying. She could feel Dr. Blakeley trapped under her weight, under her gown.

There was a muffled groan and Edwina struggled to get to her feet, but her shoe slipped in something foul and she landed back on top of Dr. Blakeley, her knee colliding with his chest. A grunt escaped from his lips as he pushed back at her gown. The scene would have been ridiculously funny if it was happening to anyone else but her and this specific man.

"This is how I die," he muttered. "Smothered in a cloud of silk and taffeta." A hand touched the inside of Edwina's stockinged leg and Edwina jumped up as Dr. Blakeley pulled his hand away as if burned.

"Pardon me," Dr. Blakeley said as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. A stench filled the air. Whatever they had both stepped on, Dr. Blakeley was covered in it.

"Rotten cabbages." Dr. Blakeley grimaced and peeled off his coat and threw it aside. He stood before Edwina in only his black shirt and waistcoat. The top of his shirt was undone, having lost his cravat back at the tavern. Edwina willed herself not to stare at the skin exposed at his throat and the collar that opened in a V down to his chest. It was a battle she was clearly losing.

"Well, where did you leave your carriage?"

"My carriage?" Edwina asked, drawing her eyes back up to his face. Dr. Blakeley ran a hand through his disheveled hair in frustration.

"Yes, the one you took here," he said slowly as if talking to an imbecile. They began walking out of the alley. Edwina quickened her steps to keep up with Dr. Blakeley, who was clearly in a black mood.

"We didn't take the carriage. We took a hackney. Oh! I have to return to the assembly!"

"Are you mad? It is crawling with constables. You will be arrested on the spot. They won't give a damn if you are Lord Bridgerton's relation."

"I did not attend the assembly alone."

Dr. Blakeley slowed his pace and spun towards her. "What?"

"I was accompanied by Miss Eloise Bridgerton, the viscount's sister."

Dr. Blakeley let out a harsh swear that burned Edwina's ears. He looked pained with indecision. "I will send you home first, then return to look for her alone," he finally said. "These streets are not–"

"'ello, wut do we 'ave 'ere?"