Beyond the Broken Angel

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The dark haired one took a step closer, extending a hand. "Abe Martin," he greeted Giselle.

Giselle went to shake his hand, but was surprised when he brought her knuckles up to his lips and planted a kiss on her skin.

She froze, looking over to Will to see if that was appropriate behavior for the time. It didn't seem to be from the way Will scowled at Abe.

The other man saw Will's scowl and didn't bother with touching her, just nodded at her. "Simon Martin," he said.

"These are my cousins. Mother's side," Will informed before motioning with his head for the two to move along. "I guess this is the end of our night. It was good seeing you."

The two men exchanged pleasantries with their cousin and Giselle before leaving. Once they were gone, Will turned to Giselle. "I'll ask again; what are you doing here?"

"The tree brought me," she said. "I woke up in an alleyway by myself. No tree in sight."

"An alleyway?" He closed his eyes, shaking his head and frowning. "Damnit, Giselle. You could've been—" he stopped himself suddenly, opening his eyes and looking back at her. "You're okay? You're not hurt?"

"I'm fine," she told him. "Nothing's happened—I've only been here for five minutes, but, um, where exactly is here?"

"London."

"'London?!'" she nearly yelled through chattering teeth. "Why would that stupid tree bring me here? That's like hours away from the manor!"

"We'll have to ask Selene," Will said. "But for now, let's get you inside. It's too cold out." He shrugged off his jacket as he spoke, draping it over Giselle before plucking her suitcase from her grasp.

Giselle happily slipped her arms into the sleeves and savored the warmth as Will reached out and pressed his hand to her lower back.

"Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"A hotel," Will said, keeping his hand on her as they joined the flow of people heading north. "I planned to stay for the night, so we'll have to get you a room."

Giselle's eyebrows shot up in interest. "Will Dare is on an overnight trip?" She narrowed her eyes. "Is this for fun or for business?"

"Business. I have priorities to take care of in the morning."

She breathed out a laugh. "I could've guessed that. You don't do anything for fun." When he doesn't refute, she kept talking. "So, what is there to do in 1937 London?"

"I wouldn't know."

"There's the Big Ben," Giselle remembered, "and the Buckingham Palace. I could visit . . . ah, what's his name?"

"King George VI," Will supplied. "And you won't be going anywhere."

She shot him a glare. "I'll go wherever I want." His hand dropped away from her back then, and she wished she could retract her words to reverse his action.

"Not by yourself, you're not," he said firmly. "I'm not letting you go around a city you barely know in a time you barely know by yourself."

"You act like I'm a child," she frowned. "I'll be fine. I'm not as ignorant and helpless as you think me to be."

"Giselle," Will sighed, "you know I don't think of you as either of those things. It's just that I don't want you getting hurt."

His gentle voice and the thoughtful gleam in his eyes softened her heart more than she wanted it to. "Alright," she began, "I guess I'll just have to wait for you to get done with all of your business priorities in the morning so that you can take me to go sightseeing."