She'd watched her mother work tirelessly as a servant for years in a world where her voice hadn't mattered. Witnessing her mother's inability to live the life she truly wanted before she'd died had changed Ivy. Without the right and the power to speak, a person ceased to exist.
After her mother died, she'd been reunited with her father and it had become clear just how powerless she was as a woman. Although he loved and adored her, even he could not give her power over her own life in the way men had. She could not even control her own inheritance; it had to be held in trust by a man. It seemed like everywhere she turned was a dead end. No way out. To be ensnared in a gilded cage meant she was still trapped. The thought made her recoil. Marry a man who would trap her and destroy her independence? No, she would never agree to that. But still … seeing Leo again after all this time would be nice.
Turning her attention back to the Hudson, she knew she'd have to leave it on the shoulder of the road for now. As she reached for her valise, the gravel on the road slipped beneath her boots. A panicked cry escaped her lips as she fell headfirst into the space behind the driver's seat. Her legs wiggled in the air as she struggled in vain to propel herself back upright.
"Blast and hell!" she cursed, fighting wildly to get her body into a position that could leverage her back down. Her dress and coat tangled around her knees.
The purr of another motorcar's engine made her freeze. A cool breeze caressed her where her travel dress bunched around her thighs. Whoever had just stopped on the road had a prime view of her legs.
The motor died. Footsteps crunching on gravel warned her of someone's approach, and her body went rigid in apprehension. Fear ratcheted up inside her until she was gasping for breath and thrashing to get back on her feet.
"Er … excuse me, miss. May I help?" a rich, smooth voice asked.
"Oh, yes, please. I'm in a spot of bother it seems."
"I'm going to touch you, miss. Please do not panic." The man's gloved hands settled on her ankles, then slid to her calves as he pulled her down. Tingles of awareness shot through her body, making her twitch in the oddest places.
Ivy tried not to let it ruffle her that some strange man's hands were on her legs. She'd never liked feeling vulnerable, and this was perhaps the most exposed she'd ever been in her life. It was unsettling to say the least. She slid down the side of the Hudson, her face heating and the blood pounding in her ears. When she turned to her rescuer, her heart skittered to a stop, and she sucked in a breath.
Leo.
For a long moment she couldn't think, couldn't breathe. She was a girl again, crying as her mother lay dying. Leo's long, muscular body had been solid and warm behind her as he held her while she wept. He'd been comfort and heat and light where she'd only endured darkness in her mother's last hours.
Of course it would be him. He'd be the one to find her covered in road dust, legs flailing in the air, and stuck with a broken down motorcar. She was always at her worst when he was around. Lady Fate evidently didn't like her.
Is there no end to my bad luck?
"Thank you," she said, uncertain if she should say her name. Would he even remember her? Surely not …
With an unexpected deftness, he adjusted her hat, which had been knocked slightly askew during her tumble into the motorcar, and pushed the sides of the veil back as though to get a better look at her face. His lips kicked into a grin, and her heart fluttered back to life. Lord, the man was handsome. His aquiline nose and strong jaw, lips a little thin, but no less appealing, and a halo of golden hair blowing in the breeze. And those eyes, eyes she'd dreamt about for years. More beautiful than she'd remembered.
"You're welcome, Miss … " He waited for her to introduce herself.
So he didn't remember her, then? It stung, yet perhaps that was for the best, given the secret mission Leo's mother had entrusted her with. It was best he did not recognize her and she did not wish to be remembered as "Button."
"My name is Ivy Leighton."
Her name had no effect on him, not that it should have. She'd taken her father's surname after she'd left Hampton and she couldn't remember a time when Leo had called her Ivy. Perhaps he didn't even know it was her name. She hadn't mentioned her mother's maiden name, Jameson, so there was the real possibility he wouldn't recognize her at all. Ivy wasn't a unique name, not really.
Leo captured one of her gloved hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Leighton, even under such trying circumstances." His lips twitched at the last few words as though he was doing his best not to tease her. "I see you are having some difficulties with your automobile." His eyes roved over the state of the smoking motorcar behind her, assessing the situation.