Dangerous Joy Read Online Free PDF

could be Helen of Troy, Deirdre of the White Breast, and the Gunning sisters rolled into one, and you'd not have stopped me from checking on Argonaut. You're right. I do care for my horses more than most people, particularly people who attack defenseless men on the highway."
    Before she could spit out her reaction to that, he stepped by her, heading for Argonaut's stall. Just then the inn door opened, spilling light and singing into the yard. "Who's out there? Oh, it's you Miss Felicity. Where's the stranger?"
    Miles froze, then moved back into the lantern-light. "He's here." He turned to the young woman. "Felicity?"
    She shrugged. "Another word for joy."
    "I'm sure you're a joy to all who know you. Felicity Monahan, I assume." Unease flickered in her dark eyes, but she said nothing.
    "What an interesting young woman you are to be sure. Allow me to present myself. I'm Miles Cavanagh, your legal guardian."
    Chapter Three
    Not long after, Miles and his ward entered Foy Hall to be greeted by a dusty chill and the pervasive smell of cats.
    Miles had to assume that Felicity Monahan felt some embarrassment at her situation, but the only emotion he'd seen cross her beautiful, stony face had been rage. She'd said not one word of explanation or apology.
    Since Michael Flaherty—for it was he who'd interrupted them—seemed to know horses, there hadn't been much point in hovering over Argonaut. Miles, therefore, had escorted his ward to her home, gaining nothing from her but silence and a fine air of disdain. Miles intended to have an explanation of her behavior, though. By hades, he'd known she was wild, but not that she was a wanton and an Irish rebel!
    A dying fire smoldered in the entrance hall's huge grate and he flung a log on it. "Are you regularly mixed up in these disorders?"
    "You have no right to question me. Good night."
    He caught her cloak before she could escape, and held her close. "Have I not? God knows, I wish I had no rights in this, but I have the misfortune to be your guardian, Miss Monahan. Clearly someone has to bring you to your senses, and it appears to be me. Do you have any idea of the seriousness of tonight's affair?"
    With proud spirit, she snapped, "I am not a simpleton. Of course I have."
    "Then what the devil were you doing mixed up in it?"
    When she remained silent, he shook her. "Answer me, damn you. Are you part of that mad gang?"
    Some notion of his seriousness must have struck her, for she grew wary. "No. They asked my help, that's all. They needed someone to release you. Someone you wouldn't attack. Someone who wouldn't be in serious trouble if you reported her."
    He let her go. "Not in serious trouble? What the devil do you think would have happened if I'd gone to the military with this tale and pointed you out as the accomplice?"
    She tossed her head. "You wouldn't have found me. You'd have been looking for a red-haired peasant, whereas I—" she unpinned a wig to reveal midnight-dark hair in a knot beneath "—am a dark-haired lady!"
    He felt a strong desire to slap her. "I'd have found you. Beauty such as yours doesn't live in every cottage. And when we'd exhausted the cottages, we'd have started on the better houses."
    "Even if you'd found me, what could the English do to Miss Felicity Monahan of Foy Hall?"
    "My dear girl, you need a sharp dose of reality." He seized her by the shoulders and thumped her down in a hard, wooden chair. "Now," he said, hands braced on the arms so his face was only inches from her mutinous one, "what if the local military officials are of a ruthless inclination and very much want to round up the Farmyard Boys? I think Miss Felicity Monahan might suddenly disappear..."
    "They couldn't!"
    "Not permanently. But once in their hands, you would be offered a choice. Tell all or be raped."
    She paled and pressed into the back of the chair. "They wouldn't dare!"
    "Who's to stop them? Do the English in Ireland obey the rule of law? Even if it came out, you're a lawbreaker