Rebel Marquess Read Online Free PDF

acknowledge her presence let alone stare at her so blatantly? Her mother would pounce on such a show of interest in a second.
    Eliza vowed to spend the evening vigilantly ignoring the marquess’s whereabouts.
    Of course, Lady Terribury had other plans, and only a few more minutes passed before she turned to Eliza and beckoned her with a dramatic wave of her fan.
    “Come, my dear, let us take a tour about the room.” Her mother linked an arm securely through Eliza’s and drew her into the flow of the other guests who milled about the room or strolled the perimeter while they waited for the musicians to start. There was no point in resisting, though Eliza knew her mother’s only motivation was to track down the marquess.
    Eliza could only hope he had already gone to ground.
    “I see you found your fan after all, Mother.”
    Lady Terribury slid a sidelong glance at her daughter while she steered them around a group of young men. That she didn’t even bother to slow down to allow for Eliza to be seen and hopefully admired was further testament to the fact that her mother had only one man in mind for her youngest.
    “I did,” Lady Terribury replied easily. “And what happened to you this morning? When I send you on an errand, I expect you to complete it.”
    Eliza had never been one to prevaricate. “I will not be used as pawn to force Rutherford into choosing between offering his hand or losing his honor.”
    Lady Terribury whipped her head around to stare at Eliza with wide eyes. “Lizzie, I never—”
    “You most certainly did, Mother, and I refuse to participate in your schemes,” she replied smartly. “You cannot think it appropriate to go to such dangerous and deceitful lengths.”
    Lady Terribury increased their pace as she propelled them around a particularly tight group of guests. After a moment, she replied through clenched teeth, “Of course, I can. And I must. There is no other way Rutherford will be caught. He is charmed, protected by some…” she waved her hand dramatically above her head “…gypsy magic, or something.”
    “It is unprincipled. Dishonorable,” Eliza insisted, determined to make her mother see reason.
    “Women do not have the luxury of honor if we are to get what we desire in life.”
    Eliza sighed. Reason was not one of her mother’s strengths. Not to mention she actually made a good point in that last statement. Eliza would never think her mother was justified in her actions, but the lack of power reserved for women to make their own choices was exactly the reason Eliza had no intention of ever marrying.
    “Why can you not accept that the Marquess of Rutherford will not be caught and move on?”
    Her mother looked down at her then, and Eliza saw something unexpected in her mother’s gaze. An odd note of apology. “Because I simply cannot.”
    As her mother’s voice faded into a whisper, Eliza felt a firm bump against her ankle. It caught her just as she was about to take a step. At the same time, Lady Terribury shoved gently against her side, enough to send Eliza completely off-balance. Her legs tangled in her skirts as she made a desperate attempt to find steady footing with her soft-soled dancing slippers on the polished floor. She clenched her teeth and tensed with the certainty she was going to fall and the sharp suspicion her mother had tripped her on purpose.
    But she didn’t hit the floor.
    Strong hands grasped her upper arms as her feet went out from beneath her. Her upper body collided with a broad male chest and she thoughtlessly grasped the lapels of a man’s dress coat in tight fists. The crisp scent of citrus mingled with rich spicy undertones.
    She bit back a groan of despair as she knew without a doubt who had saved her from a humiliating fall.

Chapter Four
    Contact with the marquess’s solid masculine frame was shockingly brief. Eliza’s heart received a jolt and her temperature rose by a few degrees. She told herself it was embarrassment, but the