The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae Read Online Free PDF

felt heat warm her cheeks. How embarrassing .
    His disapproval of her forwardness now made sense; he’d seen her as a flighty, mindless, tonnish miss taking an incomprehensibly stupid risk. She’d all but thrust herself into his arms and invited him to make away with her.
    That didn’t mean he had to take me up on it.
    But he had, which meant there was something wrong somewhere. She’d only acted with such brazen boldness because she’d been beyond convinced that he was her hero. But he couldn’t be her hero and be her kidnapper as well. That’s impossible. I refuse to accept that I’m fated to fall in love with a kidnapper. No. Either he’d made a mistake, or she had.
    Decide whether to be afraid, first. She thought back over all he’d said, compared that with what she’d learned of Heather’s and Eliza’s kidnappings; in both instances, the laird had ordered his henchmen to take excellent care of their captives.
    Debenham had assured her several times that he intended her no harm of any kind. Closing her eyes, she replayed his words, carefully considered his tone. He’d been absolutely sincere. More, even though he’d ruthlessly subdued her, bound her, carried her off, and placed her in his carriage, she doubted she’d sustained so much as a bruise. Even now, while she wasn’t exactly comfortable, she wasn’t in pain, not even true discomfort.
    Not physically. Mentally . . . she was in a state, something she rarely, if ever, endured.
    She was angry, confused, and curious. While the first and the last were widely regarded as her besetting sins, confusion was not something she normally indulged in. Confusion had no place in her world, a world she managed, organized, and ruled. Confusion meant a lack of knowing, and she always knew—what she wanted, what she felt, how her life should be.
    Her confusion lay entirely at Debenham’s feet.
    He couldn’t be her hero. She tried to tell herself that her instincts had been wrong, that The Lady’s charm had failed. That somehow the signs had been twisted or corrupted. She reminded herself that he hadn’t responded to her in any encouraging way—she might have thought at the time that he had, but that had just been him leading her on . . .
    The minutes ticked by as she lay in the dark and argued with herself.
    She had no idea how much time had elapsed when she finally gave it up as a lost cause.
    Her instincts remained unmoved, her confidence in The Lady and her talisman unshaken. She knew exactly what she had known when she’d set out to arrange an introduction to Debenham. Nothing that had happened since had altered that knowledge or changed the unassailable conviction stemming from it.
    He was her hero.
    Which meant that everything else was wrong.
    All right. Lips thinning behind the gag, eyes narrowing, she nodded. So I’ll wait until I learn what this is all about, and then I’ll change it. Change the situation, change him. Remake him if necessary. Whatever it takes, he will be my hero .
    She’d always hoped securing her hero would be a challenge; it appeared she’d got her wish.
    So. She blew out a breath. No fear, not unless I discover some reason to be frightened. I’ll find out what’s going on and go forward from there. As The Lady and I aren’t wrong, then there has to be a way, and clearly it’s up to me, and entirely in my best interests, to find it.
    Debenham had said that he would explain all. Once he did, she would take charge.
    She settled to wait. Waited.
    Waited some more.
    Where the devil is he?
    She’d reached the point of muttering dire imprecations when the coachman and groom abruptly fell silent, then the carriage rocked as the groom jumped down. Stilling her tongue, she listened, yet she didn’t know Debenham was there until he opened the carriage door. For such a large man, he moved all but silently.
    She