The Fashionable Spy Read Online Free PDF Page B

tell you when you woke up. They carted your coach to Canterbury for possible repairs, but he suspects it may take some time. In which case you shall require a post chaise and pair to get to London. Will that be a problem?”
    Victoria sat with her jaw tightly clenched, absolutely furious with him, then exploded. “They were here? And you did not wake me? I would have gone with them to Canterbury. I might have been halfway to London by now.”
    She dropped the cards on the table and jumped up to pace back and forth in the small room, anger evident in her every step. “Oh,” she fumed, “I cannot believe you would do such a thing when you knew how much I wished to leave. Believe me, sir, when I say I had rather be miles from here at the moment. No insult to your company intended,” she snapped.
    She glared at the arrogant tilt of his head, and realized she had indeed insulted him. “You made an honorable offer,” she reminded him. “I refused. Why did you not leave when you could?”
    “And leave you prey to anyone who might come along? I perceive your regard for me is not high, but I am not so heedless as all that.’’
    “I have my protection, thank you very much!” She beckoned to Sable, who obediently trotted to her side.
    “I noticed just how faithful he is.” Sarcasm dripped from his words as he snapped his fingers, and Sable walked to his side, beaming idiotically up at the gentleman who had fed him this morning.
    “Oh,” she stormed. “If you must know, you are the first man Sable has ever accepted in any way, other than my brother. I rely on the dog to protect me when I am in the houses of those noble politicians who too frequently desire more than just a bust to place on a stand or mantel.”
    Sir Edward tossed his cards on the table and rose to go to her side. He took her chin in hand. “Protect you?”
    “Sable,” she managed to utter in a strangled voice, snapping her fingers weakly.
    To his credit, Sable growled. Victoria fancied the dog was as puzzled as she over her difficulty. Why, after all this time, had Sir Edward chosen to behave in this manner?
    “Sir,” she whispered as his face neared, “you forget yourself.’’
    He stepped away from her, dropping his hand to his side. “So I do.” He ran long fingers through his hair, then glanced at her again. “I suspect this is why they keep young women secluded and under guard.”
    Victoria merely nodded, and the tension in the room eased a trifle. She had not managed to avoid, quite cleverly, she thought, the amorous intentions of the various men that she sculptured without learning something. Why did so many feel she would welcome their attentions? Oh, it was true that a few were attractive and possibly tempting. But she’d no desire to become involved in a clandestine liaison. She had met only one man she had wished with all her heart was not already wed. One embrace forced her to accept the danger of her position. She’d acquired Sable as her constant guard, and the dog daunted the most assertive man.
    The dog had done its job well . . . until now. Why, of all the men in the world, did Sable choose Sir Edward Hawkswood to slaver over?
    The remainder of the day was spent in playing cards. Victoria tried to concentrate, so that she might avoid contemplating what it would be like to become involved with Sir Edward. She was not a little green girl just out of the schoolroom. Stolen kisses were not beyond her.
    From time to time she glanced at him, memorizing his facial structure. She would sculpture him just for herself. A smile touched her lips as she thought of how silly that sounded, hiding the bust of a handsome man in her room, just to gaze upon it in idle moments. It was the combination of that aristocratic nose and brow with the unexpectedly sensual mouth that drew her, compelled her to look again and again. The planes of his cheeks, the shape of his head, were beautiful in a masculine way. He fascinated her. And in that path lay