The Gentleman's Quest Read Online Free PDF Page A

news, and he braced himself for some kind of fainting spell or hysteria. But Miss Ingram again proved she was not typical of her gender. Evincing no fear or horror, she eyed him evenly.
    “But why would anyone want to cause such an accident?”
    “I would guess for the same reason you are here,” Kit said. “Perhaps they’ve heard of your uncle’s interest in the Mallory and think that you might acquire it or might know something that would lead them to it, such as what you just showed me.”
    Miss Ingram frowned. “I don’t see how anyone could know about it when it has been hidden for years.”
    Kit shrugged. “Perhaps your uncle had occasion to mention it to someone, or the former owner of the book in which this was found might have spoken of it.”
    “Mr Marchant, Raven does not easily share his secrets,” Miss Ingram said, yet there was a certain hesitation in her speech that made Kit wonder, especially when she refused to meet his probing gaze. Augustus Raven might be a man of mystery, but he was not particularly quiet about his possessions. Kit could well imagine a boast falling on the wrong ears.
    “The fact remains that someone has gone to great lengths to stop you, and if you had not nearly reached Oakfield, you might have had unwelcome company.”
    That made her blanch, and Kit pressed his point. “Miss Ingram, it has been my experience that the kind of people who seek this text do not take well to disappointment. If they think you have something they want, they will kill you to get it.”
    Miss Ingram paled, but did not falter. “That seems a bit extreme, even for a bibliomaniac.”
    “For your protection, I insist upon escorting you home.”
    Miss Ingram cocked her head, as though considering the suggestion. “That is very kind of you, Mr Marchant, but if someone is seeking this paper or the book it mentions, they will not be satisfied until they get it.”
    Undoubtedly. “But you’ll be safe once returned toRaven Hill,” Kit assured her, even as he felt a twinge of uncertainty. Hadn’t his own property been invaded? His own sister attacked? But what else could he do, especially for a woman who was no relation? By all accounts, Augustus Raven was wealthier and more powerful, his famous house practically a fortress.
    Miss Ingram shook her head. “If these people are as dangerous as you suggest, there is only one real option.” She leaned forward, her caramel-colored eyes glinting as she looked at him intently. “We must find the remaining edition. Once Raven has it in his possession, no one will have cause to pursue me.”
    Kit was taken aback both by the suggestion and Miss Ingram’s apparent determination. What she proposed was the kind of wild escapade that he and Syd and Barto might have planned in their youth, but not something that reasonable adults would undertake, especially strangers.
    Kit had never followed the strictest codes of propriety, but traveling around the country with a woman who was no relation to him, even with a sleepy chaperone accompanying them, did not seem like appropriate behavior.
    “I don’t think your uncle would approve,” he said.
    But Miss Ingram showed no sign of demurring. She straightened in her seat and gazed at him directly. “Raven approves of any means that gets him what he wants.”
    It was the challenge glinting in her eyes that made Kit waver. Instead of hiding away, sunk in the dismals, he could do something , maybe even hunt down those connected with the bastards who murdered his father,threatened his sister and now stalked Miss Ingram. But as tempting as that notion was, Kit knew he could hardly chase suspected killers while protecting her. And he would not use a woman as bait to draw them out.
    “It wouldn’t take long,” she said. “Cheswick isn’t that far from Raven Hill.”
    “Cheswick?” Kit echoed. The ancestral home of the earls?
    “Yes, just as you said.”
    “ I said?” Kit was used to being confounded by his sister, but