Page 13 of How to Catch an Heiress

"Will you now?"

Something in his tone gave her pause.

"Do not move from the spot." Without waiting for a reply, he released her and strode in the direction of the other coach parked down the street. He reached the other coach, opened the door and said something in low tones, then returned to where she stood. He grasped her arm and started forward.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you home.”

“This isn’t at all what I had in mind.”

“Then I suggest that the next time you be more precise.”

They reached the coach and Sir Stirling said to the driver as he opened the door, “Sir, when this door closes, you are to return to the lady’s home with all speed. I will pay you double your fare.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but swung her into his arms and stepped inside the carriage.

“Have you lost your mind?” she cried as he dropped onto the seat.

She was immediately aware of the hard thighs beneath her bottom and a dizzying current swept through her. He crushed her to his chest and held her with one arm while he pulled the door shut with the other, which left them in murky darkness. The coach lurched into motion.

"Release me," she demanded. To her surprise, he lifted her from his lap and tossed her onto the opposite cushion. She bounced and listed to the left but caught herself with her hand and righted herself. "I will not tolerate this sort of behavior in a husband,” she snapped.

"And I should tolerate this sort of behavior in a wife?"

She wanted to reply but, for the first time in her life, words failed her. "Forget the duel, Sir Stirling. It is likely he has fled. The house is dark. No one was home."

"Then you have nothing to fear."

She fell silent for a long moment, then said, "I cannot allow you to be killed on my account."

He didn't reply. She thought perhaps he didn't intend to. Then he said, "Wouldn't that solve your problems?"

She snorted. "Indeed, it would. But I am not that heartless."

They both fell silent again for several heartbeats.

"Why would you defend my honor after…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"A man always defends his fiancée’s honor."

“Do you really want to be a duke so badly that you would marry a woman who tried to discredit you?"

He frowned. "Discredit me? You know very little about men if you think something as mundane as bedding a woman can discredit him."

She stiffened. “I see.”

"You don't see, at all. At worst, had your plan worked, your father would have called off our engagement. You weren't really trying to hurt me. You have simply set your mind against our marriage."

She experienced an irrational desire to stick her tongue out at him. "Are you always so unreasonably reasonable?"

He laughed the same laugh she'd grown accustomed to, and she tried to ignore the warmth that spread through her. "It's a curse," he said.

“Are you saying that you didn't take advantage of the situation with Mrs. Dorring?" she asked.

"I believe all of ten minutes passed between the time I found her and the time I discovered you with Dorring. Perhaps we have hit upon the reason you don't want to marry me."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

“If you think I spend no more than ten minutes in a lady’s company before we part ways, then I can see why you would find me an undesirable husband.”