Page 133 of A Story of Love

Truly, would Lori never learn? How could she have believed that the heir to a marquessate would want her for anything other than a temporary pleasure?

She was a tart. And a very stupid, gullible one, at that.

How could she have believed that a man who’d broken hearts for almost as long as Lori had been alive would give his heart to a scruffy ink-stained wretch?

You could sell the story about Fast, his brother, and Lord Moreland to Parker…

Lori flinched away from the repulsive suggestion.

Just because Lord Severn is a manipulative, immoral garden slug of a man does not mean that I must sink to the same level!

How comforting your principles will be now that you are without employment.

Lori squeezed her eyes shut, as if that would somehow stop the horrible thoughts.

It only made it worse.

She barely made it to the basin before vomiting the food eaten less than an hour before.

Good God. How had this happened to her yet again?

Chapter 29

Fast seethed as he paced back and forth in the small, cramped room, infuriated that he’d spent the last five hours stuck in this blasted inn instead of in bed with Lorelei’s warm, sweet body spread alongside him.

But he’d had no choice in the matter because Bevil had finally responded to the letter Gregg had sent him. He agreed to exchange Ellie Jensen for Albert’s signed confession, and the meeting was to take place at this out-of-the-way inn.

Fast had arrived early, with a confession—not the real one of course, but one prepared by Gregg—in his coat pocket. But the appointed time had come and gone hours ago, and the earl had never arrived. Fast hadn’t wanted to leave, just in case the other man had been delayed by the wretched rains or his horse had thrown a shoe. There were a dozen reasons why Bevil might have—

The door to his room swung open and Gregg entered. “I received another message.”

Fast snatched the paper from him and read the brief contents:

You disobeyed my last instructions and allowed your men to loiter with you. I will give you one last chance. Go alone to the Crown and Thistle and await further instructions. If you are not there by nine o’clock the girl will die. You are under constant observation, if I find out your men are following you, the girl will die. If you disobey me in any way, the girl will die.

Fast crumpled up the message and swore. “Moreland has somebody watching me—he knew that I wasn’t alone. He wants me to go to the Crown and Thistle where there will be further instructions.

“The Crown and Thistle? Isn’t that on the Great North Road?”

“Yes, and I need to be there by nine.”

“You’ll need to hurry if you’re to make that.”

Fast nodded.

“We’ll follow, but we’ll stay at least a half mile—”

“No. Nobody follows me.”

“That is madness, Severn. You must let us—”

“I said no.”

“I hope you know that you’re walking into a trap.”

“Probably. But I’m not entirely defenseless.” He could see Gregg wasn’t convinced. “I won’t condemn an innocent young woman to death as well.”

“She’s probably already dead, Fast. I just can’t see Moreland keeping her alive.”