Page 10 of No Ordinary Lady

It could all be a lie, but he would bet his life that her anger was entirely real. And he was troubled by what her uncle might do for trying to warn him about tomorrow’s ambush when he caught up to her again. She was only a little thing. Barely as high as his shoulder.

A sob escaped her, and she stamped her foot, looking up and around and anywhere but at him as she wiped at her eyes angrily.

Daniel reached for her—his heart beating faster and faster as he gently cupped her face in one hand. The woman kept her gaze lowered as tears continued to seep from her eyes, but then she leaned into his touch a little harder.

Poor creature. Forced to consort with thieves and scoundrels all her life. Lied to for years. He didn’t know what more he could do to help her, but he could be here for her tonight, at least.

Daniel risked attempting to embrace the woman as the instinct to shield her from further harm filled him. “You did the right thing, coming to warn me.”

“I hope so,” she whispered. “And I hope they never find either one of us. You must believe they won’t hesitate to hurt you if you were to get in their way. Leave at dawn. Don’t stop for anything or anyone on the road.”

“As long as you promise to do the same,” he said. “You must be careful tomorrow, too.”

She looked up at him, her eyes glassy bright. “Can I come with you in your carriage? Will you help me get away from this place?”

He winced and shook his head. “I am actually on my way home for an important wedding. My family…”

“Oh,” she breathed and looked away. “I understand. It would be a scandal, a strange woman like me traveling in your carriage alone.”

“You’ll be safer on the mail coach,” he promised her. “After all, your friends want to take my carriage on the road. Their attention will be on me and not on you going the other way. You’ll slip away unnoticed.”

“You could be right,” she said, and she pulled out of his arms. “I had better go then. Find somewhere to wait for the coach tomorrow.”

“No, you will stay the night with me,” he urged, ignoring the guilt that he would leave her behind to an uncertain fate in the morning when he didn’t have to. “You’ll be safe for the night here, and dry too.”

“There’s nowhere truly safe, but I would like to stay the night with you,” she murmured. “You are so kind. Kinder than anyone I’ve ever met before.”

“That’s what he said, too,” he noted dryly. “Your uncle.”

“That’s why he picked you,” she answered. “He thinks the kindest, most generous men are always the most easily swayed.” The woman turned away from him and moved to the fire, holding her hands out to the flames. “You should be more careful around strangers.”

“So should you.” He followed her a few steps. “Are you not worried about your reputation by being alone with me?”

She chuckled softly. “I’m not afraid of you. You’re a true gentleman toward a woman in peril.”

He was flattered by the remark and also annoyed by her faith in him. Most women labeled him a scoundrel from the moment they met. “How can you be so sure I’m a gentleman?”

“Any other man would have assumed I was here to share their bed by now,” she suggested. “You haven’t said anything yet.”

“True.”

But now she mentioned it, he couldn’t think of any better way to spend a rainy night than together. She wasn’t married, after all, and neither was he yet. But her life was in danger, and so was his, it seemed.

And he wasn’t free to do more than offer her haven for one night and he must send her away in the morning with perhaps more of his money in her pocket…hopefully towards a safe and happy life somewhere else.

“The bed is yours if you want it,” he offered, moving away from her. “I’ll sleep in a chair tonight.”

Daniel fetched a spare blanket from his trunk for himself and carried it to the only comfortable chair in the room as she removed her cloak and revealed a remarkably pretty gown beneath. She had a curvaceous figure. A body made for lovemaking, too.

He stopped himself before his imagination could run away with itself. It would be an uncomfortable night in more ways than one, but he’d be a gentleman for her sake. “What’s your name?”

“Marian,” she said. “And you are?”

“Danny,” he answered, omitting mention of his first and last name and especially his title, which would declare him a well-to-do local landowner.

Daniel sat himself down, regretting how his last night as a bachelor would hold no further pleasures besides kindness. He would be on his best behavior tonight and prove himself to be a man of moral character. Just as she assumed. “Well, Marian. Consider yourself at home for the night.”

“Thank you.” Marian went to the table and promptly finished his meal. As Sunday had predicted earlier, it was barely adequate, and Daniel had found he’d not had enough of an appetite to finish it all.