Page 19 of The Tantalizing of a Scandalous Rake

Adam nodded vaguely. He had his suspicions too. Though his presence here had been kept quiet, surely if someone wanted him dead badly enough they could have tried again by now?

He leaned forward when a man threw down his tankard of ale and it sloshed onto the table. Rosie held up her hands as the man rose to his feet, but Adam could not make out the conversation. He didn’t need to hear them to understand the man’s aggression, however, and he’d be damned if someone spoke to Rosie in such a manner.

Harriet put a hand to his arm. “Rosie can manage it, you just see.”

“Like hell,” he said through gritted teeth.

He did not care if she could manage it or not. She should not have to tolerate such behavior in her own establishment. He strode past the crowds and stepped between Rosie and peered down at the man. Large shouldered and muscled from farm work by the smell of him, the man might be shorter than him, but he had strength. If Adam were at full health, it would not have been something he even noted but he grew horribly aware of the slight tug that still inflicted his side.

“Adam,” Rosie protested.

“I suggest you leave, sir,” Adam ordered, his arms folded.

“I have every right to be here.” The man came toe to toe with him, so close that the acrid scent of his breath washed over Adam.

“Not when you behave so.”

The man’s lip curled. “Who are you? Her minder?” He glanced over him. “You’re some kind of rich man aren’t you? Slumming it with her perhaps?” The man glanced around. “See here? The beauty got herself a fancy man.”

Adam’s fist met the man’s jaw before he had quite realized what he had done. Pain burst through his knuckles. The man staggered back, sending chairs tumbling to the floor with a crash. A companion rushed over to his side and squared up to Adam.

The man clutched his jaw. “What the devil?”

“Adam!” Rosie exclaimed.

Adam thrust a finger at him. “You will not besmirch the lady’s name and you shall leave. Now.” He drew up his shoulders and ignored the tearing pain in his side. He most certainly should not have done that.

Rosie stepped around him, hands to her hips. “The gentleman is correct. I do not tolerate such slander. Now leave or you shall be barred permanently.”

“You’re going to let him return?” Adam asked, his voice low.

“Indeed.”

The man eyed Adam, his stare hard and cold then glanced at Rosie. His shoulders sagged and he gave a slow nod then gestured to his friend. Rosie watched the man leave before turning to him.

She put a hand to his shoulder and jerked her head toward the kitchen. “A word, if you please.”

He grimaced. He’d known enough women in his time to know Rosie was utterly furious with him. Just wonderful.

∞∞∞

Rosie eased out a heated breath. She should not be impressed by the hit. She would not be impressed by it. Adam should never have interfered in her business. The men who frequented her inn needed to know that she and she alone was in charge or else who knew what would happen?

She shut the kitchen door and rounded on him. “You overstepped, Adam.”

“You would tolerate such behavior?”

“He was moaning about the ale, nothing more.”

“He acted with disrespect.”

“And I would have solved the problem with no violence.” She shook her head. “We are lucky you did not start a brawl. I have never once had one in my inn and I have no desire to change that.”

“What about what he said about you?”

His jaw worked as he paced past her then rested his rear against the worktop, his arms folded. Though he did not wear his finest clothes, there was no doubting his breeding. It could be heard in his voice and seen in the stiches of his shirt and jacket, and the way he held himself, even now.

“What was said about me would not have been uttered had you not interfered!”

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