Page 30 of Teach a Rogue New Tricks
“No. It’s quite all right. What made you change your mind?” She peeked over her shoulder. Her family continued strolling, oblivious to the fact that she’d stopped to speak to a strange man.
He shrugged. “I’m quite sure you’re rather used to hearing these words, but—”
“I was right.” She smiled and tried not to preen too much. “You realize you must step out of the past and into your future, and that begins with—”
“No. I’m not sure I can ever escape my past.”
“Then… what words am I used to hearing?”
“I want to help you.”
Help her? Nonsense. “No one says that to me because I never need any help. I”—she tapped her chest—“help others.” She pointed at him.
“What about with adventure?”
Oh. Her chest crumpled inward like a piece of discarded paper. “I’ve proven rather bad at adventure. I should give it up. Thank you for the thought, though. As long as you’re here, you should take the opportunity to sink into the wholesome stream of family life.”
He pushed his hat all the way back, revealing eyebrows that had jumped high up on his forehead. “The wholesomewhat?”
“Stream of family life. Speaking of family, we should hurry to catch up with them.”
“We? I can’t catch up with your family.” He followed her, his feet tumbling one over the other in awkward succession.
“What did you think would happen if you came here? You’d skulk about behind us? Incognito?”
“Something like that,” he grumbled. “At least you would know the fellow doing the skulking. I thought you might find it… amusing.”
She did. Intensely. But she kept her chuckles between her teeth. “What good would it do you to stay hidden?” She took his hand and tugged him along.
Or tried to.
He dug his heels into the ground. “My coming here was not about me. It’s about you.”
He kept insisting that, and each time he did, the words were a like a tiny poke to her heart. It sort of tickled, made her smile. No one had ever specifically set out to help her, with adventure or otherwise.
She tugged harder, unable to move him an inch. “If you are here for me, then please dofollow.Me.” She grit her teeth and pulled some more.
And finally, he budged, tumbling forward right into her.
“Oof!” Her bonnet shifted forward into her eyes.
His hands wrapped around her upper arms, steadying her. “Are you all right?”
She nodded as he pushed the bonnet up and back into place, straightening it. He seemed to give all his focus to the task, and she took advantage of his distraction, to capture his wrist once more. And tug.
This time he followed. But with a bit of a high-pitched whine. “Miss Cavendish. What are you going to do? Introduce me?” He snorted but continued walking with heavy steps.
“Precisely.” She bounced along beside him.
“And say what? ‘Hello, family, here is a villain. He is pleased to meet you.’”
She peeked up at him as her family came into view. “I’ll say, ‘Father, I was standing too close to the tiger’s cage, and it swiped at me. Would have caught me, too, had this lovely gentleman not swept me aside and saved my life at the very last second.’”
“What a tale, Miss Cavendish!” His steps lightened.
Hers slowed. “But we should not lie on your first introduction. Not when you’re trying to be good.”
“True. I’ll add that little maxim to my notebook—never lie during introductions. I’ll just be going then.” He turned.
