Page 84 of Pride: The Rogue
Latimer narrowed his eyes on the trio of men.
Engrossed as they were in their discussion, they failed to note the lethal glare Latimer fixed their way. For if they had, they’d have known not only to shut their bloody, reckless mouths but the greater peril they, with each word spoken, found themselves in.
The fool who’d die first this night, pressed his point. “No nob’s gonna let one of his own, sister or sister-in-law, go journeying alone through the country…”
Toms scratched at his receding hairline. “Dresses fine like a lady.”
Murmurs of ascent went up around the group.
Scott dug in. “You know who else dresses fine like a lady?”
A crackling, incandescently hot fury, blazed to life within Latimer.
He seethed.
Dead.
Toms, clearly the village lackwit, needed further clarification.“Who?”
“Mistresses, you dolt,” came Scott’s exasperated, answering reply. “Mistressesdo.”
Another chorus of ‘ahhhs’ went up, swallowing Latimer’s savage growl.
I’ll kill Scott here and now and then finish off each of his friends for having discussed Livian Lovelace.
“But…”
Oh, there would be no ‘buts’ about it. They were dead. Each and every last one of the sorry sods.
All the men—including, Latimer—looked to the fellow seated to the left of Toms.
Scott, the leader of the sorry sods, let out an exasperated sigh. “What is it, Eli?”
“It’s just if the woman is in fact, some fancy lord’s mistress,” Eli spoke slowly, like he was talking himself through the puzzle, “then why is she stranded here?”
Stranded.
Latimer’s entire body tensed.
They know she’s alone.
Her brother-in-law, the earl.
Latimer added that other stranger to his rapidly growing list of men he’d kill. The man whose identity he’d find out and make pay the price for not having himself, properly looked after Livian.
“…done with her, he is,” Scott was saying. “Why else would he leave her, which means one thing?”
Latimer gnashed his teeth.
Do not say it. Do not say it…
“What’s that?”
The older, fatter Scott kicked the legs of his chair back and preened. “She’s in need of a protector.”
Eli snorted. “And you think some fine lady who was a fancy toff’s mistress is going to take up with you now, instead?”
Thunderous laughter met the somewhat wiser Eli’s question.
