Page 2 of Temptress in Disguise
Judging by her trembling lips and the way she clutched her carpet bag, she was a runaway, out to trap some poor bugger into marriage.
He was ready to curse her to Hades, to tell her in no uncertain terms to get out of hisbloodyvehicle. But he didn’t believe in fate or coincidences, and something about her delicate features made him falter. Perhaps his brothers knew he’d come to the Belldrake and had staged a prank.
Devious devils!
Had they hired a buxom wench with sultry eyes and a teasing grin he would have deposited her on the pavement. But this woman was small, graceful and downright terrified. Doubtless a disguise to allay his suspicions.
Keen to test her mettle, and to see if his brothers had wasted their hard-earned coin, he leaned forward and slammed the door shut.
Let’s see how she fared as his prisoner.
“I’m Aramis Chance. As you’ve invaded my vehicle, I demand to know your name, madam.” Like the lady herself, he guessed it would be something delicate and unassuming.
Relief flashed in eyes that were a deep ocean blue in the darkness. “Thank heavens you came. I shall explain all once we’re on the road. Tell your coachman to drive to the Copper Crown north of Highgate.”
The Copper Crown?
What the blazes?
The inn was a den for cutthroats and thieves. No respectable woman in her right mind would enter the yard, let alone grace the establishment.
Aramis smiled to himself. Perhaps this wasn’t a prank, and his brothers had arranged a night of debauchery followed by a fistfight at the Crown. There would be a scuffle. A chance to test his pugilistic skills. An opportunity to lift his sullen mood.
Still, he would play the disgruntled brute a little longer.
“This isn’t a damn hackney cab.” And he was by no means a gentleman. The sooner she realised that, the better. If this woman wanted to dance in hell’s flames, she needed to know the devil stoked the fire. “And I’m no spinster’s flunkey.”
She raised her chin. “I’m not a spinster. I’m three and twenty.”
The faint simmer of anger in her tone sparked his interest. He wished she would lower the hood of her cloak so he could study her hair. He imagined it was dull brown and tied in a knot as severe as her expression.
“And a virgin maiden,” he stated. Or a damn actress and one of his brothers wrote the notes summoning him to the Belldrake. As always, he would have the last laugh.
“For an intelligent man, you’re quick to make flippant assumptions.”
Aramis leaned forward and rested his arm on his knee. “Don’t disappoint me now. A shrewd woman would know it’s a test. A means for me to study your reactions and assess your character.”
She gulped. “And what did you deduce?”
“That you’re afraid of me.” As most people were.
She did not refute the claim. “You’re a dangerous man from a dangerous family. You have friends in high places and know the best enquiry agents in town. I risk your wrath and even gaol by taking command of your conveyance.”
Taking command of his conveyance?
This lady had courage abound.
Aramis laughed and made a mental note to thank his kin. The minx proved highly entertaining. “Madam, you barely have command of your emotions. You’re half my size and lack brute strength. What makes you think I’ll drive you to the Copper Crown?”
“If you’re so skilled at analysing a woman’s character, surely you can work that out for yourself, sir.”
A fire burned beneath her demure countenance. It was more glowing embers than rampant flames, but it warmed his blood all the same.
“Perhaps you intend to offer yourself as the reward.” He’d have scanned her body were she not shrouded in the drab wool cloak. At a guess, she had a narrow waist and small breasts that might bounce nicely in his palms. “You’ll need more than fluttering lashes and a coy smile to lure me into bed.”
It was her turn to offer an amused snort. “Don’t disappointme, Mr Chance. I’m inclined to think your deductive skills are decidedly poor. I would never trade my body for a ride across town.”
“More’s the pity,” he said, confident he could have her in bed before the first stroke of midnight. “It would have been a ride to remember.”
