Page 13 of Escaping the Earl
As the barmaid passed by, Sabrina waved her over.
“Yes, miss?”
“Excuse me, but do you know of anyone looking for any help nearby? A shopkeeper, seamstress, someone in need of a lady’s maid or a milliner?” She knew her skills were lacking, but she was desperate now.
The barmaid leaned in close. “Sorry, miss, there’s only a need for one sort of position around these parts, the kind you spend on your back. If you want to do that, I know a man to see about it.”
“Oh, thank you, but no. I couldn’t do that.”
“You can if your belly stays empty long enough.” The maid sniffed and walked off.
Sabrina wanted to disagree, but there was a frightening truth to that. Perhaps she had to go to London after all. By the time she collected her things and was in the stables seeing to Celeste, she already feared what the coming days would bring. She should have been worrying about the here and now.
“Well now, ain’t you a pretty piece!” a gruff voice said from behind her.
Sabrina whirled to see a massive, meaty man who smelled of spirits. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on her. She held Celeste’s reins, but the man blocked her path to freedom.
“Excuse me, sir, please step aside so that I may pass.”
“Now, now, no need to be so ’asty,” he said with a leer. “I overheard what ye were sayin’ back inside. Why don’t we ’ave a bit of fun, and I can send ye on yer way with a bit of coin. What d’ye say?”
She straightened herself and glared at him. “Move, or I will have my horse tread over you.”
Fury lit the man’s dark eyes. “So it’s like that, is it?” He lunged for her, and she screeched and swung a fist at him. Celeste reared back, pulling free of Sabrina’s tenuous hold on the reins. It gave the man time to grab her.
“Let go of me!”
He pulled her off her feet, and she was thrown onto a bed of hay in an empty stall. When he knelt to grab her, she savagely clawed his face.
He touched his cheek and found blood on his hand. “Oh, ye’ll pay for that.” He removed his belt, formed a loop, and snapped the leather against his palm. Terror overcame Sabrina as he advanced on her.
“I say—this doesn’t look the least bit consenting,” a voice drawled from behind her attacker. “Though I could be mistaken. Some ladies do like a bit of danger in their love life. Spices things up.”
Her attacker turned to stare at Rafe Lennox, who leaned casually against a wooden beam just beyond the stall Sabrina was trapped in.
“Sod off. The bitch is mine,” the man growled.
“Really, now? I had thought Miss Talleyrand had better taste.” Rafe glanced at her. “Tell me, are youconsentingto this, Miss Talleyrand?”
“Tothis? Of course I’m not consenting to this!”
“Well then, there you have it,” Rafe told the man. “Off you go now.”
“What?” the man huffed. “Who the ’ell do ye think ye are?”
“I am the man telling you to go.Politely. I may not be a saint, but I’m still a gentleman, and as such I am duty bound to intercede and free this woman from you.”
“Oh, bugger off, ye puff dandy.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “I can see words are of little use here. I had better make it quick, shall I? Miss Talleyrand, please watch yourself.” It was her only warning.
Sabrina scrambled back just as Rafe launched himself at the man. The flat sounds of fists striking flesh over and over and the snapping of bone made her flinch and close her eyes. The stable floor shook as the man hit the ground beside her in the stall and didn’t move.
“There. It’s all right, Miss Talleyrand. Our friend here is out for now,” Rafe said. She opened her eyes to see Rafe holding a hand out to her. She accepted it, and he pulled her to her feet. “Perhaps when he sobers up, he’ll have learned the importance of obtaining a woman’s consent.”
“Oh, Celeste!” Sabrina gasped.
Rafe glanced about, as though expecting to see somebody else. “Who?”
