Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (133 page)

I am certain it would be enough to get me a berth of some sort.'

God, the girl had courage. The news he'd imparted to her was dire, but here she was, already rebounding from it and planning her escape. The chivalrous fires she'd stoked in him last night roared to life at her suggestion. There was no way he would deliver her to the docks and leave her to set sail alone. There was no telling what

of harm could befall a girl of such beauty, travelling without a chaperone on the high seas.

No crew he'd ever sailed with would have let her go untouched. It was no credit to the scurrilous company he'd kept over the years, but the

all the same.

Paine shook his head. 'Where would you go?'

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Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

'Anywhere. Whatever ship leaves first is the one I want. I haven't much time. They'll check the houses of my friends and the posting inns first. But they'll check the docks next.' Paine heard the frantic undertones in her voice. Courageous, but still frightened, then.

She took his reticence for refusal. 'I will go on my own if you will not assist me. It is not your responsibility anyway. You've done what I asked of you and that is the end of our association.' Julia rose from the bed, head held high and stuck out her hand. 'I thank you.'

Paine fairly exploded. Courageous, frightened
and
stubborn. The list of adjectives that described Julia Prentiss was growing rapidly. 'That's ridiculous, Julia.

Sit down, you're going nowhere. When you do, it will be with me. You cannot face Mortimer Oswalt alone and you can't go wandering around out there on your own, resourceful as you are.'

He began pacing away his agitation, gratified to see that Julia obeyed. He'd fully expected she wouldn't. It was good to know she could do as she was told. She would need that skill in the days to come if they were to effectively deal with Mortimer Oswalt.

'They.' 'We.' His conscience warned him he was running headlong into all

of foolishness on behalf

of Julia Prentiss, whom he had known less than a day; the foolishness of entangling with Oswalt again, and another kind of foolishness he couldn't name yet, but had everything to do with why the ancient Chinese warned against a man surrendering his yin.

Julia was peering at him through her thoughtful jade

Scott

eyes; a cool calculation crept into them, assessing him.

'Why?' she said.

'Why what?' Paine stopped his pacing.

'It has suddenly

to me that I know very

little about you.
Why
should I trust you? Who's to say that you aren't just as sly or as debauched as he is?'

'You trusted me enough last night,' Paine shot back, angry that she had the gall to categorise him with the likes of

although he knew she didn't know better-couldn' t know better.

Julia skewered with him a stare, refusing to back down from her inquiry. 'Last night was about a temporary arrangement. It seems the stakes have changed a bit since then. Last night I didn't need to know. Today I do.'

Good lord, the woman was exasperating. Now was the time for plans, not for some parlour game of twenty questions. Paine sighed. Conceding this small victory seemed the quickest way to overcome the obstacle of her obstinacy and move forwards. 'All right, what do you want to know?'

'Only two things. Really, you'd think I was the Spanish Inquisition.' Julia gave a sigh of her own. 'First, let me ask my question again. Why should I

you? Second, how

is it that you know so much about my betrothed when you've only been back in England for less than a year?'

The questions brought Paine's hand to a halt, frozen in his hair where he'd been riffling through it. How had a simple bedding turned into something so complicated?

He gave her the only answer he was prepared to give.

'You have two questions and

give you one answer

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Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

that suffices for them both. Mortimer Oswalt is the reason for my exile.'

Julia looked ready to ask a thousand questions. He shot her a sharp glance that suggested she reconsider that angle of conversation. The answer he had given her was by no means a complete one, but it was the truth and it was all he was going to say on the matter.

He watched Julia draw a deep breath, her eyes never leaving his as her mind sifted through his latest revelation, weighing the facts he'd presented like a judge hearing a trial. And he did feel quite like a defendant, waiting to hear the sentence.

He tried to tell himself the verdict didn't matter to him.

If she chose to leave, he'd be better off, able to return to his daily routine. If she stayed, upheaval was guaranteed.

There would be a past to revisit and old wounds to reopen.

Still, he could hear his own breath exhale with relief when Julia said in her

resolute tone, 'All right, all things considered, it seems best that I stay for now. But let's get one thing clear,

I will not be the subor-

dinate in this. It's my fate and I will have a say in it.'

'Absolutely.' Paine knew that was a promise he couldn't keep the moment the words were out of his mouth, but he would have agreed to anything just to keep her safe. One woman had already fallen to Oswalt's evil wiles because of his failure. He'd damn sure

another one didn't suffer the same consequences.

Late that afternoon, Paine concluded Fate couldn't have sent a more obvious sign than Julia Prentiss than