Conspiring with a Rogue (31 page)

He knelt in front of her, the mattress creaking with his weight. His gaze held hers. “You’ve no need to be jealous. No doubt the little flower has been plucked, but it wasn’t by me, and I can’t answer to the pleasure of it. I’ve been told the customers at Madam Brouchard’s are a rough sea-faring lot.”

Whitney bit hard on the inside of her lip to keep from crying out. She forced a smile, though her face felt carved of ice. “So this girl’s a demirep like me? Is she beautiful?”

Lord Cadogan took her face in his hands. “Her eyes are putrid green, her fair skin freckled and her figure that of a boy.” The pad of his thumb swept over Whitney’s lips. She had the urge to open her mouth and bite him savagely until he howled in pain. Instead, she ground her teeth together. “Do you feel better knowing this?” he asked.

“
Quite. But I still refuse to lie on soiled sheets.”

He flung her over his shoulder and onto the settee before she could utter a protest. Looming over her, he curled his lips into a feral smile. “I prefer the settee, anyway.”

“
Saint Lucifer, I—”

His hand came over her mouth as his other one pulled her costume up around her thighs. Her heart took off into a thundering gallop. “Shh, Kitten. No more talking.”

That’s how it is, huh? Why am I not surprised?
She opened her mouth, but certainly not to bother with words. She bit down as hard as she could on his finger. His howl of outrage mingled with the sound of the door being flung open, slamming against the wall, and then banging shut. Three hooded figures swept into the room.

Lord Cadogan leaped off her, but before he could gain his feet, a hooded figure, who Whitney judged to be Drake by the height and the broad breadth of his shoulders, kicked his booted foot out, connecting squarely with Lord Cadogan’s nose. A sickening crunch filled Whitney’s ears. She expected Lord Cadogan to cry out in pain, but the man slumped to the ground, his head hitting the hardwood floor with a thump.

“
You’ve killed him,” she whispered, watching as a line of blood dripped down the side of Lord Cadogan’s face and dropped into a dark circle on the wood.

A dark hooded cloak fell beside her, causing her to glance up. Drake, looking more enraged than she’d ever seen him, bent in front of Lord Cadogan and pressed his fingers to the man’s neck. “He’s still alive,
for now
.”

“
Did you intend to kill him?” She could hardly imagine Drake hurting anyone, but as his gaze raked over her, pausing on her exposed thighs, and his fist clenched and unclenched spasmodically, she reconsidered what he might be capable of.

Drake leaned back on his haunches, his face twisting into an expression of pain. “Did he…?”

She could hear him swallow repeatedly. It took a moment for her mind to muddle through what he was asking her, but his gaze glued to her rumpled, pushed-up costume and her bared thighs made his concern clear. “No.” She snatched her costume down as she remembered her state and the fact that her cousin and Audrey were standing quietly by the door.

Drake was clutching her before she could completely cover her legs. His warm hands gripped her arm and he drew her close to him. His labored breathing filled her ears as he brought his lips to her forehead and pressed a kiss to her skin. “
Whitney
.”

The two syllables were more of a ragged moan than a word. In that moment, she understood what seeing her walk out of the room with Lord Cadogan had done to Drake. What must he have imagined? Her heart swelled with love and regret. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, raising his hands to hers and kissing his fingers.

She half expected some sort of declaration of affection or relief. Instead, Drake’s eyes turned steely, his gaze darkening to almost black.
“I’m going to turn you over and whip your backside when we’re away from this place,” he threatened in a tone that brooked no doubt. “I said go
nowhere
alone with him.”

“
I had to go. I have to help Lillian. And now I know where she is.”

“
And exactly what did you do to obtain that information?”

“
Nothing more than a kiss,” she replied scrambling to her feet.

Drake rose before her, but his eyes remained on Lord Cadogan. “If I’d not found you in time he would have used you in the worst way.”

She rested a hand on Drake’s arm. “But you did find me. All is well.”

“
For you.” He flung her arm from his hand and faced Lord Cadogan. “Not for me. All I can see is him looming over you, his hands on your body. Your fearful face. Sin, take them out,” Drake said, not turning to look at her or her cousin.

“
Drake, no!” She stepped toward him as he stepped away. Sin’s hand curled around her arm like a vise and dragged her backward and out the door. It slammed in her face with a deafening smack.

“
Sin, let me go,” she demanded, twisting her arm to no avail.

“
No,” he clipped. “What did you think would happen? Silly woman. He loves you. Do you think he’ll simply stand by and let another man touch you?”

She hadn’t thought. She hadn’t considered. She glanced at Audrey, but Audrey hurriedly averted her eyes. “He can’t kill him,” she pleaded.

“
He’s not an imbecile, Whitney. He won’t kill him. But I’d bet my fortune Lord Cadogan won’t forget you belong to another.”

“
For the last time,” Drake snarled as the carriage flew down the road, “I did not kill the man. He deserved it, but I left the bastard breathing.”

Wedged on the seat between her cousin and Lady Audrey, Whitney glared mutinously at him. “Then why wouldn’t you let me see him?”

“
Because we had to get out of there before his cronies came looking for him. I assumed my time tonight would be better spent rescuing your friend than engaging in fisticuffs with a roomful of men whose only aim would be undoubtedly to silence me.”

“
I suppose you’re right.”

Drake held back his smile. He knew how much the admission cost Whitney. She was nothing if not prideful. And impetuous to a fault. His insides still curled with what had almost happened to her.

“
How much longer do you think before we are at Madam Bouchard’s?” Whitney asked.

Drake made a show of parting the curtain and looking out. The less she knew, the better. “We’re here.”

He caught Rutherford’s eye while dropping the curtain back into place and the carriage slowed to a halt. Understanding passed between them as Drake opened the door and stepped into the brisk night air. Gazing ahead at the house, he contemplated how mad Whitney would be. Mad as hell probably did not sufficiently cover it, but this was for her own protection. Rutherford alighted from the carriage and met Drake’s gaze. “Shall I see Lady Audrey inside?”

“
Yes,” Drake agreed. “And make sure to lock her door.”

“
Lock the door to what?” Lady Audrey asked, alighting from the carriage.

Before Rutherford or Drake could answer, Whitney clamored out of the carriage and looked toward the house, letting out a bellow of rage. She raised her fists in front of her. “How dare you? Why are we here instead of Madam Brouchard’s?”

Rutherford charged past Drake, pulling a protesting Lady Audrey behind him.

Whitney advanced toward him. “If you’ll not take me to Madam Brouchard’s, I’ll take myself.”

“
I was afraid you’d say that.” He bent down, grasped her around her waist, and lifted her up and over his shoulder.

“
What are you doing?” she demanded as he strode across the pea-gravel drive and ignored the gaping stare of the groomsman who had come to greet them.

“
I’m keeping you safe. It seems you’ve forgotten
you
are a lady. You’ll not be going to Madam Brouchard’s.”

“
You can’t stop me,” Whitney cried, though her protest was muffled due to her head being against his back.

He snorted. “Clearly you have not taken stock of your current location, my lady. I
will
protect you, even if it means protecting you from yourself.”

“
You’ve no right.” She smacked her hands against his back.

“
You’re right,” he snarled, incensed that she was correct. She’d made sure to that when she left him, but his right or not, he would protect her. He hated himself for how desperate the idea of her in harm’s way made him feel, and he hated her for making him ever love her.

“
Go inside,” he snapped, setting her on her feet with a thud.

“
No. I’m going with you. Or alone if you force me to it.”

The hell she was. He reached out and pulled her to him, her breath caressing his neck. “Do I need to remind you of your gender?” he asked, bringing his lips inches from hers.

“
I’ll dress as Wentworth.”

“
They’ll see you are a lady when they rip your clothes from your body.” Just the images of what could be tortured him.

“
Who’s going to rip my clothes from my body?” She moved, and when she did her lips brushed against his. He wanted to feel her softness again, but not now. There’d be time enough tomorrow.

“
The men who capture you,” he answered, understanding full well she was trying to seduce him into submission.

“
Don’t be absurd,” she said, running a hand over his chest. “I won’t be captured.”

“
As if you could stop it.”

She smiled brightly. “You could and you will. I’ll stay by your side. I promise.”

“
You and your promises. You promised not to go anywhere alone with Cadogan. Remember?”

“
That was different,” she said with a sigh. “You know I had to, for Lillian’s sake.”

Drake frowned. It apparently didn’t matter to Whitney that she would put her own life in jeopardy by trying to save Lillian.
This
was exactly why he had fallen in love with Whitney. She cared for others before herself. She had forced her sister to break her betrothal to a madman, even though in doing so, Whitney had ruined her own future. And now she was risking her life to rescue Lillian, though Drake was perfectly capable of saving Lillian without Whitney’s help. It was aggravating as hell seeing in her right now what had drawn him to her in the first place. He preferred to think the good part of her was dead. This revelation made that endeavor much harder. “I’ll save Lillian without you,” he finally said.

“
Why?” Her voice pitched high, her seductress act abandoned. “Am I a burden to you too?”

“
Is that what you think?” Keeping the shock from his tone was impossible. “That you’re a burden?” He refused to admit to her that he could not bear the thought of anything happening to her. He should not care so much about a woman who didn’t love him.

She shrugged. “I’ve been a burden all my life. First to my mother, then my sister and my father.”

What is this
? He was missing something. Something important. He chose his words carefully, speaking softly and slowly. “And who are you a burden to now?”

“
No one. That’s the point, isn’t it?”

“
Do you somehow think you were a burden to me?” he asked, though he was sure that could not be right. He’d never once given her any reason to think this. The wind whistled through the trees, swaying the branches and making them swish. His heart pulsed heavy in his ears as he waited for her to answer.