Free Once A Wolf by Susan Krinard Page B

come openly, but instead you chose to hide—"
    "You wonder why, Rowena? It was because of you."
    She felt for the wall behind her. "I don't believe you. We never met—"
    "But I knew of you, my lady. I knew you were destined to be Cole MacLean's bride, as arranged
    by your brother the earl. How ironic that you fled that marriage only to accept it three years
    later."
    The color drained from her face. "Cole. Of course." She paced away from the wall and turned
    back, fists balled at her sides. "You hate the MacLeans enough to travel all the way to England…
    to interfere with Cole's marriage?"
    "Bravo, my lady. Your mind is as quick as your tongue. I've watched the MacLeans for years—
    and I knew how ambitious he was to increase his position and fortune with a bride of such great
    family. Since it's my pleasure to frustrate Cole MacLeans ambitions, it was essential that I learn
    all that I could about Lady Rowena Forster."
    Her chin jerked up. "And what did you learn?"
    "That you were a proud and stubborn lady. That you despised the thought of marrying another
    of your kind. That you wished to be merely human, and that you would do almost anything to
    attain that wish."
    Rowena's discomfort was manifest. Her normally frank gaze avoided him entirely. "You did not
    even speak to me."
    "There was no need. I observed. I saw that there was little chance you'd willingly be MacLean's
    bride. I found it necessary to leave England following the battle with the Russians, but I learned
    soon after that you had disappeared, before your would-be mate ever arrived to claim you."
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    "Did you also prevent Cole from coming to England?" Her words held the bite of sarcasm, but
    his silence wiped the mockery from her face. "Braden told me later that he telegraphed to
    apologize… a sudden family crisis—"
    "For which you should thank me, my lady. His 'crisis' gave you the time you needed to escape
    your fate. Unfortunate that you didn't follow your original plan to avoid him; it would have
    saved us both much trouble. But you were in a foreign country, and alone, when he found you.
    He made you believe that he could give you the kind of life you want. Is that not so?"
    "He was not what I feared when my brother arranged our marriage. It was my choice to accept
    his proposal."
    "And that is why you are here tonight, Rowena. I could not permit MacLean's scheme to
    succeed."
    "Then this feud between you is worse than I imagined. It is an obsession, madness—"
    "There is a certain satisfaction in madness. But you've never allowed yourself to discover that,
    have you?"
    "I saw what it did to my elder brother, with his great 'Cause' of saving the werewolf race. At
    least he had a noble motive. But you—"
    "You know nothing of me, señorita." He moved closer. "That could be remedied."
    "You wish to explain to me why your cowardly act against my fiancé is justified. You wish to win
    my sympathy and cooperation. I have no interest in the lies of a thief and kidnapper."
    "And killer. Don't forget that."
    She flinched almost imperceptibly. "I do not see your gun. Don't all outlaws carry guns?"
    "I've never much liked them. I prefer the use of other methods—"
    "To murder? How many men have you killed, Mr. Randall?"
    "I thought you were uninterested in my story." He shrugged. "If MacLean redeems you, you can
    ask him. Sin duda, he'll tell you the unvarnished truth."
    "You truly have no shame at all."
    "Why should I? I am not like you, Rowena, afraid of half of myself."
    He knew it was the one subject she could not face calmly, no matter how much she tried to
    dismiss it. He saw the repressed panic in her eyes, panic she fought with the very spirit she
    wished to forswear.
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    As if she could.
    "I am not afraid of myself—and certainly not of you," she snapped.
    "Muy bien. Then I suggest you eat and then rest. We have a long ride tomorrow."