Free Minx by Julia Quinn Page B

couldn't do it. Instead, he grabbed her around the middle, heaved her over his shoulder, and stalked off with her.
    "You can't do this!" she shrieked, pounding his back with surprisingly effective fists. "Tommy! Harry! Someone! Don't let him do this!"
    But the men who had been working on the wall didn't move. Openmouthed, they stared at the unbelievable sight of Miss Henrietta Barrett, who hadn't let anyone get the better of her in years, being forcibly removed from the pigpen.
    "Maybe we shoulda helped her," Harry said.
    Tommy shook his head, watching her writhing form disappear over the hillside. "I don't know. He is the new baron, you know. If he wants to carry Henry off, he's got a right to do it, I guess."
    Henry obviously didn't agree because she was still screaming, "You have no right to do this!" Dunford finally dumped her down next to a small shed where they kept farming tools. Luckily no one was in sight.
    "Oh?" His tone was utterly imperious.
    "Do you know how long it has taken to win the respect of the people here? Do you? A long time, I'll tell you. A bloody long time. And you ruined it. Ruined it!"
    "I doubt the collective population of Stannage Park is going to decide you are unworthy of respect because of my actions," he spit out, "although your own may cause you trouble."
    "What do you mean by my 'own'? You're the one who dumped the slop on my feet, in case you don't recall."
    "And you're the one who had me shoveling that shit in the first place!" It occurred to Dunford that that was the first time he'd ever spoken quite so crudely to a female. It was amazing how furious she could make him.
    "If you're not up to the task of running a farm, you can go right on home to London. We will survive just fine without you."
    "That's what this is about, isn't it? Little Henry is terrified I'm going to take her toy away from her and is trying to get rid of me. Well, let me tell you something, it'll take a lot more than a twenty-year-old girl to scare me off."
    "Don't patronize me," she warned.
    "Or what? What will you do to me? What could you possibly do to me that will cause me any harm?"
    To Henry's utter horror, her lower lip began to quiver. "I could... I could..." She had to think of something; she had to. She couldn't let him win. He'd boot her off the estate, and the only thing worse than having no place to go was never seeing Stannage Park again. Finally, out of desperation, she blurted out, "I could do anything! I know this place better than you! Better than anyone! You wouldn't even—"
    Quick as lightning, he had her pinned up against the shed and was jabbing his index finger into her shoulder. Henry couldn't breathe—she'd entirely forgotten how, and the murderous look in his eyes made her legs turn to jelly.
    "Don't," he spat out, "make the mistake of getting me angry."
    "You're not angry now?" she croaked in disbelief.
    He let her go abruptly and smiled, cocking a brow as she slid down into a crouch. "Not at all," he said smoothly. “I merely wanted to set some ground rules."
    Henry's mouth fell open. The man was insane.
    "First of all, no more devious little plots to try to get rid of me."
    Her throat worked convulsively.
    "And no lies!"
    She gasped for breath.
    "And—" He paused to look down at her. "Oh, Christ. Don't cry."
    She bawled.
    "No, please, don't cry." He reached for his handkerchief, realized it was stained with slop, then shoved it back in his pocket. "Don't cry, Henry."
    "I never cry," she gasped, barely able to get the words out between sobs.
    "I know," he said soothingly, crouching down to her level. "I know."
    "I haven't cried in years."
    He believed her. It was impossible to imagine her crying—it was impossible to believe it even though she was doing so right in front of him. She was so capable, so self-possessed, not at all the sort to give way to tears. And the fact that he had been the one to drive her to this—it wrenched his heart. "There you go," he murmured, awkwardly patting