Free Never Trust a Rogue by Olivia Drake

behind a gauzy veil of clouds.
    “I’ve been hoping to have a word with you in private, Miss Crompton.”
    His deep voice sent a shiver over her skin. Or perhaps it was merely the coolness of the evening air after the heat of the ballroom. “Oh? For what purpose?”
    “I’ll tell you in a moment.”
    Like a man on a mission, he steered her down the steps and to a bench beneath a trellis, where interlaced vinesformed a pool of deep shadow. She made the mistake of sitting down on the cold stone seat. Mansfield remained standing, instantly making her feel subordinate to him.
    He braced his hand on the trellis and stared down at her, his expession hidden in the gloom. “Now,” he stated in an ominous tone. “I’d like the truth from you for once.”
    She arranged her skirts in a show of nonchalance. “The truth?”
    “Precisely.” He leaned closer, so that she could see the glitter of his eyes through the darkness. “Tell me the real reason you came to visit my ward yesterday.”
    His voice was as chilly as the night breeze. Had Jocelyn revealed her questions about Nelda, the missing maidservant?
    Cautiously Lindsey said, “I thought I’d made my purpose quite clear. There’s a connection between her family and mine. It was only polite to renew the acquaintance. Would you deny Jocelyn the hand of friendship?”
    “Of course not. But she’s underage and her companions are subject to my approval.”
    Lindsey took the remark as a jab at her commoner status. Irked, she went on the attack: “Then why is the poor girl sitting alone in that house, with only an elderly servant for company? Does she even
have
any friends?”
    “Very few. She grew up overseas. And I brought her back from Europe less than two months ago.”
    “Very few,” Lindsey mocked. “I’ll presume that to mean
none
. Do you ever take her on outings, to places where she can meet people her own age?”
    “She’s frail and cannot be subject to excitement.”
    “Bah. She might develop a bloom of healthy color in her cheeks if ever you took her on a drive to the park.”
    He paced back and forth, his shoes crunching the gravel. “Who are you to pass judgment on my care? You know little of her medical condition. I would sooner trustthe guidance of her doctor. And he has been adamant in his assertion that she’s to be protected from any type of stimulation.”
    There was a thread of worry to his tone that made Lindsey soften her voice. Perhaps he did have a heart, after all. “And what is it he says? As the accident happened last autumn, her broken bones should be healed by now. Why has Jocelyn not resumed walking?”
    “She suffers great pain whenever she attempts to put weight on her legs. And she’s prone to bouts of weeping afterward.”
    The poor girl.
“She seemed in excellent spirits to me.”
    “You aren’t with her all the time,” he snapped. “A deep melancholy affects her on occasion. In truth, she was quite despondent today after yesterday’s upheaval in her routine. Which is why I must forbid you ever to return.”
    His ultimatum was a hot prod to her pride. Lindsey shot up from the bench to confront his menacing shadow. “So you don’t approve of me, do you? You would sooner share the company of females like Lady Entwhistle.”
    “What the devil does she have to do with anything?”
    “I saw you with her tonight. If you cared a whit for Jocelyn, you would make the effort to behave as a gentleman. You wouldn’t consort with women of such dubious moral standards.” She brushed past him, then turned back. “And I’ll thank you not to curse in my presence.”
    His fingers closed around her bare upper arm, preventing her from storming away in a righteous rage. As he leaned forward to stare closely at Lindsey, a shaft of moonlight lent hard contours to his features. “You’re jealous of my attention to Lady Entwhistle.”
    Nothing he said could have startled—or infuriated—Lindsey more. It was the tone of his voice as