Free The Trouble With Princesses by Tracy Anne Warren Page A

see.”
    His brow furrowed. “Yes, I believe I do. Which is why I have been giving your . . . wishes on this matter a great deal of thought.”
    “Oh really? Have you been devising new ways to harass and vex me? Plotting new schemes designed to thwart my every attempt at enjoyment? You may think that by popping up at every ball and party I attend you will deter me, but it only makes me more persistent, more determined to have my way.”
    “So I can see, though I can hardly be held to account for receiving invitations to the same social functions as you, considering that we both move in the same social circles.”
    “Perhaps not, but you can be held to account for accepting those invitations. I’m sure you would have refused half of them were it not for your sudden, and unwanted, interest in my affairs.”
    He shrugged, making no effort to refute her charge. The clear amusement in his gaze made her blood boil.
    “I am a fully grown woman,” she stated. “I have no need of your protection.”
    “Maybe you do not, but you would be wise to take it. Which leads me back to the reason I wished to speak with you. I have a proposition I would like to make.”
    “Really?” she said skeptically. “And what, pray tell, might that be?”
    “Why do we not be more comfortable and take a seat?” He gestured toward the nearby sofa.
    She stood, unmoving. “I am perfectly comfortable as I am.”
    “Very well. As I said, I have been doing a great deal of thinking, and although I believe you would be best served by putting aside this radical notion of yours, I can see that you are indeed as determined as you say.”
    “I am.”
    “Knowing you as I do and given your sheer propensity for courting trouble—”
    “I do not court trouble.”
    “Maybe not, but it finds you nonetheless. Which means that if you continue on your present course you will most surely land yourself in a great deal of difficulty. Rather than invite such calamity to rain down upon you, I suggest you take measures to minimize the risks.”
    “What sort of measures?”
    “By taking a lover who will have a care for your reputation and your safety. A man who will see to it that no great harm comes to you in the course of this madness that you voluntarily seek.”
    “But that is precisely what I have been attempting to do in my search of eligible gentlemen!” she exclaimed.
    “Yet you risk exposure by the very nature of your search. You need a man you can trust implicitly,” he said smoothly. “A man who would never have cause to reveal your secrets.”
    “Oh? And just who might this paragon be that you have in mind?”
    The blue in his eyes darkened, gleaming with a light she had seen only once before. “Why, myself, of course.”

Chapter Seven
    R upert watched as Ariadne’s arms dropped to her sides, her lips parting on a quick inhalation. Her eyes widened, her pupils dilating so that the black nearly swallowed up the green of her irises.
    “Clearly you are surprised,” he observed. “Perhaps you might like to take that seat now?”
    She nodded, making no objection when he took her elbow and steered her to the sofa. She sank down onto the cushions. He believed it was the first time he had ever seen her speechless.
    “Would you care for a glass of sherry?” he asked.
    She shook her head.
    After a moment she lifted her gaze to his. “Why are you making this offer . . . ?”
    “I believe I have given you my primary reasons. I don’t want you left damaged without so much as a shred of your reputation remaining.”
    “I told you I don’t care about my reputation,” she murmured.
    “Then you are shortsighted and foolish.”
    Hot color flooded her cheeks, her mouth drawing into a tight line.
    “Now before you get your ribbons in a knot, hear me out,” he said.
    “Why should I?”
    “Because,” he began, as he took a seat on the couch next to her, “I can give you exactly what you want without your having to take any undue risks. In