Free The Rejected Suitor by Teresa McCarthy Page A

she would be chasing a monstrous dog all afternoon.
Moreover, her light muslin gown did little to offer her protection against the
freezing cold clawing into her bones.
    "Nigel?"
she called for the hundredth time. "Nigel, sweeting, please answer
me." Nothing but the rustle of the trees and the shifting vines.
    Fat,
cool raindrops plopped onto her nose, breaking through her brief sanctuary. Her
lips quivered. Surely she had been in worse scrapes before, had she not?
    She
stepped deeper into the trees as the rain continued to hammer against the maze.
Branches scratched her back and she squirmed into another position, falling
into a crouched pose, trying to decide which trail would lead her back to
Hemmingly.
    "Nigel?"
she whispered, feeling miserable. "Where are you, boy?"
    The
sound of treaded earth met her ears. Her heart banged against her chest.
"Nigel?"
    "Lady
Emily."
    Jared?
The baritone voice slammed into Emily's senses like a ball of ice, shocking
her. Before she could do more than turn around, a powerful hand pulled her to
her feet, and she found herself gazing into a pair of cool amber eyes.
    "What
the devil are you doing here by yourself?" he asked harshly.
    She
blinked. What was she doing there?
    With a
muttered oath, he whipped off his dark cloak and placed it about her shoulders,
not waiting for an answer. She shivered at his touch, pressing her lips together
in both anger and relief.
    He
towered over her like some Viking king. Biscuit-colored breeches clung to
muscular thighs, and with a pair of tanned hands resting on his tapered hips,
he appeared more menacing than Roderick when he’d found Mr. Fennington in her bedchambers.
    She
swallowed, tightening her hold on the cloak. "Th-thank you."
    "You're
cold." He leaned over, his hand innocently brushing her cheek as he
fastened the clip about her throat while mumbling something about infernal
gowns.
    His warm
breath whispered along her neck, and Emily wanted to fall into his safe
embrace, seeking the comfort she remembered so vividly. She wanted to ask him
why he had left her, why he had broken her heart, but the iciness in his voice
brought her back to earth.
    "Traipsing
into this maze was a stupid thing to do, madam."
    Emily
knew he was right. It was stupid. But she refused to let him make her feel like
a fool again. "Your dog was the one who led me here," she countered
back.
    His
cool, assessing gaze cautioned her not to say another word. "My dog,
madam, is the one who found you."
    Her eyes
widened in doubt. "Nigel?"
    The
culprit gave a sudden bark, and Emily flinched.
    Nigel
appeared around the corner, his chocolate brown eyes ogling her as if daring
her to dismiss his heroic actions of coming to her aid. She narrowed her gaze
on the traitor. The beast! He was wagging that innocent brown tail, looking as
sinless as an angel from heaven. It was insufferable!
    "Agatha
is beside herself," Jared said abruptly. "It would behoove you to
take care next time you decide to venture on a little escapade like this again.
She does not need a simpering miss to cause her a bout of apoplexy."
    Emily
raised her chin. Agatha was about the most robust lady she knew in all of
England. Apoplexy indeed.
    "Forgive
me, my lord. How careless of me to put you out. You, of course, have much
better things to do than search for such an ungrateful busybody as me."
    To her
astonishment, his lips curled into a beguiling smile, sending more warmth to
Emily's bones than the borrowed cloak. "Independent little piece of
baggage, aren't you? What happened while I was gone?"
    "You
happened," she said, not able to keep back the pain in her voice. His eyes
darkened dangerously, but feeling like she did now, she had no patience left
with either him or Nigel.
    "You
left me, sir. You lied to me. Ha. You must have thought me such an addlepated
miss to have fallen for the oldest ploy in the world. You led an innocent young
girl on a fool's errand and had a good laugh, did you not?"
    His jaw
clenched, his