Free Marrying the Marquis by Patricia Grasso

bygone era, the villagers would have burned Celeste as a witch,” he agreed.
    Ross drove the phaeton down the private lane leading to Fordham Road. They retraced the route taken earlier.
    “What is a Feathered Flock?” Blaze asked.
    “The flock consists of my sister Mairi, my stepsister Amanda, and their friends,” Ross answered, steering the phaeton onto Bury Road. “I dubbed them the flock cuz of all their preenin’ and twitterin’.”
    “Preening and twittering like canaries?” Blaze giggled at the provoking picture. “Your stepmother doesn’t like me.”
    “What makes ye say so?” Ross gave her a sidelong smile. “Did Hercules tell ye?”
    “Very funny.” Blaze was silent for a moment and then told him, “I saw hostility in her eyes.”
    “Celeste dislikes everyone,” he said. “Besides, she was hopin’ for a match between Amanda and me.”
    Ross halted the phaeton in the Inverary courtyard. “I’ll see ye at the track in the mornin’.”
    “I need to ask you something.” Blaze stared into his black eyes, hoping to discern the truth in his answer. “Did you ever kill an animal?”
    “I canna lie to ye,” Ross said, his expression serious. “I’ve stepped on my share of ants.”
    “I knew I heard screams coming from the direction of MacArthur House.” Blaze smiled at him and walked away.
    His laughter followed her into Inverary House.

Chapter Four
    “Hello, Tinker.” Blaze held her hand out.
    The majordomo passed her the bonnet. “I trust you enjoyed your outing.”
    “I did enjoy myself,” Blaze told him, “but the marquis’s stepmother makes mine seem like Little Bo Peep.”
    “Her Grace prays only for your happiness,” Tinker said, smiling.
    “Do you know my father’s whereabouts?” she asked.
    “His Grace is meeting with business associates,” the majordomo answered. “He has another meeting scheduled afterwards.”
    “Thank you, Tinker.”
    Blaze climbed the stairs to the second floor, her thoughts on her mission of mercy. This scenario was better than she could have hoped. Her father’s business meeting was divine intervention. He could not refuse her request in front of others. Doing so would show him in a bad light. After all, no gentleman would conduct business with a man who refused to rescue a defenseless animal from certain death.
    Pausing outside the office’s closed door, Blaze took a deep breath. She needed to appeal to his kind heart and logical business mind, and she needed her wits.
    Dealing with her father could sometimes prove difficult. He resisted rebellious challenges but appreciated mental agility and boldness. Like all men, her father caved when faced with feminine tears, but she would save that as her last resort. For once in her life, resembling his adored aunt Bedelia could prove useful.
    Blaze tapped on the door, opened it without waiting for permission, and stepped inside. Princes Rudolf and Lykos Kazanov glanced over their shoulders. Her father raised his gaze to her.
    “I apologize for interrupting,” Blaze said, her smile sheepish, “but I must speak with you, Papa.”
    The Duke of Inverary gestured to the princes. “We are discussing business, and I have scheduled another meeting directly afterwards.”
    “My emergency cannot wait,” she told him.
    “In my vast experience, women scream during an emergency,” Prince Rudolf teased her. “Why are you not screaming?”
    Blaze narrowed her gaze on him, her expression warning him to silence. “You have never experienced me in an emergency.”
    Prince Rudolf grinned. “True enough.”
    “Can this emergency wait?” her father asked her.
    “This concerns life or death,” Blaze answered, “and I will take only a few minutes.”
    The duke rolled his eyes at the smiling princes. When Lykos started to rise from his chair, the duke gestured him to remain where he was and then beckoned her forward.
    “Do you need privacy?”
    “No, Papa.”
    Blaze sat in the vacant chair between the