Free In the Heart of the Highlander by Maggie Robinson Page B

Arden looked more beautiful in anger than he’d ever seen her, even if her shirtwaist was misbuttoned. “You had better remember I
am
a lady, not one of your London tarts. I have half a mind to tell Aunt Mim—Mrs. Evensong, that is—I’m finished with this job. If she learns what you’ve done, you’re a dead man.”
    “I meant no harm,” Alec said, ducking under the doorframe and not quite clearing it. That would leave a mark. “I only came in to talk, but there you were, all comfortable. I didn’t want to alarm you, and then you asked me to begin, and I—and I—”
    “Oh, just shut up,” Mary said, sprinting up the ramp. Alec noted the other small doors along the wall, convenient for the staff to supply rooms without being seen. They climbed until they came to swinging double doors that were marked Third Floor, where Mary’s rooms were located. He followed her meekly to her door as she fished the key out of her reticule. Fortunately no other guests saw them as she pulled him into her bedroom. To his astonishment, she sat on a chair, removed her six-button boot, and tugged down her stocking.
    “On your knees and finish the foot massage,” she snapped.
    Alec didn’t have to think twice.

Chapter

    8
    I t was very bad of her, she knew. No one had ever touched her feet before except a shoemaker, and her mother, she supposed, as she played “this little piggy” when Mary was an infant. Once Lord Raeburn was finished, she planned to kick him in the snout and then quit this job.
    No, she couldn’t quit. Exposing Dr. Bauer was just a day away. Her pride was not as important as making sure he didn’t compromise any more innocent women.
    But Mary was compromised. How much had wretched Raeburn seen? She’d been lucky she had been able to keep Bauer from barging in. A sheet was hardly a barrier to discovery, and it was the only thing at hand to conceal Lord Raeburn’s bulk. She had no choice but to fling it over the man and hope for the best.
    How comical he’d looked under the table, folded into himself like a telescope. How comical he looked now, like a dazed Prince Charming on his knees without a glass slipper.
    “Oh, do get up. I just wanted to see how sorry you were.”
    “If you had a dozen feet, I would rub them all,” Alec said, his face dusky with embarrassment. He stumbled up onto a chair and hung his head, the perfect portrait of penitence.
    “If I had a dozen feet, I would kick you to kingdom come,” Mary replied with asperity. “How could you do such a thing? I was
naked
. You, sir, are no gentleman.”
    “I canna argue there. All I can say is that things got out of hand.”
    Out of hand. Out of foot. Out of everywhere. His broad bare hands had touched her bare shoulders and back. Her left foot. Mary never had indulged herself with a massage before, but everything felt quite lovely when she thought Hedwig was over her, those magic hands circling her skin.
    Mary tugged her collar up, though she already felt as if she were strangling. “We were fortunate I was able to hold Bauer off.”
    “You were truly amazing. You may say you are not an actress, Mary, but your performance was equal to anything I’ve seen on the Strand. You know I’m a devotee of the theater—you were more convincing than any woman I’ve ever—” He cleared his throat. She knew his reputation; it was rumored he’d bedded half the actresses on the London stage. Her eyes narrowed, and he had the grace to look even more embarrassed.
    “All that shouting and throwing,” he said with admiration. “It was quite a show. I’ll have to have a bath myself to get rid of the smell of attar of roses.”
    Mary sniffed. The man was drenched in scent, as was she. It hadn’t been wise to fling things, but she’d been very angry.
    She was
still
angry, but there was no point in wallowing further. Cool heads always prevailed. She’d gotten them out of their predicament, and had furthered her cause with Dr. Bauer. Josef. They were