Free A Loving Scoundrel by Johanna Lindsey

longest time. They’d probably follow her if she gave the word. But she couldn’t do that to Dagger, despite how callously he’d treated her. They were all Dagger had. She tore herself away from them and headed down the street.
    Ironically, she’d wanted to leave for years, to find a real job, a respectable job, so she’d never have to steal again. Dagger was just forcing her to realize that dream sooner than she’d expected. She hoped she could be grateful to him someday for that, that the hurt wouldn’t last too long.
    Reminding herself that this was something she had wanted to achieve wasn’t helping to ease the pain. She’d wanted to leave on good terms, to be able to come back and visit, to maybe help the other children find respectable jobs, too.
    “Danny!”
    She swung around with a gasp, saw Dagger marching determinedly down the street toward her. The hurt eased up immediately. She’d known, deep down, that he couldn’t do this to her. He’d only wanted to scare her is all, so she’d stop breaking the rules and set a good example for the other children.
    He reached her and she saw that his expression wasn’t conciliatory at all. Her brief burst of hope was dashed. He was still angry. In fact, she’d never seen him quite this angry before.
    “Ye want to know why, Danny?” he hissed at her. “Yer too bleedin’ pretty for a man. I’ve found m’self wanting ye, and that makes me so disgusted wi’ m’self I can’t think sometimes. But I’d as soon kill ye as touch ye, so the better choice was to get rid o’ ye, now weren’t it? Ye’ll make do. I’ve no doubt o’ that. I taught ye well. But ye’ll make do somewhere else. Now be gone wi’ ye ’fore I change me mind and we both end up regrettin’ it.”
    She could have told him right then that he didn’t need to be disgusted with himself for wanting her. She was a girl after all. But that confession would probably produce a serious rage the likes of which she’d never seen, because she’d deliberately deceived them all these years. And besides, he’d just admitted he wanted her. If he knew she really was a woman, he’d want her in his bed for a time, then probably set her to whoring—or both. And why had she hidden her sex for fifteen years if not to avoid that very fate?
    She turned away and walked on before she said something that she would regret—and ran into Lucy around the next corner.
    “Cor, where’ve ye been, Danny? I’ve been looking every— wot’s wrong?”
    It was her undoing. The tears started rolling down her cheeks. She could have controlled it, gotten away without having it all ripped out of her, if she hadn’t run into Lucy. Anyone but dear Lucy, her sister, her mother, her only true friend…
    “He did it, didn’t ’e?” Lucy guessed immediately. “Kicked ye out?” At Danny’s nod, she added, “Ah, luv, don’t take it so ’ard. This is yer chance, ye know, to do something wi’ yer life that ’as some meaning. Ye talked o’ gettin’ yerself a husband, raisin’ some kids, teachin’ them proper. Ye’ve wanted to do that, but ye couldn’t begin while ye were still ’ere.”
    “I know,” Danny replied, barely able to get the words out past the lump in her throat.
    “Then buck up, eh?” Even as she said it, Lucy’s own tears were starting. She turned her back on Danny, as if that could hide the emotion welling up in her.
    “I’ll send word, once I’m settled,” Danny promised.
    “Ye better. I’ll worry m’self sick till you do. Now go. This is a good day for ye, luv. Ye ’ave to believe that.”
    Danny tried, she really did, to dredge up that optimism, but she couldn’t. She started to hurry past Lucy. This good-bye was much more painful than she could have imagined. But the other woman’s hand caught her shoulder, stopped her for one last minute.
    “Be yerself, Danny lass,” Lucy whispered through her tears, as she put her arms around Danny and hugged her tightly. “It’s finally