Free A Little Mischief by Amelia Grey Page B

witness a dead man walking.”
    “And it’s not every day that a lady meets so arrogant a man who passed himself off as a gentleman.”
    “I’m so relieved he’s not dead,” Gretchen said.
    “Yes. We all are,” Isabella added, looking pointedly at Daniel.
    “Some of us never believed he was dead in the first place,” Daniel answered confidently.
    Gretchen said, “I don’t know why I thought I had killed him.”
    “You probably never even struck him, Gretchy,” Daniel said. “But I think you’ve learned your lesson about walking alone in gardens where you’re at risk. And what kind of people you need to associate with.”
    Gretchen nodded in answer to Daniel but didn’t take her gaze off Mr. Throckmorten until he walked into another room.
    “Good. I suggest we all put this matter out of our minds and forget it happened,” he said, looking straight at Miss Winslowe. He wanted to leave no doubt that he was mainly talking to her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Mr. Throckmorten to make sure he doesn’t accidentally stroll into your back garden again.”
    “How kind of you to offer, sir,” Isabella said as calmly as if she talked about the weather. “I’m quite capable of speaking to the gentleman myself. I don’t need you to handle anything for me.”
    “Are you two arguing again?” Gretchen asked again.
    “No,” Daniel and Miss Winslowe answered.
    “Then, if you two will excuse me, I need to go to the retiring room,” Gretchen said and walked away.
    At once Lord Colebrooke stepped closer to Miss Winslowe and in a low voice said, “I told you to stay away from my sister.”
    She didn’t flinch but remained staring boldly into his eyes. “Or you’ll do what, my lord?”
    “A word or two from me and you will no longer be welcome in anyone’s house in London.”
    “I do believe you have me shaking in fear, Lord Colebrooke,” she snipped.
    “You need to be. I will not let you ruin Gretchen’s reputation with your Wallflowers Society.”
    Her shoulders lifted and her chin came up. “Are you always so boorish and ill-mannered to innocent ladies?”
    “Just ladies like you, Miss Winslowe, are the only ones who need to fear me.”
    “Fear you, my lord? That won’t happen.”
    He wasn’t so sure he appreciated the fact he couldn’t intimidate her, but it did spark a bit of admiration in him. “I don’t care which way you take what I’m saying. Just stay away from my sister.”
    “Gretchen approached me tonight, and I am not as impolite as you are. You do what you must. I will not rebuff her if she speaks to me.”
    Someone clapped Daniel on the back. “Who’s this? My long traveled cousin, the Earl of Colebrooke. How long have you been in Town?”
    Daniel forced his gaze away from Miss Winslowe to look into the blurry eyes of Bradford Turnbury. It was just Daniel’s luck that Bradford would show up while he was having a heated conversation with Miss Winslowe.
    Daniel had never cared for his cousin. As a young lad he had been cruel to his animals, and he was always picking a fight with Daniel’s older brother. Bradford had learned early that Daniel didn’t have the passive personality of his older brother, so he made a point of not starting trouble when Daniel was around. On more than one occasion Daniel was forced to come to his brother’s aid.
    “I hope I haven’t interrupted a serious conversation,” Bradford said. “You both seem so intense.”
    “Bradford,” Daniel said tightly, refusing to even acknowledge his inappropriate comments. “You haven’t changed a bit, I see.”
    Bradford smiled broadly. “So true, Danny. You haven’t bothered to write in over a year.”
    Daniel grimaced. He hated for Bradford to call him Danny, but he had learned long ago that the more he tried to keep Bradford from using the name, the more he said it.
    “I’ve been busy,” Daniel said, noticing his cousin’s flushed face, the puffiness and dark circles around his