Free Princess Charming by Nicole Jordan Page A

aid her into her sidesaddle while Beaufort mounted his own horse, a splendid bay gelding. When she urged her mount down the street, he fell in step beside her.
    “But you
are
unwanted, Lord Beaufort,” she continued when they were out of earshot. “I am only letting you come along because it will save me having to takeone of Priscilla’s grooms. I would rather not have her know my business, and her servants usually report back to her.”
    His mouth curved wryly. “Even more wounding, being relegated to the role of servant.” When that got no rise out of her, he commented further. “Surely, you can venture out of the house on your own, Miss Collyer. I would not have expected you to fear for your reputation.”
    “I don’t fear for mine,” Maura said honestly. “But I have my stepsisters’ reputations to think of. Besides, my stepmother may not like having to spare a groom, but she dislikes even more having me ride about London without one. And since I am living in her home at present, I try to accede to her wishes.”
    She said nothing further as she turned the corner onto a busier street.
    “Where are we riding?” Beaufort asked after a moment of negotiating various carriages and wagons and pedestrians.
    “Don’t you know?” Maura countered archly. “You concocted this pretense of a prior appointment.”
    “I thought to leave the choice to you.”
    “How magnanimous of you.”
    “Indeed, it was.”
    When he offered her a winning smile, Maura’s defenses went on full alert. Lord Beaufort was as charming as the very devil, but she couldn’t afford the distraction of an irresistible rake just now.
    Still, she couldn’t keep her eyes off him, noting his tall, muscular elegance as he sat his powerful mount with ease. She knew he was a bruising rider from summers and holidays visiting Katharine and Skye at theirfamily estates, and undeniably his accomplishments as a horseman impressed her. Yet she felt far too self-conscious around Beaufort, no doubt because of those disturbing kisses of his … and because of his sister, too.
    Reminded of Katharine’s threat to throw them together, Maura felt a renewed surge of mortification. She was not one to shrink from a conflict, however, and so decided to be frank. “You have not explained why you invited yourself to ride with me, Lord Beaufort. You are here in order to placate Katharine, are you not? She said last night that she would convince you to help me, but I told her I didn’t need your help.”
    “I did not need convincing. I planned to intervene even before she pleaded with me.”
    “I do
not
want her dragging you into my affairs,” Maura declared in frustration.
    “Are you always a termagant at this hour of the morning?” he asked, surveying her.
    His simple question brought her up short. Whatever Beaufort’s faults, he did not deserve to be treated rudely.
    Maura sighed. “Not always. I did not sleep well last night.”
    “That is understandable. Let me guess. You spent much of the night fretting and plotting a new course of action to save your stallion.”
    She had plotted, yes, although she had not come up with any concrete ideas to rescue Emperor from the viscount’s clutches.
    “Fortunately, I am here to discuss a plan,” Beaufort announced amiably.
    “You needn’t go to such trouble.”
    “I expected that exact response from you. According to Kate, you are too proud to ask for help.”
    Maura shot him an exasperated look. “And here I thought she was supposed to be my friend.”
    “Oh, she is. She is merely concerned for you, and rightly so.”
    “Perhaps, but you have no reason to concern yourself with me.”
    He gave her a long, considering look. “Why are you so resistant to my involvement? Other than your pride, that is.”
    Maura managed a shrug. “It is embarrassing, having a man who is practically a stranger privy to my private affairs.”
    “Why, because you care for my good opinion?”
    His unexpected query surprised a