Free Darby: Bride of Oregon (American Mail-Order Bride 33) by Bella Bowen Page B

stance, kind of like a boxer preparing to fight. Only she didn’t raise her
mitts.
    “All right,” she said. “Go on, then.”
    “Go on, what?”
    “Take it out on me. Let me have it. Don’t
underestimate me, Lord Beauregard. I am made of sterner stuff than you might
think.”
    “Let you have it?” Ridiculous.
    She shook her head in obvious disappointment. “Don’t
dare throw the first punch, do you? Because I’m a lady?”
    He chuckled. “You’re suggesting I strike you?”
    She put her chin in the air. “I wouldn’t advise
it, my lord. But I have no doubt that one day I will drive you to it.” She
lowered her brow again. “But I see I’ll have to start this fight.”
    He laughed again. “I don’t want to fight—”
    “How dare you leave me alone on our wedding night?”
    The blow took him by surprise and knocked the wind
from his lungs as if she’d actually struck him. “I apologize—”
    “Come now, my lord. I thought you wanted to fight,
not apologize.” It was like a taunting tap on the chin. She might as well have
been bouncing on her toes, circling him in the ring.
    He didn’t want to hurt her, of course, but the
idea of sparring cheered him up. So he dealt a jab himself. “ You were
relieved when I left you alone.”
    “Believe you me, sir, that relief did not last
long.”
    Again, he wanted to apologize. But a sharp pang in
his leg had him cursing.
    She laughed like a school yard bully. And he
imagined her going toe to toe with Harrigan. But he would never allow that to
happen. Which reminded him…
    “How dare you go nosing around in the most
dangerous parts of the city? When I sent word that I would return when I could,
you should have stayed here, not gone looking for me.”
    “A wife’s duty, sir, is to care for her husband.”
    “No. A wife’s duty, madam, is to obey her husband.
So from now on, I suggest you keep to the role I hired you to play.”
    He’d struck a blow there. In her eyes there was a
flash of pain, or maybe anger. And for a heartbeat or two, he worried. But that
chin went back into the air and she laughed. With her hands on her hips, head
thrown back, she laughed at him.
    “It’s not a role,” she said when she finally wound
down again. “It’s a partnership. And I own half.”
    It was his turn to bark with laughter. “A
partnership?” He narrowed his eyes and pointed to her hand. “There is no
partnership, Lady Beauregard, until you put on the ring.”
    She had no quick retort for him then. Her chest
heaved slightly and her face was flushed, but he suspected it was more from
their argument than from his reference to her wifely duties. But he noticed
something else too.
    His own chest heaved as if they’d truly been
dancing together in the ring. And the throb in his leg had eased. He gingerly
rested back against his pile of pillows, careful not to move, not to wake the
pain again.
    Darby’s brow was pinched with worry as she hurried
around the bed to lay her cool fingers on his brow, and a dozen misty dreams
teased just beyond his reach…
    “Forgive me,” she said quietly.
    “Don’t be silly,” he said. “You gave me just what
I needed, and the pain eased.”
    “You swear it?”
    “I swear it. I guess all I needed was a good
fight. Thank you.”
    She blessed him with a beautiful smile. “Anytime.”
Her smile fell when she realized she was sitting beside him on the bed, and she
flushed even darker than before. She jumped to her feet. “Rest now. The doctor
will come soon.”
    Before she could get away, he caught her hand and
pulled her close again, then kissed the back of her fingers. “You are a puzzle,
Lady Beauregard. And I look forward to discovering all your pieces.”
    Hovering so close, face to face, he watched a
parade of emotions flit across her features. But there was one emotion that
both intrigued him and worried him—the woman was honestly afraid of something,
and he didn’t think it had anything to do with his