Free Cloaked in Danger by Jeannie Ruesch

the force of a runaway carriage. “I stumbled, that is all.”
    She didn’t want Blythe and her duke to be involved in her father’s disappearance. She was happy they weren’t. How did that even matter? How did anything matter but finding her father? This wasn’t about her, or them, or Patrick. It was about her father.
    “In any case, it wasn’t long after Michael appeared that—
    “Blythe, I do believe we should turn back now.” Adam stepped forward, his hand on Blythe’s arm. “We are venturing into the darker lanes now, and Miss Whitney might have injured herself.”
    Aria looked up at him. “I am fine.”
    “Nonetheless.” His brisk, do-not-argue-with-me tone raised her temper and she stood taller, squared her shoulders.
    “I am perfectly content walking with—”
    “Lady Ashton!”
    “Mary,” Lady Ashton said, walking urgently toward the young woman trotting over. “What are you doing here? What is wrong?”
    “It is Miss Bethie, my lady. She’s sick and askin’ for you. His Grace sent me to find you.”
    “I am glad you did.” She looked at Adam. “Please forgive me for abandoning you so soon. I thought we’d get at least an hour. But my angel needs me.”
    Lord Merewood coughed. “An angel? Perhaps with her halo askew.”
    Blythe stuck her chin up. “She is spirited, yes. But she has a good heart, and she adores her father.”
    Aria’s heart tugged a bit at the obvious affection. “You love her very much.”
    “I’m as honored to become her mother as I am to become Michael’s wife.”
    Pain touched Aria with a surprising pinch. Blythe’s love for her stepdaughter was palpable. And at this point, Aria did not expect any sort of companionable relationship with her stepmother, much less one that breathed such open affection. They were too close in age, or too different.
    Or if Aria was blunt with herself, perhaps she couldn’t bear the thought of anyone replacing the cherished few memories she held of her mother.
    She gave her head an abrupt shake. Becoming melancholy over the past wouldn’t bring her mother back, and it certainly wouldn’t help her find the man who could bring her father home.
    “Lord Merewood,” she said suddenly, interrupting the talk between the siblings. “How has the season progressed for you? Have you enjoyed it thus far?”
    Both Blythe and Lord Merewood turned their heads, matching looks of odd surprise on their faces.
    Yes, her question had come out of the fog, with no relation to anything whatsoever.
    “Well, on that note,” Blythe said with a wry smile, “I must be going. Adam, perhaps you might keep Miss Whitney company?”
    “Yes, might you?” This time, Aria would not waste the opportunity.
    With a wave of goodbye, Blythe hurried off with the servant close at her side.
    Immediately, he turned his head toward her, even though his body was poised for flight in the opposite direction. “I want to know what you think you’re doing.”
    “It is called strolling the promenade. You should try it.”
    “I want you to stay away from my sister.” He placed his hand under her elbow.
    “I like your sister. I foresee us becoming friends. And furthermore, you have no right to dictate to me, Lord Merewood.”
    “I will do whatever is necessary to keep my family from getting hurt.”
    “She invited me on this stroll. Which is truly neither here nor there, since I will speak with whomever I wish.” She placed her hand over his with a gentle caress of her fingers. “Perhaps you would care to show me those darker walkways you mentioned?”
    “I think not.”
    She pulled her arm free, though the warmth of his hand lingered on her skin. “A pity the duke was not here this evening, then,” she said with a tinge of regret, as if she mourned the potential loss.
    “Why? Why would you want any sort of friendship with my sister while blatantly pursuing her betrothed? Are you that reprehensible?”
    “I can assure you, Ravensdale is not the man I’m looking