Free Regency 02 - Betrayal by Jaimey Grant Page B

cry.
    Especially in front of him.
    Adam drew to a halt before his mansion but
didn’t move to step down. Jem ran around to the horses’ heads and
waited patiently.
    Adam wished Connor was still in Town. He
might have some idea of how to help.
    Damn it, she didn’t need his help! He had helped enough. But he had to do something.
    “Get back on or get out of the way,” Adam
commanded curtly, coming to a sudden decision. Jem jumped back on
and they were off again, this time to Haymarket.

    “You want me to what ?” asked Raven in
disbelief.
    “Don’t sound as though I’m asking you to
commit some crime. I just want to know what Breckon is up to. How
would you do that without putting out a few lures?”
    Adam’s tone matched his expression of
unconcern. He leaned back in his chair, regarding his mistress
complacently, waiting for her response.
    “No, Adam. In fact, I am surprised you even
have the audacity to ask me to do anything for you.”
    His black brows lifted slightly at this.
“Why?”
    Raven stared at him for several shocked
moments. He was truly perplexed that she would be upset. Angrily,
she shoved her hand under his nose and snapped, “Look at that and
try to tell me I have no right to be upset with you!”
    On her wrist was a dark bruise about an inch
wide. Adam looked from her wrist to her dark, flashing eyes. His
expression changed not a jot as he said, “I apologize.”
    Whether he was apologizing for inflicting the
bruise or for assuming she would help under such circumstances was
a mystery to Raven. She did know, however, that it was the best she
could expect from her protector, so she shook her head in
exasperation and returned to their former topic.
    “I would rather not hint to the viscount that
I have any interest in him. He is a snake and a personal crony of
Percival Winters. No two more dangerous men do I know.” A
thoughtful expression crossed her beautiful features. “Except
perhaps the Duke of Derringer. But even with his ruthless
reputation, he still possesses something human.”
    Adam’s curiosity was piqued by his
companion’s assessment of a man society deemed the most dangerous
man in England, possibly the world. But he pushed it to the back of
his mind and asked instead, “Are you sure about Breckon’s
association with Winters?”
    “I am an actress, Adam. I am inundated with
importuning gentleman on a regular basis. Those two are as close as
inkleweavers.”
    Her protector pondered this a moment, then,
“Forget about attracting him, then. Just watch.” He rose to his
feet. “And watch Bri as well. Inform me the instant something
strange occurs.”
    As it turned out, all their plans were for
naught.

Chapter Eleven

    Lady Brianna, Countess of Rothsmere was taken
from Town the day after her return to the bosom of her family.
Everyone assumed she was taken home to her estate in Lancashire.
But Lady Rothsmere’s holdings were nearly as vast as Denbigh’s, so
she could be anywhere in England.
    Raven watched her protector pace around her
small sitting room and wondered what he could possibly do now that
the object of his distress was gone.
    Adam was wondering the same thing. He
suspected he wouldn’t see Bri again until the Season, which was
still several months away. It was frustrating to realize that there
was nothing he could do.
    Why did he feel the need to do anything?
    Adam stopped suddenly and stared at his
mistress. She was standing off to one side of the room watching him
intently. Her dark eyes were alight with worry and her mouth was
set in a grim line. She wore a gown of pale blue that curved low
over her perfect breasts and flowed out from the high waist in
gentle folds of shimmery silk and gauze. Her hair was unbound as
was her preference and lay in a sheet of shining black silk down
her back. Her eyes widened as he watched her and her facial
features relaxed slightly.
    What the devil was he thinking? Here he was,
one of the richest men in England, possessed of