Free Her Gentleman Thief by Robyn DeHart Page A

marriage with love and warmth. All her life she’d been dutiful and obedient, but her parents had not once asked her how she felt about this union. Nor had Griffin, beyond the polite proposal staged perfectly in front of her entire family. An impossible situation for her to say, “No thank you.”
    She supposed matters could be worse. Griffin could be old or cruel, and he was neither. Instead he was only a few years her senior and polite and so dashing she had nearly choked on her lemonade the first time he asked her to dance. Then had come the proposal and she’d wondered at her great fortune. It hadn’t taken long for her to see the truth. A man so handsome and dashing – a man so rich – he couldn’t possibly want her. He’d only asked for her hand because he wanted some property her father owned. Her lack of dowry hadn’t been an issue, so they’d brokered a deal and she was the price. She exhaled loudly, but thankfully did not disturb Hildy.
    Suddenly the carriage jerked to a stop. Outside she heard muttering, men’s voices. Perhaps they’d lost a wheel or taken a wrong turn. She peeled the curtain away from the window, but in the dark of the night, she could see nothing but outlines of the trees lining the road.
    Hildy stirred. “Why are we not moving? Have we arrived?”
    “I don’t believe so,” Annalise said, still trying to make something out of the dark shadows. She placed a hand on Penny’s knee to offer comfort.
    Then the door flew open. “Out, ladies,” a male voice said curtly.
    “Out?” Hildy said, clearly outraged. “It’s dark. If there is a problem with the carriage, we shall sit here until you fix it.”
    A masked man stepped in front of the opened carriage door. Annalise noted that most of Penny’s form remained hidden in the shadows, so she sat forwards, trying to hide Penny. Her heart slammed against her ribcage.
    Good heavens, they were being robbed!
    Without thought, Annalise tossed her cloak over her sister. “Stay still,” she whispered.
    He showed them a small pistol. “I said out.”
    “Do not leave this carriage,” she warned her sister in a whisper. Annalise made haste to climb down the carriage steps. Hildy promptly fainted at the sight of the gun. An excellent chaperone, that one. The lanterns hanging off the carriage afforded her enough light to take in her surroundings. Annalise noted their driver and footman were both blindfolded and tied to a tree.
    “Sir, we don’t have many valuables with us, but what we do have is yours,” Annalise said. “If you would simply let us be on our way.” She fought the urge to glance behind her to the carriage. She knew Penny would obey Annalise’s instructions and stay hidden.
    “Indeed.” The masked man came to stand in front of her. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have sworn recognition flickered in his eyes. The carriage door remained open and Annalise knew the robber could see Hildy’s large body slumped over inside. Eventually the woman would awaken, but for now her silence kept Penny safe and unseen. “You ladies are out quite late this evening.”
    Annalise bravely looked up to meet the highwayman’s gaze and found herself arrested by the most stunningly beautiful green eyes. And were it not for the black silk domino mask obscuring part of his face, she might have forgotten who he was and what was happening. The lantern light flickered off his features and she could clearly see a strong jaw, sculpted lips, a hint of a day’s growth of whiskers. It was quite evident that he was devilishly handsome.
    The highwayman leaned against the carriage, crossing his feet at the ankles. The pistol dangled from his hand, almost as if he held nothing more than a handkerchief. There was a casual air about him, as if this situation were a perfectly normal occurrence for a Monday evening.
    His sensual lips curved into a smile. “And where are you going at this hour?”
    “My wedding,” she said.
    But as the words