Free Saved by a Rake by Em Taylor

form of the earl. He lifted his fist to continue his assault, but someone grabbed his arms, hauling him back to his feet.
    “ Leave it!” It was James from behind him.
    “ You heard what he said,” Daniel ground out.
    “ Yes, and you hanging from the gallows for killing a peer of the realm is not my idea of a happy ending.” Daniel struggled against James’s hold but with less ferocity this time. He kicked the earl as he shrugged out of his friend’s grasp and turned to walk away. He was shaking hands with his bottle man when further noise from the earl attracted his attention. Newthorpe coughed and spat out a bloody tooth.
    “ You bwoke my jaw,” he managed, blowing a bubble of blood as he spoke.
    “ Be grateful it was not your neck.”
    “ You wiw pay for zis, Wamsey.”
    Daniel shrugged on his coat then pulled on his boots.
    “Come on,” he said to James.
    As he headed for the door, he noticed that Gentleman Jackson had gone. He was sure the owner of the club would not have approved of his final assault on Newthorpe, but hopefully he understood why. He shook his aching hand and grimaced.

Chapter Nine
    Rebecca walked into the breakfast room to find James eating a slice of toast and reading a newspaper. He looked up and quickly folded it before turning his attention fully on his sister. It had been three days since she had last seen Daniel at the garden party, and she assumed that he had thought better of a courtship with a fallen woman.
    As they had predicted, the number of invitations to Ton events had dwindled, and her mother was beginning to worry that soon there would be none. Yesterday she had again tried to convince Rebecca to leave for the country, but again, she had dug in her heels, refusing to be chased away by the gossipmongers of the Ton .
    “ I wondered if you wanted an evening out at Vauxhall Gardens, Becky,” said James with a certain amount of bored ennui. Unfortunately for him, the sparkle in his eyes told her he was not quite as bored at the idea as he was trying to prove. “I was thinking of hiring a box. I haven’t been yet this Season and from what I recall, you have never been.”
    “ Well, it would be nice to see the gardens once before Mama drags me off to the country to spend the rest of my life as the maiden aunt to your children,” she said, trying to keep a playful air to her voice. But she knew that she spoke the truth.
    “ Right, I’ll get a party together. Ramsey, Forbes, Worthington-Smythe, his sisters Caroline and Annette, and I’ll ask Ramsey if his sister is free. If I talk Mama and Papa into coming to be our chaperones.”
    “ Lord Ramsey? I am not sure he would want to go to Vauxhall in a party with me, James.”
    “ Nonsense. Good God, Rebecca, he won a boxing match for your honour just the other day.”
    “ But he has not come to see me, and I have not seen him at any Ton events.”
    “ Ah yes, well, he had a bit of a black eye. The bounder got in a lucky punch and Ramsey did not even realise until afterwards. It is healing nicely though. He did not want to frighten the ladies by turning up looking like a common thug.”
    “ Oh, I see.”
    “ Becky, not everyone in the Ton will ostracise you. And Daniel is my friend. He’s a good sort.”
    “ Yes, I believe he is.”
    She sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. James, on the other hand, had clearly decided his fast was sufficiently broken. He got up, picked up the paper and nodded to her. “I’ll arrange it for two nights from now.”
    His smile was genuine , and he patted her shoulder as he walked out of the breakfast room.
    Vauxhall Gardens! She had heard it was the most romantic place in all of England. She had always wanted to see the trees with their strings of coloured lanterns and to dance under the stars. Would Lord Ramsey ask her to dance? He had been very attentive towards her and had even fought for her honour. His very presence seemed to make her stomach flutter. How terribly