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He roared an expletive and snatched her parasol from her, wrenching her hand in the process. Annabelle pulled her stinging hand back in shock.
One of the women near them lifted her reticule and slapped the offending man on the side of the head. “Give ’er back ’er property, you filthy blighter!” The man turned and shoved Annabelle’s champion back into her seat. “Stay outta this if you knows what’s good for you.”
The woman stood back up. “I will not.”
“You will too.” Another man stepped forward and picked her up and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Bessie, time you were home cooking supper.” Pandemonium broke out. Annabelle and several women nearby tried to pull Bessie from her captor’s arms. Other men decided to follow the man’s lead. They were bodily picking up the women and carrying them out the doors, while women from the crowd attempted to stop them. One man shoved an old woman out of his way as he tried to carry someone out of the building. Another man took exception to the action and belted him.
Within moments it was a full-fledged riot.
Annabelle could not believe what was happening. She was headed to give aid to a young woman when Vivian tugged on her sleeve.
“Lady Annabelle, we’ve got to get out of here.” The terror in her friend’s voice arrested her.
Annabelle turned to look at Vivian and could not miss the other woman’s white face and eyes rounded in shock. She had to protect her friend.
“Come.”
Annabelle grasped Vivian’s arm and dragged her toward the door. They dodged flailing arms and legs, trying desperately to find a way out of the room without joining the melee in the aisles. When their progress was blocked again and again, Annabelle began to despair escaping the room unscathed. She and Vivian were backed into a corner when the man Annabelle had confronted started toward them. He looked drunk with fury.
Annabelle started to pray.
Cold chills coursed down Ian’s spine when he caught sight of Belle in the riot. He uttered quick instructions to Finchley. Then Ian headed for Belle, ignoring the scuffle around him. When he reached the man who threatened her, Ian latched onto the marauder’s shirt and waistband. He picked the blackguard up and sent him flying toward the wall.
He then grabbed Belle by the arm and pulled her against his body, tucking her head under his arm to protect her from waving fists. He led her through the fray to the door, dodging flying chairs and swinging arms. When they gained the outside, he did not let up his fast pace. They reached his carriage and he swung her up, jumping in after her.
Finchley neatly tossed the other lady up and Ian helped her settle while his friend leaped into the already moving carriage.
Ian bellowed at his coachman, “Move, man. Move.” His coachman listened and before long they were headed at a fast clip toward west London.
“Neatly done, my lord. For a moment I was certain Miss Graves and I faced imminent danger.” Belle nodded her head for emphasis.
“Yes, my lords, this is most fortuitous. Thank you for rescuing us.” Miss Graves gazed at Finchley with awe.
Finchley’s cheeks turned crimson as he attempted to restore the perfection of his cravat. “Think nothing of it.”
“Oh, but it was wonderful. The way you handled those ruffians was superb.” Unmistakable hero worship shone from Miss Graves’s eyes.
“Yes, wonderful, but how did you happen to be there, my lord?” asked Belle.
“I stopped by Lady Beauford’s townhouse and was told you had gone out. I decided to follow you.”
She gave him a perplexed frown. “How did you find me? My aunt was unaware of my plans to attend the lecture.”
Ian felt his hands fisting in his lap. Aye, Lady Beauford had thought her niece was busy shopping. He had known better. The feeling of unease that had settled on him during Belle’s discussion with her brother the day before had intensified.
“I had a feeling and searched out Finchley for the particulars. I have noticed that he knows everything that is going on in Town.”
“That was well done of you, but why did you come? Are you interested in reform issues as well?”
“Nay. I am interested in you and your safety.”
“Oh.” She seemed nonplussed. “I don’t know how you could have known that I would be facing any sort of danger. I can tell you that for me it was completely unexpected.”
Belle’s naïve assessment sent his temper spiraling. Turning to her, he gripped her arms. “What were ye thinking of, Belle? You could have been hurt.” A rapid pulse beat at the base of her neck and she trembled slightly under his touch.
It reminded him of her body’s response to his kiss. For a moment, he forgot about his anger and her near miss. All he could think about was taking her into his arms and pressing his lips to hers. She had responded so sweetly, with innocent passion, in the Markham garden. He silently vowed to further her education in this area at the closest possible opportunity.
She trembled again. Belle might not want to show it, but the fracas had upset her.
She took a deep breath before answering him. “It was just a lecture. The men that came turned it into a riot.”
He shook his head. She could not be that blind. “After the reaction you got from your brother over that penny print, how could you doubt it?” She jerked her arms away from him and looked fiercely at him through narrowed eyes. “My brother, or even the reactions of those men, will not stop me from listening to my sisters in the cause speak out.”
He felt his insides churn. The words were so like those of his grandfather. The man who had fought England’s rule at any cost, including that of his family and the people on his estates. “At what price, Belle, your life or another’s?” She stared at him and the innocent confusion in her eyes added fuel to his rage. She had no idea what risk she took or who might pay the price.
“That’s not it at all.” Her words came out in a shocked whisper.
He had hurt her. He swore under his breath.
The other woman spoke up from her seat next to Finchley. “Lady Annabelle has done nothing to put her family at risk.”
Ian glared at her. “No, it’s her own person she’s put in danger.”
Miss Graves blushed at the rebuke, but did not give up. “When she went to the lecture, she had no way of knowing some unruly men would arrive and cause a scene.”
“Was more than a scene, eh what? That chap looked ready to do you and Annabelle some harm.” Finchley’s voice carried conviction for all of his dandyish ways.
Miss Graves turned to him and smiled tremulously. “Yes, I do believe he was, but you and Laird MacKay appeared at just the right time.” Finchley patted the chit’s hand. “Forget about it.”
“Bloody hell.” Ian wasn’t going to be able to forget it. The sight of Annabelle trapped in the corner, trying to shield her friend, would haunt him for the rest of his days.
“My lord, your language,” Annabelle chided him.
“My language? What about you? Belle, you shouted like a fishwife and started a riot.”
“It is unkind of you to remind me of my behavior. I had great provocation.”
“And I dinna?”
She pursed her lips. “I will not debate it with you.” He laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was so prim and proper when minutes before she had been abusing a man with her parasol.
Belle frowned at him. “It is hardly gentlemanly to laugh at me, Lord Graenfrae.”
“Ian.”
She started to shake her head and opened her mouth to speak. He wouldn’t let her.
“After what we just went through, you can bloody well call me Ian.” She closed her mouth with a pop.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her in silence. She gave him a mutinous frown.
“Well?” he demanded.
“Very well, Ian. I can see that it is important to you, although I cannot imagine why.”
Satisfied on at least that point, he nodded. “As to why, you ke
n well enough that I’ll no have my wife addressing me by my title.”
Her eyes grew wide. “I thought… I mean you haven’t… It’s impossible.” She opened and closed her mouth several times. She closed her eyes for a few moments.
When she opened them again, her expression had cleared. “Never mind. If you are finished ringing a peal over me, I will introduce my friend.” He shrugged.
She looked like she wanted to throttle him. He understood the feeling.
