“How much silver do ye think they’ve got in that house?” Jack tapped her finger to her chin. “I bet it’s loads.”
“You had me bring you here so you could commit arobbery?” he said incredulously, and before she could leap out, he reached past her and closed his hand around the carriage’s mahogany door handle, holding it firmly closed. “I am not in the habit of aiding a petty criminal.”
Jack crossed her arms and scowled at him. “Who are ye callin’ petty? Let me out!”
“So that you can rob these poor people blind? I think not.”
“Why the ’ell would I rob poor people?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s not what I—”
Thwap.
A loud strike against the side of the carriage caused Stephen to jump.
Jack peeked quickly out the window, then sat back with a grin. “Now you’re in for it,” she smirked, and before he could ask her what she meant the door was wrenched out of his grasp, nearly causing him to fall out onto the cold pavement below.
“What are you doing with my ward?”
He had time to catch a glimpse of flashing blue eyes and a pink mouth curled in a warrior’s snarl before a long wooden cane smacked him on the shoulder with such force he felt the blow from his neck all the way to his fingers.
Bloody hell.
Had all of London gone mad?
“Well?” the she-devil demanded, raising the cane for a second blow. “I asked you a question!”
“My lady,” he said, hastily throwing up his hands as much to protect his face as to show her he meant no harm. While she was wielding a weapon, it was evident by the tailored fit of her clothes and the coiled blonde curls pinned neatly beneath an elegant velvet hat that he was addressing a fellow member of the aristocracy. “I believe there has been some confusion. I didn’t realize Jack was your daughter—”
“And that grants you permission to molest her?”
“What? No. No, I—ouch!” he snapped when the cane smacked his knee. “Will you please stop hitting me?”
“When you release Jack!”
“For the love of God,take her.” He leaned out of the way, giving Jack room to scramble past him and jump out of the carriage. She and the woman exchanged a few muffled words, and then she skipped into the house with a cheerful wave tossed into the wind.
The woman frowned up at him. “It seems that I... owe you an apology. I should not have leaped to conclusions before having a better understanding of the situation.”
“I would never hurt or abuse a child,” he said stiffly.
“Jack assured me you were nothing but polite and respectful. I’m almost certain you cannot say the same for her in return.” The corners of her eyes crinkled. “Won’t you come inside for some tea? I do believe, Lord Lancaster, that we are neighbors,and I’ll admit I’ve long been curious about the mysterious earl whose manor at the end of the street has sat vacant for the past year.”
“That depends.”
“On?”
“What you’re planning to do with that cane.”
A sheepish smile flitted across her lips as she tucked the cane behind her back. “Once again, you have my sincerest apologies. Were my husband here, he would be the first to acknowledge that I have a tendency to let my temper get the better of me. Particularly when I fear those I care about are in danger. I can assure you it will not happen again.”
The tension in Stephen’s shoulders—the left one still smarting—dissolved. After all, what wouldn’thedo to defend those he loved? What lengths hadn’t he gone to in order to find Abigail? And what wasn’t he willing to do to keep her?
“My visit must be brief, but I will accept your invitation, Lady...”
“Lady Katherine Colborne, Marchioness of Kentwood. But please... call me Kitty.”
*
