Page 18 of A Remarkable Rogue

She darted a glance over her shoulder. “You should have left that beast with my groom,” she grumbled although she reached behind to affectionately run her hand gently down the animal’s broad forehead.

“A dragoon never separates himself from his horse.”

The big gelding’s eyes drooped sleepily as she scratched beneath its forelock. At least her charms worked on one of them. “Because he needs you to take care of him?”

“Because a cavalryman on foot is a dead man,” he answered quietly.

She dropped her hand away from the horse with a shudder and turned back toward the path. “I think I prefer my explanation.”

“So do I,” he agreed earnestly. “But I don’t think you invited me to walk with you to discuss warfare.” He slid her a sideways glance. “Are you ready to tell me the truth about your involvement with Henry Everett?”

“I have told you the truth.” As much of it as she would ever tell him, that is.

He said nothing for a long while, and his silence shouted that he didn’t believe her. Yet instead of pressing the issue, he commented, “You said you were blackmailed.”

“Yes.”

“By whom?”

“I don’t know.”

“With what secret?”

Her heart lurched painfully. She would never reveal Robert and endanger him. She might not be part of his life, but she would always keep him safe. “I can’t tell you.”

“Then what proof do you have of your innocence?”

“None,” she answered truthfully.

He blew out a hard breath, now as frustrated as she was. “I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with me.”

“Is that what you’re doing—helping me?” Ha! He’d help her right into Newgate if she wasn’t careful. “And here I thought you were ordered to guard me in case my afternoon outing was actually a diabolical ruse to kill Lord Liverpool.”

“I can do both.” He winked at her. “I’m multitalented.”

The man was infuriating! Her hand tightened around the parasol handle. Just one good whack of it over his head, and—

“Icanhelp you if you’d let me.” He stopped and gazed somberly down at her. “But you’re not letting me. You have to trust me.”

She bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t do that…could she?

They’d stopped at the edge of the winding lake, and she glanced at the path. Should they go north or south?

No, holding her ground was best. So she stayed right where she was and tilted the parasol to shield her eyes as she fixed her gaze on him with far more bravery than she felt. He claimed he wanted to help her, so… “Why were you talking to St James about me?”

“We’re working together to catch the men who killed Henry Everett.” His gloved hand tightened almost imperceptibly on her elbow, but she noticed. “I was briefing him on our conversation at Barton’s.”

Her breath lodged in her throat. “Should you be telling me this? Iamyour enemy, or so you think.”

“I don’t know what to think about you,” he admitted quietly, squinting against the sun as he glanced casually at the stretch of park around them. “Except that you know more than you’re telling.” His gaze returned to her, and the unsettling look he gave her tingled through her right down to her toes. “So tell me the truth, Baroness, and prove your innocence.”

“You told St James that you think I might be killed.” She pulled her arm away from him because the protective feel of his hand on her elbow was nice. Far too nice for comfort. She couldn’t let him continue to touch her like that, or else she’d very much want to continue to be touched… Good Lord, did a person know when she’d gone completely mad? “Hearing that doesn’t make me want to place my trust in you, Captain.”

He tucked beneath her bonnet a stray curl that had come loose and stirred against her cheek in the gentle breeze. He murmured, “Sinclair and I are the only ones you can trust.”

“Youare putting me in danger, don’t you realize that?” Although they were alone, she lowered her voice to barely above a breathless whisper. “I’m being watched, and if they see me talking to you, spending time with you like this—if they know you and St James are trying to stop them—” She shivered despite the warmth of the day and begged, “Leave me alone, please.”

His expression sobered. “I can’t do that.”