Page 44 of Love and the Shameless Lady

His lordship grimaced. “Her brother Colin mentioned that she receives payments from a publisher, but I thought they had to do with a cookery book.”

“She is writing one of those as well, but the romantic novels are the cause for concern. She received a letter several days ago, threatening her life if she allowed her most recent novel, The Lady’s Revenge, to be published.”

Garrison’s brows rose. “That’s the book my wife stayed up all night reading! Claptrap, if you ask me, but she says it’s brilliant, and I expect she knows.”

“She does indeed. Daisy is extremely talented.”

A smile flickered across Garrison’s face. “Melinda will be in alt to know the authoress is her cousin.”

“As to that,” Julian said, “Daisy wishes to keep it a secret.”

“I doubt she’ll be able to keep it secret from Melinda. I gather she disdained giving in to the threat?”

Julian allowed himself a brief smile as well. “I daresay she would have, but the book had already been published by the time she received the letter.”

“And how did you become concerned in this business? Was this before or after you became betrothed?”

Julian explained how he’d met her first at the Diving Duck, where he was immediately smitten by her charms, and subsequently in Liverpool. “She looked as if she might faint, so naturally I offered my help.”

“Naturally,” Garrison said, a hint of unpleasantness in his voice.

“Just as naturally,” Julian said, “she resisted, as she does any man who—”

“Have you bedded her?” Garrison snapped.

“God, no! Of course not.”

“There’s no ‘of course not’ about it.” A soft tap sounded at the door. “Come in!”

Glad of the respite, Julian controlled his growing ire. Reams entered with the requested sherry, set it gently down before his master, and retreated.

The instant the door shut behind him, Julian said, “I’m a gentleman, my lord, and the last thing I would do is take advantage of a lady in distress.”

“There are many who would say Daisy is no longer a lady. Fair game, in fact.”

“I’m not one of them,” Julian said, “and if you would refrain from making insulting assumptions at least until I’ve finished, I would appreciate it.”

Lord Garrison nodded and offered him a glass of wine. “If I jump to unwarranted conclusions, it’s because I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“Nor do I, Garrison. That’s what I’m doing my best to avoid.”

“Is that so? And yet I seem to recall that your estate is encumbered with debt.”

Julian blinked at this non sequitur. “It’s true that my father left me in quite a financial pickle, but I fail to see how it concerns you.”

“It will concern Daisy’s brother. He will not want to give her to a man who only wants her for her dowry.”

Damn. Julian hadn’t considered that Daisy might have a dowry, but Garrison wouldn’t believe him. Fortunately, the Home Office had provided a convenient fiction to explain his relative affluence. “It is none of your business, Garrison, but a legacy from a distant relative considerably improved my circumstances. If you would kindly wait until I have finished my explanation—”

“Very well, get on with it,” Lord Garrison growled.

Julian took a sip of the excellent sherry. He had long ago learned rigorous self-control, as in his restrained, proper family, emotional outbursts were anathema. Even laughing loudly was somewhat beyond the pale. The members of the Warren family he had met so far reinvoked his long-suppressed temper with astonishing ease.

“The following day, she was exercising that restive stallion of hers when someone took a shot at her from a nearby wood.”

Lord Garrison let out an oath.

“Fortunately, she was in the act of putting her hat back on, and the shot went through the hat instead of her head. Her mount made away with her, but she’s an excellent horsewoman. Got him under control and drew her pistol when she heard my approach.”