Reckless - By Anne Stuart Page 0,105

a bastard."

-I won't have my child be the son of a swiving, mean-spirited, libidinous troll who—"

"Troll?" he echoed, momentarily distracted. "Surely not a troll, my precious."

"Troll," she said firmly. "I won't have you."

"You have no choice. He's my child, and he's not being born on the wrong side of the blanket. I've spoken to Pagett. Six o'clock at the parish church. I'm not taking no for an answer. If you're not there I'll drag you there by your hair.”

She reached for the closest thing she could find, a heavy book, and she threw it at him, but he ducked. He was already in rough enough shape—another few days and there wouldn't be enough left of him to mangle.

He'd calm her down once he got her naked. If he had to haul her out of bed and carry her to the church in his arms she was going to marry him. This was making him crazy, and the only way he knew to calm things down was to get her back in bed with him. Legally. Permanently In the meantime he needed to keep as far away from her as possible, or they'd either end up back in bed together or she'd kill him. And he wasn't sure which he preferred.

Charlotte looked at the door, vibrating with fury. How dare he think he could just come in and order her about? He thought she was just going to show up at the church? Ridiculous.

She slid out of bed. Meggie had gone to fetch her discarded clothes, and she dressed quickly. It wasn't that she didn't trust Lina to keep Rohan at bay, but Lina had her own troubles with Simon Pagett. If Charlotte simply disappeared for a little while it would be better all around.

How she was going to accomplish that was the challenge. She wouldn't be able to leave the house without one of Monty's countless servants seeing her, and they would have no choice but to report to Rohan. But perhaps once she made it out of the house she could change direction. The village was only a two-mile walk across the fields, and there was a coaching inn directly in the middle of it. She could safely assume that at least one of the available coach routes would lead to London, and once there it would be a fairly simple matter to come up with an alternative.

At least, she hoped so.

The hall was empty when she slipped out of her room. She did her best to appear cheerfully casual as she walked down the stairs, ready to break into a run if Rohan should put in an appearance. But for once luck was with her. Even the faithful Dodson was nowhere around, and Monty's bevy of handsome footmen were in short supply as well. She didn't bother trying the heavy front door; instead she slipped through the library, coming out on the wide terrace that led down to the formal gardens.

She moved quietly, keeping to the edge of the walled gardens. By the time she reached the end, her heart was pounding in her chest. Turning the corner, she barreled into a huge figure, and she let out a frightened shriek that quickly turned into a cautious sigh of relief.

"Monsieur de Giverney," she said. Adrian's cousin. What the hell was he doing here?

“Monsieur le Comte," he corrected. "The French government may have outlawed my title but I still account it as worth something."

"Indeed. I beg your pardon, my lord," she said swiftly, mentally cursing him. She didn't have time to deal with the man's vanity, she needed to get away.

"I'm here to offer you my help. Mademoiselle Spenser.”

Shew

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She was just about to come up with a quick excuse and exit when his words penetrated. She glanced up at him.

He was a handsome man in a barrel-chested, florid style, with thick lips and eyebrows, a strong blade of a nose and flat black eyes. She'd never liked him, and she didn't like him now. Unless his idea of helping was to get her away from Adrian.

"Help me with what, my lord?" she asked in an even voice, resisting Ihe impulse to look over her shoulder. For all she knew, Rohan had realized she was missing and at this rate it wouldn't take long to find her.

"You're trying to get away from my young cousin, are you not? A good lad, but importunate. I presume you've fought?"

She said nothing for a moment. She didn't like him and she didn't trust