The Matter of a Marquess - Jess Michaels Page 0,91
now. “They’re coming. They’re right behind me. You must release me or I’ll never get away.”
He heard voice from behind the door, shouts within the walls of the building and it kicked him from his shock. He grasped her arm and yanked her toward the carriage. She scrambled to escape as he hauled her up and slammed the door shut.
“Stop kicking me,” he growled, tugging her even closer and speaking low against her ear. “I am trying to help you.”
As he said the words, the door to the club opened and two large men burst out. Oscar leaned closer to the window, but didn’t recognize either of them. Two of Maggie’s ruffians, it seemed.
The woman froze in his arms, trembling as they shouted up to his driver, “Did you see a whore come out here?”
“Went that way,” Bentley said from above and the men took off toward the docks.
Oscar smiled. He only hired the best. And Bentley would get a nice bonus in his wages this week for that lie.
“Please let me go,” the lady said softly and Oscar realized she was still in his arms, pressed with her back to his chest, her breath coming short and heavy.
He loosened his grip on her arms as he said, “Don’t run.” She ignored him and lunged for the door. He sighed heavily and caught her wrist to pull her away from the door as gently as he could. “Please don’t run,” he repeated. “I’ve no intention of hurting you. As I said, I want to help.”
Her struggle ceased though from the way her body slumped he felt it was more out of exhaustion than any kind of trust. She slid to the carriage seat across from his and he released her. She stared at him, wary like a bird being stalked by a cat, and rubbed her wrist. He didn’t think he’d hurt her, he’d been trying very hard not to do so, but he wondered it she were trying to sooth herself with that touch.
“Why were those men chasing you?” he asked.
She didn’t respond, but folded her arms and looked longingly toward the door he was blocking.
He arched a brow. “Did you steal something?”
“No!” she cried out, indignant as she glared at him. “No, sir!”
“Then why were you running?” he repeated, more slowly, more firmly.
She shook her head. “Won’t you please let me out?” she asked. “The men are gone, at least for the moment. It will give me time to get a hack and go home.”
“That isn’t happening,” he said softly. “They could return at any moment. You’re clearly in danger, miss and I am your best hope. Tell me what is going on.”
She bent her head and her breath came sharp and hard in the quiet of the carriage. Oscar could see she was fighting tears. Winning that fight, though he wasn’t certain that would last long. Every graceful line of her body spoke of her deep fear. It wasn’t an act, it wasn’t a trick. In his line of work, he had long ago learned to spot those.
No, this was real.
“Please,” he said softly.
Her gaze lifted to his and for a moment their eyes locked. He could see her reading him, analyzing if he could relieve her trauma, or if he was just another part of it. Then her eyes darted back to her lap and she whispered, “They…they killed a woman. I-I saw her body.”
His gut clenched and for a flash of a moment he wasn’t certain he wouldn’t cast up his accounts all over the carriage floor. But he drew a deep breath, calmed himself as he’d learned to do over the years and opened the carriage door.
“Bentley, home.” He ordered before he closed them in again.
She jerked forward to the edge of her seat. “No! Sir, please. You cannot take me. You must let me out. Please!”
He leaned forward, hating that his presence was as much a fear to this distressed woman as anything else she’d been through that night. But he also knew he couldn’t let her go. Not under these conditions.
“Miss, you are in real trouble and if I let you out of this carriage, you’ll be in even worse. Let me take you somewhere safe and we can work this out.”
“Work it out on my back, you mean?” she snapped and through the fear he saw a spitfire nature that almost made him smile but for the horrific circumstances. “You were here for a purpose, weren’t you? And now you act like some hero come to save me? You are just as dangerous as those men after me for all I know. You’re nothing but a stranger who forced me into a carriage.”
He blinked. She had a point at that. He leaned forward and extended a hand. “Mr. Oscar Fitzhugh at your service, miss. I’m the owner of Fitzhugh’s club. And while I agree that you have no reason yet to trust me, I do vow to you now that I won’t hurt you. But I will try to save your life if you let me.”
Also by Jess Michaels
The Duke’s By-Blows
The Love of a Libertine
The Heart of a Hellion
The Matter of a Marquess
The Shelley Sisters
A Reluctant Bride
A Reckless Runaway
A Counterfeit Courtesan
The Scandal Sheet
The Return of Lady Jane
Stealing the Duke
Lady No Says Yes
My Fair Viscount
Guarding the Countess
The House of Pleasure
The 1797 Club
The Daring Duke
Her Favorite Duke
The Broken Duke
The Silent Duke
The Duke of Nothing
The Undercover Duke
The Duke of Hearts
The Duke Who Lied
The Duke of Desire
The Last Duke
Seasons
An Affair in Winter
A Spring Deception
One Summer of Surrender
Adored in Autumn
The Wicked Woodleys
Forbidden
Deceived
Tempted
Ruined
Seduced
Fascinated
The Notorious Flynns
The Other Duke
The Scoundrel’s Lover
The Widow Wager
No Gentleman for Georgina
A Marquis for Mary
To see a complete listing of Jess Michaels’ titles, please visit:
http://www.authorjessmichaels.com/books
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Jess Michaels likes geeky stuff, Vanilla Coke Zero, anything coconut, cheese, fluffy cats, smooth cats, any cats, many dogs and people who care about the welfare of their fellow humans. She is lucky enough to be married to her favorite person in the world and lives in the heart of Dallas, TX where she's trying to eat all the amazing food in the city.
When she’s not obsessively checking her steps on Fitbit or trying out new flavors of Greek yogurt, she writes historical romances with smoking hot alpha males and sassy ladies who do anything but wait to get what they want. She has written for numerous publishers and is now fully indie and loving every moment of it (well, almost every moment).
Jess loves to hear from fans! So please feel free to contact her in any of the following ways (or carrier pigeon):
Email: [email protected]
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