The Heiress Bride. Susan Paul

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СКАЧАТЬ unexpected sight of her completely naked body made her scream again. She dived back into the bed and pulled the bed covers all the way up to her chin.

      “God’s bones, mistress!” said the stranger, laughing, his green eyes filled with amusement. “Must you make so much noise? You’ll have our good hosts bursting in to see whether I’m murdering you.”

      “How d-dare you!” she sputtered, tightening her grip on the covers. “How d-d-d-dare you! Get out!” She pointed a shaking finger at the door. “Get out! Now!”

      The man raised an eyebrow at her. “You would throw me out of my own room, mistress? After all I’ve suffered in it for your sake these past two days?”

      “Your room!” Rosaleen was flooded with confusion. “God’s teeth! What am I doing in your room? And where are my clothes? My things? At least send up a maid and go away so that I may make myself decent. Dear God in heaven!” She set a hand to her forehead. “How long have I been here? I don’t even know where I am!”

      “It appears you’re feeling better, at least,” he commented. “Your back doesn’t pain you?”

      “My back?” she repeated. Was the man deaf? Why was he still standing there when she had asked him to fetch a serving maid? “Yes, it’s much better. Now go away and send the maid at once to attend me.”

      He sat on the bed beside her, causing Rosaleen to lean away and clutch the blankets even more tightly. “Whoever beat you like that ought to be strung up by his feet and repaid in kind, sweeting, and if I ever meet up with the bastard I promise you I’ll do it. I’m half-tempted to alter my plans and go after the fiend anyhow, so help me I am. What in God’s holy name did you ever do to deserve it?”

      Making sure to keep herself covered, Rosaleen scrambled as far away from him as possible. The fact that he was sitting on a bed that contained a totally naked lady didn’t seem to bother him in the least. Indeed, he looked perfectly at ease.

      “Well?” he prompted.

      “I…” Rosaleen faltered beneath his green-eyed perusal. Merciful heavens! He was certainly handsome enough. His long dark hair, tied up neatly in a tail at the back of his head, had been lightened several shades by the strength of the sun. His face, squarely built and strongly featured, was the most perfectly masculine face she had ever seen. His lips, full and sensual, seemed drawn into a permanently mocking grin.

      “Please get off the bed,” she said.

      He laced his fingers around one crossed knee. “Not until I have a few answers from you, sweet. I’ve not wasted nearly two full days biding my time at this wayside inn for mere pleasure. The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner we can both be quit of this place.”

      “Sir, if you will please just…go away for a few minutes so that I can…can…” She clenched her teeth. “If you’ve not yet noticed, I am not dressed.”

      He grinned. “I’m not blind, mistress.”

      “Well, then?”

      “Well?” he repeated.

      What in God’s name was the matter with him? Was the man an idiot? “Well then,” she returned patiently, “would you please go away and send the maid to me?”

      “As soon as you answer my questions, I’ll answer yours,” he offered, unlacing his fingers and reclining across the bed near her feet, keeping himself propped up on one elbow. “We’ll begin with something easy. Your name.”

      “My name?”

      “Yes, sweeting, your name. What is it?”

      “It’s…” None of your concern, she nearly told him, then thought better of it. She didn’t have a great deal of time to waste bantering with this fool. She had already lost an entire day, a day during which her uncle would have been looking everywhere for her. If he hadn’t yet come this direction, he soon would, and Rosaleen had to make certain she was on her way to London before that happened. “Rosaleen,” she finished.

      “Rosaleen,” he repeated approvingly. “Very nice. You’re certainly as pretty as any rose I’ve ever seen. What’s the rest of it?”

      Rosaleen bit her lip, wondering how much information she could safely part with. This man had saved her from an unpleasant situation and had clearly made certain that she’d been taken care of while she’d lain sleeping, but how far would his chivalry extend once he knew she was the heiress to one of the most powerful and richest titles in England? If he were to discover the truth, might he not try to force her back to her uncle with the hope of a reward?

      “Just Rosaleen,” she whispered.

      “Just Rosaleen?” His eyebrows rose mockingly. “I find that hard to believe, sweeting. Even the lowliest of serfs has more of a name than that. Come, tell me the rest of it. I’ll do you no harm.”

      Rosaleen shook her head. “I cannot tell you,” she said, “and I would rather not lie. I do not know you or anything about you.”

      She expected him to press her, but instead a look of understanding passed his features, and he smiled. “I’d rather you not lie to me, either, sweet. Honesty is a virtue I prize more highly than others.” He nodded his head in tribute. “Rosaleen will suffice. Now, lovely Rosaleen, where have you come from, and who beat you, and why did he do it?”

      Resigned to the fact that he’d not be satisfied until he had his questions answered, Rosaleen replied, factually, “I come from a small village north of here. I was beaten by my uncle for refusing to marry the man he had chosen for me. And before you bother to ask, I am on my way to London. Now, may I please be allowed to dress?”

      “In a moment,” Hugh said thoughtfully, settling his long body more comfortably on the bed, oblivious to the fact that Rosaleen drew herself into an even tighter ball.

      He was quiet for a time, considering her words.

      She had been beaten by her uncle for refusing to marry the man who’d been chosen for her. It was a common enough offense, and by law her guardian had every right to do exactly as he had, but that didn’t matter to Hugh. When he had carried her up to his room two nights before, he had been sickened to discover the condition she was in. The wounds on her back had opened and bled through her clothes, soaking them so thoroughly that he’d had to cut them off and throw them away.

      The memory made Hugh frown. The bastard who’d beaten her was an animal, and hunting down such animals was one of Hugh’s very favorite sports. But she clearly wasn’t going to be forthcoming with enough information to lead him on that hunt, a fact that only made Hugh that much more curious.

      She wasn’t a whore, of that he was certain, but if she was a lady, possessed of any kind of gentle birth, she couldn’t be anything grander than the daughter of some vaguely landed lord. The plain clothing she’d worn had given testament to that, and she’d already admitted as much, having said that she came from a small village.

      He could almost envision what had happened. Her destitute uncle, desperate to better his standing, had decided to use his beautiful niece to his advantage by marrying her off to someone wealthier and better landed. Rosaleen had balked, her guardian had promptly tried to beat her into submission, and she had escaped and ended up at this inn. And with him.

      “On СКАЧАТЬ