A Spy Unmasked (Entangled Scandalous) Read Free

on the front lawn.
    Robert and Sophia sprinted past a fountain, stone benches, marble statues of Roman gods and goddesses. Running past a formal maze, they made it through the tended section of the gardens, and reached a dense copse of trees.
    They continued to run, weaving through tall elm and oak trees.
    The terrain was wild here, and brambles snagged her skirts. Sticks snapped beneath her slippers, and she was forced to leap over low brush. Her chest heaved in her tight bodice, and her breaths came in rasps.
    “Hurry. We’re almost there,” he said.
    Almost where? she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t catch her breath quickly enough to speak. She knew Delmont’s property stretched for a half mile more, up to the back road. Did he plan to hire a hackney and disappear into the London streets?
    Shouts sounded through the woods. She glanced back to see a dozen blazing torches weaving among the trees.
    Her panic rose to fever pitch. Delmont’s guards were gaining ground. A surge of energy, fueled by fear, made her dash onward.
    Robert’s fingers tightened on her wrist, halting her.
    “This way,” he said.
    He headed not in the direction of the back road, but east, where the dense forest foliage opened up to reveal a small river, its banks lined with stones and soft earth. Here they would be out in the open, completely at the mercy of the pack of men hunting them.
    She resisted. “They’ll see us!”
    “No. Trust me.”
    Trust him?
    Sophia stared up at him. Moonlight gleamed in his eyes through the mask. Gone were both the charming thief she had interrupted and the intoxicated coxcomb the guard had confronted. He now gave the appearance of a soldier, from his broad shoulders, to the firm set of his chiseled jaw, to his deep voice. He had an unmistakable air of efficiency, and the thought struck her that he was used to issuing commands, used to obedience.
    A dangerous man.
    Angry shouts sounded closer. She could hear the snapping of branches as men tore through the forest.
    Panic welled in her throat as the torches bobbed closer and closer.
    She turned back to the woods—not entirely safe, yet far safer than this. There tall trees and an abundance of bushes and foliage left dark shadows where a person could hide.
    “Let’s part ways here,” she said.
    “No. You’ll never make it.” His voice was like steel wrapped in silk.
    Her options were limited. To resist meant wasting precious time battling him, or she could acquiesce and plan her escape when they were no longer being hunted.
    He stepped forward; she didn’t shrink from his grasp.
    Moments later they reached the riverbank, and he let forth a low whistle. A rider emerged from the trees, holding the reins of a trailing chestnut horse. Her eyes widened at the man’s liveried clothing bearing a large D representing the Delmont household.
    “The lady rides with me, Ian,” Robert said in a voice of authority.
    “The marquess is not going to like this,” the footman said.
    “He has no choice.”
    She glanced from one man to the other. He had a man inside the viscount’s household working for him. Why? Who was he?
    She barely had time to ponder the question before Robert lifted her onto the back of the chestnut and mounted behind her.
    “Hold on,” he said. “We’re in for a wild ride.”
    With a swift kick of his heels, the horse took off at a run. Pressed against his solid chest, she clutched the pommel as they wove through the dense woods at a reckless pace.

Chapter Three
    Sophia’s thoughts were a jumble of panic and confusion. The guards’ shouts faded along with the light from their torches as she and Robert raced through Delmont’s property.
    Low-hanging branches snarled her skirts and silk stockings. All the while, she was conscious of the places where his body touched hers, of his arms around her as he held the horse’s reins, and the occasional jolt of his thigh brushing her hip. The heat from his exertions seeped into her, and her heart