Beguiled Read Free Page B

air as he cried out, not so much in pain as in surprise.
    â€œMy dear fellow,” the highwayman said. “We’ve no wish to harm you or the girl. You’ll step down, please.”
    Stiff, angry, wary, Shelby did so. Ally heard a soft expulsion of breath, and when she looked, he was no longer standing. He had sunk easily to the ground, as if he had simply been so tired he had gone to sleep standing.
    She started to run toward him, crying out in alarm.
    She did not reach him. The highwayman caught her by the shoulders. When she kicked and fought and tried to bite him, he swore softly.
    â€œWhat is the matter with you, girl? You are playing with your life here.”
    â€œWhat have you done to him?”
    â€œHe will awake soon enough, none the worse for wear,” he assured her.
    â€œWhat did you do to him? You’ve killed him!”
    â€œHe isn’t dead, I assure you.”
    She tried again to bite the hand that held her. “This is ridiculous,” he hissed, and before she knew it, she was thrown over his shoulder and he was striding quickly off the open road and along a forest trail.
    What had she done?
    A trickle of fear slipped along her spine, despite her resolve.
    â€œIf you think you’re going to slit my throat in the woods, you’ll be truly sorry,” she warned him. “They’ll come after you. You are already wanted for your crimes. They’ll revive public executions—indeed, they’ll bring back drawing and quartering. I’m warning you—”
    â€œYou should start begging me,” he warned.
    â€œWhere are you taking me?” she demanded. “You don’t even know who I am!”
    They had apparently reached his destination. She was quickly and unceremoniously set down on a tree stump next to a small stream through the woods. Oddly, the water bubbled melodiously. The sun was almost gone for the day, just disappearing into the horizon, so they were surrounded by pale glimmers through the canopy of the trees and the coming shadows of the night. He set a foot on the log and leaned close to her. “Seriously, lass, I don’t know who you are. Had you answered that question for me at the start, you might well be on your way again already.”
    â€œDon’t call me ‘lass.’”
    â€œI should be calling you an idiot.”
    â€œ I? An idiot? Because I protest a wretched criminal who will surely end his days at the end of a rope?”
    â€œIf I’m to hang, anyway, what would it matter if I were to add your body to the list of my trespasses?” he demanded.
    â€œYou will hang,” she said icily.
    â€œPerhaps, but not today. Today, you will answer to me. ”
    She fell silent, staring at him, once again forcing down any sense of fear. She would not go easily.
    She stared at him, eyes burning, head high. “You are young and able-bodied. You might have found legitimate work easily enough. Instead, you have chosen a life of crime.”
    He laughed softly, truly amused now. “Indeed, lass, of all the young women I have encountered, you are definitely the most brazen. Or the most stupid. I haven’t decided yet.”
    â€œI told you not to call me ‘lass.’”
    â€œYou are a lass.”
    â€œThen you are nothing but a boy, playing at being a man.”
    He seemed to take no offense; indeed, he smiled slightly.
    â€œHave you a title, then?” he inquired.
    She stared at him coldly. “You may call me Miss.”
    â€œMiss. So who are you and where are— were —you going?”
    â€œAre you an idiot, that you don’t recognize a carriage belonging to the Earl of Carlyle?”
    She couldn’t tell whether he had recognized the carriage or not, for his next question was not an answer.
    â€œWhat are you doing in his carriage?”
    â€œI haven’t stolen it,” she retorted.
    â€œThat is not an answer.”
    â€œIt’s the only