Between a Rake and a Hard Place Read Free Page A

herself. Then she slipped into her chemise, barely restraining a shiver. Her escape had been a near thing. If not for Sir Jonah, she’d never have managed to dodge and weave through the kitchen and out the back door. Then once they’d made it into the alley, he served as her rear guard, lobbing chunks of gravel at their pursuers with wicked accuracy. It was enough to keep some distance between them and the gang comprised of Boodles’ kitchen staff till they reached Sir Jonah’s gig, which he’d left at the livery on the corner. He wasted no time on politeness, hefting her onto the narrow seat without so much as a “by your leave.” Then he tossed a few coppers to the stable boy as he leapt onto the seat beside her, slapped the reins over the mare’s back, and the smart equipage flew over the cobblestones.
    Sharp had become testy with her when she wouldn’t allow him to return her to her father’s elegant town house. She insisted he leave her at the corner of Brewer Street and Brindle Lane. From there, she could walk back to Aunt Cleo’s rented rooms without implicating anyone else in her scheme.
    He finally bowed to her wishes. As she clambered down from the gig at the appointed crossroads, she thanked him.
    â€œI don’t want your thanks,” he’d said with a stern look. “You owe me, Serena. I’ll collect one day. Remember that.”
    He chirruped to the horse and was gone before she could castigate him for addressing her so familiarly. Of course, to be fair, he was in the right. One couldn’t be jammed onto a gig’s narrow seat alongside someone while coated with cream without becoming somewhat familiar.
    Upturning the vat of Orange Fool was probably not part of Sir Jonah’s plan when she first tailed him into the kitchen. Everything had happened so fast as they shoved through the knots of servants. Then suddenly, the world went slick and foamy and their pursuers were slipping and sliding in the sweet peaked drifts of white spreading over the brick floor. Enough cream landed on Serena and Sir Jonah to make them blend in with the similarly doused servants for a moment, which was a sticky blessing.
    But she wasn’t sure accepting Jonah’s help would turn out to be a blessing in the end. She owed him. It was an uncomfortable sort of debt.
    And something she was uneasy sharing even with Amelia.
    At twenty, she was old enough not to need a governess any longer, but her relationship with Amelia was a complicated one. When Serena was twelve, her mother had died suddenly. Amelia had stepped into the gap. Then after Serena’s studies were complete and Amelia declared there was nothing more she could teach her, Serena insisted she stay on as a companion.
    Of course, it was usually dowagers who hired someone to stay with them for the sake of company, but Serena couldn’t bear to lose Amelia. She was mentor, friend, teacher, and confidant all rolled into one. When Serena became a royal duchess, she planned to take Amelia to the palace with her.
    It would be unthinkable to be plunged into the strange world of the royal family without someone she trusted to lean upon.
    But she still didn’t feel like sharing Sir Jonah’s involvement in what happened at Boodles.
    For one thing, she wasn’t sure what she’d say about him. The man made my insides jiggle like jelly . No, that would never do.
    She stepped into her pantalets, grateful for the smooth silk against her abraded thighs. “You’re right, of course,” she said, peeping around the dressing screen and nodding to Aunt Cleo. “No harm done. And I was able to cross a few things off the list.”
    â€œList?” Aunt Cleo said. “What list?”
    Amelia shook her head and cast her eyes heavenward. “A list of forbidden pleasures.”
    â€œDon’t scowl so. It spoils your pretty face,” Serena said, parroting the admonition she’d received