Star Crossed Seduction Read Free Page B

long feather swayed as she fought to escape the shoemaker’s grasp, then his meaty fist knocked off her hat. It fell onto the filthy cobbles, revealing curls the color of tarnished bronze. Even in the gloom, their beauty made Trev draw in breath.
    “I ain’t done nothing,” she protested.
    “Nothing but steal from honest folk as works hard for their money.”
    “You can’t prove it!”
    “Ah, but I can.” The man reached deep into the pocket in her black skirt, drawing forth a handful of something that glittered, but after he brought his fist up to his face to examine his takings, a look of disgust replaced his earlier look of triumph. His hand held only a few shillings worth of change.
    “It’s mine, and you can’t prove otherwise,” she insisted.
    “Canny little bitch, she is,” a man beside the shoemaker called out. “You’ll get no blood money for her. Too fly to steal a ticker or something else that could get her lagged.”
    “That’s but one pocket,” the shoemaker said. “The drab may have a dozen more pockets hidden in her gown. I’ll find a watch on her, don’t you fear, and when I do, I’ll take her to the magistrate and claim me reward.”
    The girl twisted in the man’s grasp and clawed at him as she tried to break free. Her ferocity did not argue well for her innocence. But as her eyes locked onto Trev’s, again, they stopped him in his tracks. He’d seen a look like that only once before, in battle, in the eyes of a man who’d exchanged blow after blow with him in a struggle that would only end with a death.
    She wouldn’t give in, though she knew she could not prevail. She was magnificent, a woman warrior as bold as Boadicea. He’d never seen a woman show such courage. He hadn’t known one could.
    But her courage wasn’t enough, for the shoemaker easily subdued her and bound her wrists.
    Major Stanley tugged at his sleeve. “Come on. It’s getting nasty. We had best be off.”
    “I can’t leave her to this mob. They’ll tear her apart.”
    “She’s a pickpocket, Trev. She’s only getting her due.”
    “Perhaps, but I can’t leave her to these brutes.” Even as the words left his mouth, he wondered why he’d said them. He was a soldier sworn to protect the state and uphold the laws. He should abandon her to her well-deserved fate. But he couldn’t. Her simple act of kindness had stood out so starkly against the apathy all around her, and her eyes had, for that one agonizing moment, brought back to life the ghosts of the sepoys’ women. They, too, had been brave, but no one had come to rescue them.
    Still, he’d be a fool to intervene. She was, after all, a criminal. But when the shoemaker jerked on the cord with which he’d bound her wrists and gave her a hard slap across the face, Trev grasped the hilt of his saber, which was sharp enough to slice through a man’s wrist, and charged through the crowd toward her captor.
    “Give her to me,” he commanded in the tone that had reduced more than one subaltern to tears on the parade ground. “She stole from me. I’ll punish her.”
    A muttered oath beside him told him that, despite his wariness, Major Stanley had followed him into the crowd and stood now by his side. Trev’s confidence swelled in response to his friend’s show of loyalty.
    The shoemaker puffed himself up—he was a large man obviously accustomed to having his way. But Trev was taller and fitter, and the major was no weakling, either. When Stanley reached for his own saber, some of the shoemaker’s bluster abated. Trev could almost hear the man calculating his chances in a fight and rating them poorly. Still, he must not count on the man’s behaving rationally. Some bullies just liked to fight, and if the shoemaker could get the crowd behind him, there still might be trouble. Best to use diplomacy rather than force to defuse the situation. That was always the best approach.
    Taking his time, Trev made a great show of replacing his long, curved