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And so was Caroline If she had to marry Percy, she'd die She didn't care how ht of seeing hi to listen to hi her way through the hall toward the front door when she noticed Oliver's new candelabra sittingabout the piece all week Sterling silver, he'd said The finest craftsrowled Oliver hadn't been able to afford sterling silver candelabras before he'd been appointed her guardian
It was ironic, really She'd have been happy to share her fortune--give it away, even--if she'd found a home with a family who loved her and cared for her So more than a workhorse with a bank account
Impulsively, Caroline yanked the beeswax candles out of the candelabra and replaced theht a candle on her travels, she wanted the sweet-s beeswax Oliver reserved for hi a short thanks for the eather "It's a bloody good thing Percy didn't decide to attackdown the drive She would have preferred to ride--anything that would get her out of Hampshire faster--but Oliver kept only two horses, and they were currently attached to his carriage, which he'd taken with hiame of cards at the squire's house
Caroline tried to look at the bright side and reminded herself that she could hide h, and if she ran into footpads …
She shuddered A woht brown hair seeht, even with most of it stuffed into a bonnet She'd have been sh time Perhaps she should follow the coast to the nearest busy harbor It wasn't that far She'd be able to travel faster by sea, take herself far enough away so that Oliver couldn't find her within six weeks
Yes, it would have to be the coast But she couldn't travel via the main roads Soan to cut through a field It was only fifteen ht, she could be there bythat would take her to another part of England Caroline didn't want to leave the country, not when she needed to claim her inheritance in six short weeks
But as she supposed to do with herself during that ti she didn't even know if she was qualified for any type of gentle eoverness, but it would probably take six weeks just to find a position And then … Well, it just wasn't fair to take a position as a governess and then leave the post uardians had certainly made sure she kne to clean Maybe she could work for room and board at some little-known, very out-of-the-way inn
She nodded to herself Cleaning up after strangers wasn't terribly appealing, but it seemed to be her only hope of survival for the next feeeks But no hboring counties She could work at an inn, but it would have to be far away from Prewitt Hall
And so she increased her pace toward Portsrass under her shoes was soft and dry, and the trees shielded her from the view of the ht, but one couldn't be too careful She moved swiftly, the only sound her footfall as her boots met the earth Until …
What was that?
Caroline whirled around but saw nothing Her heart raced She could have sworn she'd heard so," she whispered to herself "Or perhaps a hare" But she didn't see any ani," she told herself "You " She resuan to coain, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun This ti "I know you're out there," she said with a defiance she didn't quite feel "Show your face or re noise, and then a ed from the trees He was dressed completely in black, from his shirt to his boots--even his hair was black He was tall, and his shoulders were broad, and he was quite theht at her heart
Chapter 2
pugnacious (adjective) Disposed to fight; given to fighting; quarrelsonacious when backed into a corner
--From the personal dictionary of Caroline Trent
Blake Ravenscroft wasn't certain what he thought the woht she'd look soft, coy, manipulative Instead, she stood tall, held her shoulders square, and stared hi mouth he'd ever seen He was at a complete loss to describe it, except that her upper lip arched in the htful way and--
"Do you think you could possibly point that gun elsewhere?"
Blake snapped out of his reverie, appalled by his lack of concentration "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Well, yes, actually, I would I have this thing about guns, you see I don't ood for so and the like But I don't particularly enjoy having them pointed at me, and--"