Page 8 of The Banished Bride
“I see you have a modicum of sense to go along with your looks.”
She twisted and jerked her knee up hard, hoping to catch him a solid blow in the groin. The maneuver almost worked, but his reflexes proved a tad too quick. He shifted just enough so that her effort merely glanced off his thigh.
“Ah, sweeting, to succeed in such a move, you must be sure that your opponent is truly off guard. You would have done better to distract me with a tear or two, then make the attempt.”
He reached up to rap a command for the driver to start off.
Twisting her mouth free from his grasp, she snapped,” I shall remember that, you lout.” She sought to push away his arm, but it held her in a vise like grip. The sharp edge of steel pinched a bit deeper. “If it is money you seek, your judgment is as bad as your manners,” she added. One of the curtains had been jostled during the short struggle and a bit of light filtered into the carriage. She kicked up at the hem of her skirts. “My purse is as shabby as my dress. It will make but a meager prize.”
She then gave a slight sniff at the odor of cheap brandy clinging to the rough wool of his jacket and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Though no doubt even a few shillings will keep you in good spirits for a day or two.”
Lud, he had to admit she was the one who had spirit. In spades. And courage to boot. But to do what she did, that should come as no surprise. She was a skilled and dangerous enemy. But still, he could not tear his gaze from the lush curves of her lips, now pursed in a delectable moue of anger. Without thinking, he leaned in closer. “Then perhaps I shall steal a kiss.”
“Do you always have to use a knife to purloin kisses from a female?”
Alex gave a throaty chuckle. “No, usually they are all too happy to offer their charms without the need of such extreme measures. Indeed, I often must use a weapon to fend them off.”
“Arrogant oaf. In my experience, most men use force to take what they want.”
He drew back a touch, surprised at the undertone beneath the harsh retort. Was it a note of vulnerability? Fear, even? With a sudden start, he wrenched mind away from such odd musings. What the devil had come over him? he chided himself. His icy detachment and ruthless efficiency were legendary among his comrades. It was most unlike him to be distracted, even for a moment, from the business at hand. This was hardly the time to be flirting with a pretty young woman.
Especially this woman.
His grip tightened on her arm. “Enough of games, sweeting. It’s not money I seek, but information,” he growled.
Even in the near darkness he could make out the sneer on her lips. “If that is the case, then it hardly makes sense to threaten slitting my throat.”
A grim smile crept to his lips “You have a certain raw courage, my dear, but the game is up.” He shifted in his seat, trying to ease the stab of pain in his shoulder, Damn, the wound was beginning to bleed again. It had been most unfortunate that someone had evidently been alerted as to his arrival. The bullet had only narrowly missed its mark, but the fellow who had pulled the trigger would have no chance to try again. His corpse was already feeding the fish off Ailsa Crag. “Your accomplice is dead, you know, so why not make this easy on both of us?—”
“You … you have hurt Robbie?” she whispered.
“I’m afraid Robbie is lying in a watery grave?—”
A blow to his jaw cut off any further words. Then her fists began to pound against his chest. “How could you harm a sweet, little old lady, you despicable beast!” she cried. “I am the one who runs the whole operation. If you wish to avenge yourself, do so on me!”
Alex managed to catch hold of her hands. “Little old lady? The person you sent to ambush me was most definitely not a little old lady. It is ahewho lies beneath a fathom of water.”
“I?Isent no one to take a shot at you,” she retorted. “Though considering how men treat their wives, it is no wonder that someone did.”
Her words were making no sense. Fighting off another wave of nausea, Alex forced himself to concentrate. Of course. She was trying to confuse the issue, the little witch. He twisted her arm hard around behind her back, drawing a cry of pain. He had never manhandled a female before in his life, but his strength was ebbing and he needed some answers out of her. Fast.
“Tell me about the operation.” he snarled, giving the limb another hard tug. “And quickly. Otherwise you’ll have a broken arm to show for your stubbornness. Who supplies your information?”
The woman winced, but he saw her bite her lip to keep from crying out. “Very well.” Her voice sought to maintain some measure of dignity. “It comes from a wide assortment of my female friends. Barmaids, tweenies, cooks, milkmaids and the like. Gentlemen seem to think anyone beneath them lacks ears as well as feelings.”
This was even more confusing than her earlier words, but he went doggedly on. “Then what?”
“Well, it’s really not hard to put the facts together. Numbers leave a trail that anyone with half a brain can sort out. It just takes a little perseverance and common sense. And then, you gentlemen tend to act like rutting sheep when engaged in an illicit affair—all lathered action and frenzied motion, with little mind as to whom may be observing your behavior.”
Despite himself, Alex felt his jaw go slack. “And?”
“After I compile the dossiers, I turn them over to the wife—it usually is a husband I have investigated, though on occasionit may be some other smarmy male relative—or whomever has requested the information.” She drew in a deep breath. “Which aggrieved husband or uncle are you?”
He had the oddest sensation that the inside of the carriage was starting to spin. “What the devil are you talking about?” he shouted, wondering why his voice was sounding so fuzzy.
“Why the Sprague Agency for Distressed Females. Isn’t that what you are asking about?”
“Bloody hell! What in the name of Lucifer is the Sprague Agency for—” The knife suddenly clattered to the carriage floor, joined a moment later by the Earl of Woodbridge’s lanky form.
