Page 60 of Made for the Marquess (Second Sons of London 4)

They strolled for a few minutes and he pointed out various blooms to her.

“You seem quite knowledgeable about flowers,” she noted.

“They are something I enjoy,” he told her. “But there are some exquisite tulips if we go along another path. Would you care to see them?”

“I would be delighted to do so, my lord.”

They strolled leisurely, passing several couples, and then Lord Chatsworth turned. Minta grew concerned when they did not run into anyone else. She thought to the warnings Aunt Phyllis had given her about never being alone with a gentleman at any given moment.

However, Viscount Chatsworth had proven to be charming and interesting. She would see the tulips and then casually suggest they return to the others.

Moments later, they came across an array of colors.

“See? I told you that you would like this.”

He pointed not only to the tulips but also to the anemone and crocus. She nodded occasionally, simply listening to the timbre of his voice, wondering if he could be someone she might possibly spend the rest of her life with.

“You are late making your come-out, Miss Nicholls,” he said.

“Yes, I am. I spent several years in Ontario, where my father assisted the Administrator of Upper Canada. It was impossible to return to England during the war years.”

“I see.” He smiled again. “It is a pleasure to speak to a lady who is a bit older than the girls making their come-outs. They all seem to be silly geese.”

She laughed. “I have met several of them and I understand what you mean, my lord. They are quite young and some of them a tad immature.”

He faced her, an intensity in his eyes, giving her a chill.

“Being a mature woman, Miss Nicholls, you must know exactly what you want.”

She felt her cheeks heat and said, “I am not quite certain what you mean.”

His hands gripped her shoulders and he said, “This.”

Suddenly, he yanked her against him and his mouth came down on hers, hard. There was no finesse to the kiss. It was brutal and overpowering. She placed her palms against his chest, trying to push him away, but he wrapped his arms about her so that she was imprisoned within them. He forced her mouth open and thrust his tongue inside as she continued to struggle. Not knowing what else to do, Minta bit it as hard as she could.

Immediately, he broke the kiss, a string of obscenities pouring from him.

“You are a tease, Miss Nicholls,” he told her, anger in his eyes, which caused a chill to run through her.

“I am nothing of the sort, Lord Chatsworth. I never asked for your kiss or gave you indication I wanted one from you. Please release me. Now.”

A gleam entered his eyes. “Why should I? When I now need to punish you for your wanton behavior.”

Fear filled her as his mouth came down hard on hers again. Minta tightened her lips, denying him entrance, sensing the rage that filled him.

Then he was suddenly torn from her and she was free.

She saw Percy had hold of Lord Chatsworth. The marquess landed a strong blow to the viscount’s jaw. It was so forceful, Chatsworth would have been felled if Percy had not been gripping the viscount’s coat. He slammed a fist into Lord Chatsworth’s nose and blood spurted. He struck the viscount repeatedly and she saw his fist becoming bloodied.

“Stop!” she cried. “You will kill him if you don’t.”

Percy shoved the viscount and he stumbled, falling to the ground.

Percy took two steps forward and hovered over the man, contained rage in his face and fisted hands.

“You were a sneaky little bastard in school. It doesn’t surprise me that you would try and take advantage of an innocent. You better thank the stars that Miss Nicholls kept me from beating you to a pulp, Chatsworth. Get up and leave. You are never to speak to Miss Nicholls again, is that understood?”

Minta saw the fear on the viscount’s face as he nodded rapidly. Percy took a few steps back and Lord Chatsworth scrambled to his feet, blood dripping from his nose onto his snowy white cravat.

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