A Lady Betrayed Read Online Free Page A

green-eyed gaze and alabaster clean-lined body, already taken hold of him in a way that was hard to explain. He could mount his bedeviled horse and ride away, he told himself, now that the mystery lady of the moors had a name, had others to aid and succor her—he told himself that, but he knew it was not true.
    She had already woven a spell about him, even though he knew she was no sprite, no changeling, but a real woman in real distress, and in some ways he had added to her problems when all he had meant to do was help her.
    Although he had a would-be killer riding behind him—although time was slipping away—he felt the tiny bulge in his waistcoat and resisted the urge to pull out his watch with the tiny charm attached.
    Adrian bit back an oath.
    The die was cast.
    When the maid indicated that masculine eyes could once more be properly cast in the direction of her mistress, he and the elderly manservant returned to the gazebo. The male servant, whose name it appeared was Thomas, hesitated.
    Adrian walked over and leaned to pick up the still sleeping woman. He lifted her easily in his arms, carrying her cradled like a child.
    â€œIf you would lead my horse?” he suggested.
    He would not have been surprised if the man had argued, but instead Thomas looked relieved. The man took the blanket from the floor of the gazebo and tossed it over the gelding, and the two servants walked just behind as Adrian followed the path back to the public road. He could feel their gaze upon his back, as if making sure that he did not abscond with their mistress.
    Miss Applegate seemed to inspire loyalty in her staff, at least, he thought wryly. And now he would have to face her father and the rest of her family…
    When they reached the road, he saw that the Applegate carriage was like the gazebo, once well made, now somewhat run down, although not as ramshackle as the structure in the clearing. He suspected that Thomas worked hard to maintain the vehicle and the single elderly mare who pulled it.
    He placed Miss Applegate carefully into the carriage, and the female servant climbed in, as well, to make sure that her mistress did not fall out of the seat. Thomas clambered up to take the driving reins and clucked to the mare. Adrian mounted his own horse and followed at a slow but steady pace.
    As he had suspected, his “fiancée’s” home was of similar cast as the rest of the Applegate property. Her family was making a brave effort against looming penury, he thought, wondering what had brought them down—a father addicted to cards or a fast life of drinking and womanizing or all three?
    The maid bustled to open the front door, and it seemed to be left to Adrian to again lift Miss Applegate from the narrow seat and carry her inside.
    She opened her eyes once more. Blinking, she seemed to recognize him.
    â€œWhere—”
    â€œYou are home, now,” he told her. “Do not fear.”
    She smiled up at him, a smile so sweet and untrammeled by any care that he ached for the approaching storm that full knowledge of their unchaperoned overnight stay would incite.
    He tried to fix the sweetness of that look in his mind’s eye as her eyelids drifted shut, and he carried her inside. He had expected to meet a noisy crowd of family members awaiting the lost lamb’s return. Instead, he saw only one figure in the entry hall. An older man, his expression concerned, sat in a wheeled chair.
    â€œHow is she?”
    He was not very like her in the face, but this must be her father, Adrian thought, the head of the Applegate household. An invalid—perhaps that was the reason for the family’s downward spiral of fortune.
    â€œYour daughter is very weary, sir, but I think she is recovering. If you will permit me, shall I take her up to her room?”
    The man nodded, albeit reluctantly, but no one else seemed hardy enough to lift the still slumbering woman. The maidservant led him up the stairs to