Her cheeks flushed and she was glad he couldn’t see it. “It was all I could afford, true, but I will soon be earning better money.”
Doubt was evident on his face, even in the shadows of the carriage. “And what exactly is it that you will do for this money, Miss Crewe?”
“Don’t look at me like that,” she bristled, “as if I might be engaged in unsavory activities. Didn’t I just fight you off when I thought you intended to ravish me?”
“Only because I allowed you to.”
“Ah, so youallowedme to stab you with a pencil? That was part of your plan?”
“That was a surprise, I’ll admit. I didn’t know you carried a weapon in your coiffure.”
“Admit that I had you on the defensive.”
“I could have inactivated you at any moment. Should have done so sooner.” He wiped more blood from his cheek. “If you’d managed to stab me in the eye, we might not be having such a civil conversation.”
“You call this civil? I find you extremely domineering and uncommunicative. You rapped upon the door of the boarding house so forcefully it almost broke off its hinges, exhibited monstrous manners and employed no pleasantries, chased me down the street, cornered me against an alley wall, pressed your enormous body against me, making me feel trapped and... and small.” She finished, suddenly unsure. He’d made her feel small and helpless.
But once she’d known who he was and that he was there to help her, there’d also been a strange and exhilarating sense of excitement. Especially as he vanquished those loutish men in the alleyway. Her body had responded to his words, thrilling with the knowledge that he was willing to defend her with his fists.
She wouldn’t tell him that part.
“Youaresmall. Too small. You could do with a hot meal. You’re half-starved.”
Food. Her treacherous belly clamored at the thought, emitting a long growl. Embarrassingly, he heard it, glancing down at her midsection. She wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
“Are you listening to me, Your Grace? I’m telling you what you did was wrong, so that the next time you try to rescue an unsuspecting girl, you won’t terrorize her half to death.”
“Believe me, I didn’t choose to rescue you. I made an oath.”
“If I’m such a burden, stop the carriage right now. Reimburse me for the pencil and I’ll be on my merry way.” Braver than she felt.
“I’ve just told you that you are now an heiress with a substantial dowry who will live in my house. Your days of being preyed upon by unscrupulous landladies are over. I’ll personally pay a visit to Miss Flanagan and ensure she never attempts to recruit another desperate young lady for her sister.”
“I hardly think you can change the tide of the world. Young girls with no money have targets on their backs.”
“I have my ways.”
No doubt he did. She remembered the terrifying look on his face as he stared down the men in the alleyway.
“Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you, Miss Crewe?”
“Obviously not. I had no idea anyone cared to track my whereabouts.”
“I know you wouldn’t have chosen a battle-scarred beast of a guardian. But I’m all you have.”
“Why do you look so angry? You don’t want to be my guardian?”
“I’m not angry with you, Miss Crewe. I’m angry because I couldn’t fulfill my promise to your father sooner. I was unconscious, and when I awoke, you’d already left the finishing school.”
“I couldn’t stay there. Miss Pincheon hated me. When my father went missing, he’d only paid for one more month of my tuition. She told me that I’d be forced to become a scullery maid at the school if I stayed on.”
“Another visit to pay, then,” he said darkly, fists clenching. “She told you a lie. Your father had paid your tuition for a full year. She must have pocketed the remainder of the funds. Where did you go when you left the school?”
“The celebrated authoress, Lady Claridge, had visited our academy several months previously, doing research for one of hernovels. She read one of my stories and told me that I had promise as a writer. We struck up a correspondence and when she heard of my plight, she offered to employ me as her companion and secretary. I traveled with her to her estate in the wilds of Cornwall and lived there with her. I became her faithful companion, secretary, and amanuensis. It was enjoyable work.”
“You were in Cornwall this entire time? Did she not read the papers? I placed advertisements seeking you.”
“She required utter peace and quiet for writing her novels. She didn’t want the outside world to intrude. She was very reclusive. I was the only one allowed to read her novels before they went to her publisher. She didn’t want them tainted by the outside world. She said that if she read the scandal sheets, or even books by other authors, those things might seep into her writing without her knowledge and the books wouldn’t be wholly her brain children, as she called them. She was very eccentric, you see. But I loved her. She was like a grandmother to me. She passed away two months ago of sudden heart failure.”