The Devil Rogue (3 page)

Rosemary
may have the talent for
swear
ing
like a
crusty
sailor,
but
she’d also been educated right along with Angela
.
She possessed the training and ability to display graceful manners when the situation demanded it
.
It was only when they were alone together that she spoke so freely.

“Here, put this on
.”
Rosemary h
eld
up Angela’s best cloak.
“H
e won’t be able to see your face
.
”

“Good idea,” Angela said,
grabb
ing
the
cloak
and hastily
slipping into it
.
“But he’s going to see me eventually.”

“Yes, but not until we get to his home
. B
y
then it will be harder for him to go back on his
word
.
”

Angela chuckled.
“You’re right, of course
.
I knew there was a reason
I wanted you to come with me.
”
She didn’t look back as she and Rosemary proceeded down the hall
.
In light of these
strange circumstances, she finally felt
a sense of
hope that her future was hers to make.

THEY ARRIVED DOWNSTAIRS to
find the stranger
checking his watch
.
He looked up at their approach.
“You’re just in time,
Miss
Hopkins
, and not a moment too soon
.
I was a
bout to come get you myself.
”

When he stepped from the shadows, h
is eyes
narrowed
.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit warm for that?”
H
e
gestur
ed
toward
her outerwear
.

H
e was
a
beautiful
man
.
And tall
.
So very tall and broad-shouldered
.
Rosemary’s gasp behind her confirmed
Angela’s
first impression
.
“I felt a slight chill,” Angela lied, after collecting herself from her initial shock.

Actually, she was sweating like a dock worker under the heavy wool garment, but it was necessary to hide her bruised face.
It was humiliating enough
that
the staff knew of her beatings.
To have this stranger see the evidence of it would be more than she could bear at the moment.

He raised one perfectly formed black
eye
brow, scrutinizing her with golden eyes. The way his brows turned up at the outer edges, combined with that unusual eye color
,
reminded her of a bird of prey.

But it was h
is mouth
that captured and held her attention. It
was nothing short of sumptuous, if she were to give it a description
.
It was inviting, tantalizing, sensual
,
as though some mythical god had formed
that mouth
expressly for kissing.

His hair was black as pitch and cropped short, but it was still long enough to look lightly
t
uss
l
ed, as though he
’
d just
come from his
bed.
Her face heated
. What was she doing thinking about him and
a bed
?

Dragging herself back to reality, Angela said,
“This is my maid, Rosemary
.
She’s coming with me
.
”
Her pride didn’t allow her to ask his permission
.
She decided to take an offensive stance with him right from the start
.
That way, he wouldn’t be under the impression she was a weak-willed female.

“I said nothing about bringing your maid
,”
he stated coldly.
“
She’s to remain behind.
”

Angela
experienced
a moment of panic
.
She couldn’t do this without Rosemary
!
“But
I need her
,” she beseeched him
.
“
I know no one at your home
and she is a great help to me.”

“
I have plenty of staff
.
You may choose from one of them.”

“She’s been with me since I was
the age of
thirteen
.
She knows me better than anyone.”
Taking a few steps closer to him, she placed her hand on his arm
, making sure to turn away her bruised eye
.
“Please,” she whispered, not able to keep the desperation from her voice
.
“I am lost without her.”

Deciding it wasn’t worth the argument while standing in the foyer, Ian relented
.
“Fine, bring her, then, but she rides up top with the driver
.
I want to be alone with you during our short journey
.
”
That
softly
pleading
voice
had been
too
mesmerizing
.

The girl was spoiled right down to her dainty little feet.
Ian
saw how she
’d
handled
her father
. He’d
actually
been
on his knees, begging her.
She
’d
had th
e man crying, for Christ sake.

Ian
now knew how she was able to manipulate everyone around her
.
She
already had him giving way to her wishes
.
Obviously, she was a master
.

He vowed he wouldn’t let it happen again
.

She would learn soon enough he was immune to her pretty face and pouting lips.
He wasn’t about to let her wrap him around her finger the way she
so
obviously did with her father.
The spoiled little bitch
was
going to learn what it’s like to not always get what she wanted.

Ian had
heard several tales of how this beautiful woman was spoiled and pampered by her doting father
.
She’d even had a few offers of marriage, which she’d turned her pert little nose up at
.
Her gowns were always of the latest fashions and she was seen only at the most lofty functions.

Well, not any more
.
He planned on keeping her a virtual prisoner in his home
.
The opportunity, as it presented itself,
had been
too sweet to resist
.
He
’
d planned on coercing her into becoming his mistress, but when he’d heard her demand for twenty thousand pounds, he
’d
jumped at the chance
to bring his plan to fruition
.

She would sleep in a sparse bed
chamber, she would wear modest gowns, and she would service his sexual needs
.
Maybe he would even assign her daily chores
.
Indeed, i
t would be good to see her on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floors
.
It was no less than she deserved for what she and her father had done
.

Suddenly, the image of the beautiful Angela Hopkins on her hands and knees popped into
Ian’s
mind, but in a different setting – his bedroom
–
naked
.
Angrily crushing that thought, he escorted her out to the waiting carriage.

Hearing her startled gasp, he turned, looking down at her
.
She was a tiny little thing, t
he top of her head barely clear
ing
his shoulder
. S
he was
facing
the shining black carriage directly in front of them
, his
crest emblazoned on the side of
it
.

“Y-you – y-you – you’re
—”
Angela couldn’t seem to get
the words out of her mouth
.

“Blimey, mi
ss
!” Rosemary
had no such trouble
.
“He’s the bloody
Devil Rogue
!
The Viscount Blackridge
.
That’s his crest, there, bold as you please.
”

Angela’s face turned the shade of a ripe beet
within the confines of her hood
.
She gritted her teeth until they almost cracked, listening to Rosemary’s
hearty
laughter as she climbed
o
nto the driver’s box.

“Still want to go with me?”
Blackridge
challenged
with a wolfish grin.

“Y-yes
.
”
Angela had to
clear her throat
.
“Yes, I’m still coming with you
.
I gave you my word.”

His step faltered for barely
an instant.
“Come,”
he said,
taking her arm to assist her into the carriage. She jerked
it
away with a hiss of pain
. He
release
d
her at once, his sharp gaze
focusing on
her face.

Desperate to escape those eyes that seemed to know too much, she said, “I can manage on my own, my lord.” She
entered the carriage, settling herself as comfortably as possible on the seat
, fighting
the urge to cradle her throbbing arm
. She did
not want him to see any weakness in her
.

He sat opposite her, his long legs taking up most of the room between the seats.

Angela’s
head felt like a thousand tiny drummers pounded from the inside, and
now
she noticed another ache at the base of her spine where her
‘
loving
’
father had kicked her
.
S
he’d fled up the stairs
,
attempt
ing
to lock herself in the attic until h
is temper
cooled
.
B
ut he
’d
been
too quic
k for her to get the door shut before he
’d
shoved
it open
.
The force of his push
had
sent her falling to the floor onto her side
, and b
efore she could gain her feet again, he’d viciously kicked her.

She bit back a groan, but not before a soft sigh escaped her lips
.
It was
barely audible
, but apparently he’d heard it
.

“Are
n’t
you comfortable?” he asked
.
“Is it not what you are used to
?
Perhaps the cushions aren’t soft enough for your pampered behind
.
”
His lips turned up in a mocking smile.

What was he talking about
?
Angela could hardly hold two coherent thoughts together with the pounding in her head
.
“I’m fine
.
”

When the carriage rolled into motion, he began to talk
.
“While you’re in my home for the next three months, you will do as I say
.
You will not be waited on hand and foot
. Y
ou will not order my servants to do your bidding
.
T
here will be no fancy parties, no visiting
with any of
your friends
. D
o you understand?”