Captured by a Gentleman (Regency Unlaced 6) Read Online Free Page A

overenthusiastic…affections,” Ranulf drawled dismissively. “I suggest you curb doing both those things whilst you are in my company.”
    Darcy would cease talking and moving altogether if only Ranulf would agree to take her farther away from London. It need not be all the way to Scotland. Another hundred, even two hundred miles, might suffice. She could make her own arrangements for the future once she was a safe distance from London.
    Her main emotion yesterday evening had been shock at being spoken to so crudely and with such lewd intentions, quickly followed by panic as she realized she must escape London, and her uncle, as soon as possible.
    Knowing of Ranulf Montgomery’s departure for Scotland this morning had seemed like a godsend. A sign telling her what she needed to do.
    Darcy had taken that action without hesitation, stealing away from her uncle’s home early this morning before making her way to Winterbourne House. There were two carriages being prepared for Ranulf’s journey in the cobbled courtyard at the back of the house, and it did not take long for Darcy to learn which one was to carry the luggage.
    She had waited until the carriage was fully loaded, the grooms having gone back inside the house for their breakfast, before she hurried to secrete herself amid that luggage, to avoid detection. She had breathed a sigh of relief when the two carriages left Winterbourne House within the hour, Ranulf in the more luxurious landau in front, Darcy safely hidden in the more practical town carriage.
    Except that gentleman was now obviously angry with her having taken such action.
    Well, she could not help that. Desperate needs called for desperate measures, and Darcy’s need to leave London had been very desperate indeed.
    Besides, Ranulf was at least offering to feed her—and listen further to her plea?—rather than continuing to dismiss her out of hand.
     
    “Are there no other relatives you might go to for sanctuary?” Ranulf prompted once they had eaten in silence for several minutes.
    Darcy had not given food or water a second thought when she carried out her plan to hide in this man’s carriage, and she was now both ravenously hungry and thirsty. The meat pie, with gravy oozing from within the depths of the delicate pastry, tasted delicious. Likewise, the wine which accompanied the simple meal.
    Her initial ravenous hunger having been satisfied, Darcy now dabbed her lips lightly with her napkin before answering him. “One.”
    “Then why did you not go to them for help?”
    Darcy’s gaze remained fixed on him. “I did.”
    “But— You are referring to me?” Ranulf looked astounded.
    She gave a tight smile at his obvious horror. “You were married to my cousin. That means the two of us are now related by marriage.”
    “I— But— This is preposterous!” Ranulf pushed his chair noisily back from the table before standing to commence pacing the confines of the parlor.
    He realized as he did so that he had allowed himself to be lulled into a false sense of good will and well-being these past few minutes, no doubt from the effects of the ale earlier, good food, and a not too-disgusting flagon of wine.
    The thought had even occurred to him of how pleasant it was to sit at the dinner table with a beautiful young woman rather than eating alone. Darcy Ambridge’s thick and glossy red-gold hair was a perfect foil for her black mourning gown, both revealed when she took off her bonnet and cloak. The dark color gave a glow to the delicate ivory of her skin.
    She was a beautiful young woman who now claimed a familial relationship with him.
    Darcy shrugged narrow shoulders. “Preposterous or not, it is the truth.”
    And she was now attempting to claim him as the one relative who could save her from the lecherous attentions of her uncle.
    Ranulf glared down at her, his appetite having completely deserted him. “I recognize no such relationship.”
    “Whether you choose to recognize it or not, I