Guarding a Notorious Lady Read Online Free Page B

it again. “The feeble minds of men,” she muttered with distaste.
    Gabriel shook his head, his smile grim. “To think before this came about, I worried about your meddling
    — o r matchmaking as you call it—getting you into trouble. And now this monstrosity rears its head.” She rose to her feet, refusing to sit meekly any longer. “Am I not only to be pitied for my unmarried state but considered utterly helpless as well?”
    “See here, Rosie. You make it sound as if I think of you as a child.”
    “Is it not obvious that you do?” Crossing her arms over her chest, she strode to the window overlooking the bustling street. The rumbling carriage wheels and clomping horse hooves were muffled behind the glass.
    Soon, a steady stream of carriages would be arriving, spilling scores of guests upon their doorstep.
    This evening’s fête marked the unofficial opening of the season and her new sister-in-law’s introduction as a duchess. It also boasted to include a newly titled and highly available bachelor, the Marquess of Winterbourne, to be exact. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she’d heard it before. Rosalind expected it to be quite the crush.
    She ought to have been thrumming with barely contained excitement. But the news of her hired protector, coupled with the chance encounter with Nicholas in the bookshop, had tied her thoughts into knots.
    Two more carriages passed by, and Rosalind wondered fleetingly if Nicholas was ensconced inside any one of them.
    During the last two years, his presence at Wolverest had been rather scarce. According to Gabriel, Nicholas was simply busy managing his lands, overseeing the yield of livestock and timber.
    And it was undoubtedly true. Nicholas was known throughout the countryside for not hesitating to toss his coat aside, roll up his shirtsleeves, and assist in the repair of buildings, birthing of sheep, and digging of drains. His tenants revered him.
    Rosalind only wished Castle Wolverest had been in need of a drain to be dug. Perhaps several.
    And now this man of the country was in London?
    She hadn’t had the opportunity to inquire. She’d only returned home to have her brother inform her that he’d hired a guardian for her.
    Rosalind appreciated her brother’s protection over the years and often felt she knew the value of a doting father, as she had very little memory of their own.
    However, this was a matter of pride.
    “I am four and twenty . . . soon to be five and twenty.
    If it wasn’t for my station and wealth, I’d be considered on the shelf. I am not a little girl anymore. This is absurd, Gabriel.”
    “It is all perfectly logical, given the circumstances.” His slow inhale told her that the threads of his patience were beginning to unwind. “And I do not, of all people, pity your unmarried state,” Gabriel pointed out, his deep voice resonating within the room. “A woman of your distinction, superior connections, pristine reputation, and wealth need not be ashamed of being unmarried. You are, at all times, perfectly respectable. In fact,” he continued wryly, “I should be completely happy should you never decide to take a husband. In such a case, I needn’t entertain the fear of accidentally throttling the idiot should he ever make you frown.”
    “You are ridiculous, Gabriel,” Rosalind muttered with a smile.
    Though truthfully, other than this singular instance, she couldn’t blame him for being overprotective. The wager notwithstanding, the very second Gabriel and his new bride left Devine Mansion for their much-anticipated wedding trip, the floodgates would open indeed.

    A flood of men. Men by the dozens. Men who would otherwise stay far away from the Devines’ doorstep should Gabriel be in residence. His intimidating presence kept them at bay. Even now, as angry as she was at her brother, she was grateful for his diligence when it came to keeping men of questionable character and motives away.
    Men acted like