Miss Lavigne's Little White Lie Read Online Free

middle.
    Daniel ended with a powerful hammer, and the thug crumpled to the floor, unconscious and even uglier than when he’d entered the tavern.
    “Damned fast work, Captain,” someone shouted from the back of the taproom. No doubt one of his crew.
    Daniel shook his right hand. “Blast it all! I’ve bruised my knuckles on his disgusting mug.” He resumed a fighting stance and nodded at the smaller man. “Come on, then. The damage has already been done.”
    The man’s raised fists quivered. Just as Daniel had suspected, his bravado failed him without a bigger bloke to hide behind.
    “Oh, bloody hell,” Daniel said. “You’ll have to improve your form if you wish to fare better than your friend. Off with you before I beat some sense into you.”
    He faked a lunge to drive home his threat. The weasel snapped from his trance and dashed for the back exit. Daniel didn’t bother giving chase. The coward would cause no more trouble.
    Daniel frowned at his first mate, Patch Emerson, who was exchanging blunt with another crewman at a table. “You placed a wager against me?”
    Patch shrugged. “I thought he’d last longer. Four hits? Figured him for six at least.”
    “Indeed? That many?” Daniel’s pride was pacified. “Get him out of here.”
    “You heard the captain,” Patch said to a couple of men below him in rank.
    While his crew lugged Kincaid out back, Daniel searched for the widow. Where the hell had she gone? Damn.
    “Madame Lavigne!”
    The lady was a target for every type of thief. He should have been more alert to the other dangers in the taproom. Shoving through the crowd of noisome bodies, he barreled for the front door to search the docks, but black skirts sticking out from under a table drew him up short.
    He chuckled, his tension receding. The poor chit was probably suffering the vapors under there. He sauntered to the table and crouched for a better view. Round-as-the-moon eyes stared back at him, but there wasn’t a tear in sight.
    “Lost your handkerchief under there, did you?”
    He reached out to assist her from underneath the table. His fingers curled around her hand. It fit nicely with his.
    Once she had regained her feet, she pulled away and brushed off her skirts. “Do you always draw such notice in public? I daresay subtlety would have been appreciated.”
    “You’re welcome, Madame Lavigne.”
    “ Please ,” she hissed. “Lower your voice.” Ducking her head, she tugged the brim of her bonnet low.
    Daniel’s gaze narrowed as he surveyed the taproom. Everyone had returned to drinking and appeared uninterested in either of them. “Where shall I escort you, madame?”
    “We have a room above stairs, but I can find my own way.”
    He captured her hand and led her toward the stairwell, not caring if she could find her room alone. A woman like Madame Lavigne shouldn’t be staying at The Abyss, much less paying a visit to the tavern. Something was amiss with the lady, and his responsibilities as a gentleman required him to lend assistance. He would consider his duty dispatched once he delivered her safely to her room, and he’d not give her another thought.
    At the landing, she tried to break away, but Daniel maintained his hold. “Which room is yours?”
    She pointed toward the end of the corridor. “But I don’t need assistance. You’ve done enough.”
    “You were nearly abducted, madame. Don’t tell me you have no need for assistance. Where is your escort, or are you without one?”
    This time she jerked free and faced him, her chin lifting a notch. “My circumstances are none of your concern. Now, good night.”
    Stubborn chit.
    Daniel followed as she backed toward the wall and braced his hands on either side of her to prevent her escape. “What exactly are your circumstances, madame? Are you in trouble?”
    “If an overbearing captain detaining me against my will is considered trouble, then oui .”
    Her refusal to be honest made him all the more determined to get