Tempting Prudence: The Bride Train Read Online Free

spell. I’ll get you some cool water.”
    Her head came up, fresh terror flooded her face; she shook off whatever weakness had taken hold and pulled away, backed up a few feet and faced him on shaky legs. “I’m not going in there with you.”
    Nothing he’d done would’ve given her the idea that he would take her by force. He heaved a patient sigh. “Look here, if I wanted to hurt you, I could’ve done it by now.”
    She kept on hugging her arms while shooting arrows with her eyes. “Return me to Centralia. Immediately. If you don’t, I swear I’ll see you hang.”
    Unease skittered over his skin. A whore would probably ask for money.
    Arch raised his hands, palms out, in a peaceable gesture. “Easy now. No need to get me in trouble.”
    “If you don’t take me back…” She clutched the skirt, lifting the hem like she was prepared to run. Her slender wrists were marked with abrasions, probably from twisting her hands trying to escape her bonds. God knows what story she would tell. Didn’t matter. Folks would take one look at her and assume she’d been violated. The soldiers assigned to keep the peace would take him to jail, and his brothers along with him—unless a lynch mob got to them first.
    He had to stall, find out her name, make sure she wasn’t hurt worse than what it appeared. “I’ll take you back…after I clean up those scratches on your wrists.”
    She dropped the skirt and looked at her arms, appearing surprised. That confirmed her mind wasn’t working right if she hadn’t noticed the injuries. Those had to be painful.
    “Why don’t you tell me your name?” He considered not giving her his name, but she’d heard his brothers use it, and if she described him, any man in town could give her his identity. “I’m Arch. Short for Archer, but you can call me Arch.”
    Her ghostly cheeks turned rosy as she stared, wide-eyed, directly at his chest.
    He glanced down. Shoot. He’d forgotten he hadn’t put on a shirt. Now it made sense why she thought he would drag her inside and molest her. “I, uh, wasn’t expecting company, was washing up. Shaving. I’ll put on a shirt when we get inside—”
    “Prudence Walker.” She averted her eyes, and used her fingers to comb tangles out of her hair. Her hands trembled. “They-they took my hairpins…and my snood.”
    That pretty well cinched it. The curs had snatched a lady, not a whore.
    “I’ll get your things,” he vowed. He’d take a pound of flesh along with it.
    She peered up at him through thick lashes. With her hair combed out of the way, he could see her face better. Tear-streaked and a little dirty, but not as plain as he’d first thought. Her dark, luminous eyes reminded him of an alert doe. “After you take me back…”
    Her plea tugged at his heart. He knew the longer he continued to stall the more upset she might become, but she was already shaking hard and she’d be even worse off after being jostled around for another hour on a bumpy road. “Miss Walker, I fully intend to take you back. But you look like you’re about to drop. I know I’d feel better if you would come inside and sit down. Maybe take some tea.”
    He motioned for her to go ahead of him into the house.
    She shook her head.
    “All right then. If you won’t go in, I’ll bring a chair out to you.” He slipped inside and grabbed two chairs tucked up under the table. Once he got her situated, he’d see to getting her something to drink. Whatever it took to convince her not to report him and his brothers, he’d do it. They couldn’t afford another run-in with the law.
    He stepped outside.
    She’d taken off. Lit out in the direction of the creek.
    “Wait!” He set the chairs down and took off after her. What was the fool woman thinking to hotfoot it down a steep, rocky path? “That’s not the way back to town.”
    She ran faster—though he was sure she’d heard him. Her long hair fluttered behind her like a ragged banner. If she didn’t watch