A Lady Undone Read Online Free Page A

think?”
    He took a sip of the brandy. A look of pure pleasure softened his strong face for a moment as he savored the liquid.
    It was the most curious thing.
    How could a person seemingly achieve so much enjoyment from something so small?
    Cradling the glass, he asked, “Do you feel in danger?”
    She paused. It seemed such an odd question. “Would you be here if I was not?”
    “At this point, I am here because a duke virtually demanded that I arrive, and said duke also inferred it was your uncle that demanded something be done . . . not you. So, really, I have no idea how you feel about this arrangement, or even if you think it necessary.”
    Her breath caught in her chest. She almost couldn’t believe her ears. “You care if I think it’s necessary?”
    “I do.”
    “I—” She took a swallow of the burning liquid, wishing to cover her shock. As long as she could recall, the most important men in her life hadn’t cared what she thought. Not her uncle, and most definitely not her husband. Any opinion she had held was entirely irrelevant. “I do not necessarily feel afraid, but I am concerned.”
    “Because?” he prompted.
    When she hesitated, he added, “Please understand, I’ve heard about the threats and the stone, but really the only thing that matters to me is your interpretation of events. I need to hear what you have to say about all this.”
    Her usual reticence faded under his determination to engage her as a woman of sense. “Frankly, my concern is for my work, not myself.”
    “How so?” he urged.
    “Whoever this person or persons are that threaten me, they clearly wish me to cease my work. They’ve threatened to burn my home for women down to the ground if I don’t leave, and I am all that some of these women have. Do you understand? I cannot leave them unprotected. They will have nowhere to go except back to their wretched lives at the mercy of men who treat them as if they had no will or mind or heart . . .” She clamped her mouth shut, astounded by the passion pouring out of her.
    Wyndham stared at her, silent, captivated.
    She looked away, unable to maintain the intensity of his amber gaze. How had she let herself become so carried away? She prided herself on the coolness she had cultivated since the death of her husband. She would never, ever have anyone call her reason into question again because she spoke with too much feeling.
    “You are not worried for your own person then?” he asked carefully.
    How could she explain that she’d faced a daily danger in her own home? One misguided blow or a loss of her husband’s temper in the wrong place could have easily seen her dead. Hadn’t his first wife tumbled down the stairs? Hadn’t her own cheek nearly cracked her dressing table on more than one occasion? She was not afraid of a violent end. She’d stood and seen the face of danger and death.
    Nor would she run to it, for she had a purpose now. A purpose far superior to any she might have had if she hadn’t married such a man as the Duke of Duncliffe. Just today, that purpose had been renewed when she’d been able to ensure a place with a good family for Amy in Devon. The girl would be able to begin again with support and kindness, money in her pockets, and the knowledge that someone believed in her. She couldn’t fail the Amys of the world.
    “While it is in my power, sir, I will not allow one woman who comes to me for help to return to a man who will abuse her, no matter what the church or law might say.” She forced herself to look back to the calm man who appeared as if a canon might fire beside him and not alter a hair upon his unflinching head. “If I must put my life in jeopardy to do this, so be it, but I will not risk the women who need me or the place they come to.”
    “Then you do think you may be in danger,” he said simply, “and you do need my help.”
    “If you had been a different man, I think I would have said no.”
    “A different man, Your