Lord Satan Read Online Free Page A

the
Marquess, but she would determine the truth, and then take whatever action that
warranted. It would not be easy; she had no idea how to proceed.
    And what if someone was trying to kill the poor young man?
The bright day seemed suddenly to grow more shadowed, and she shivered.

Chapter Two
    The following day, Libbetty set out to call upon her
friend. Tom had taken Concobhar, “to shake out the cobwebs in his brain” from
studying, as he put it, leaving Libbetty to walk to the Hogwoods’.
    The weather had turned chilly, and Libbetty bundled up in
her shabby old Melton cloak and sturdy boots. A weak sun shone, unable to
combat the brisk wind. She hurried to escape the gusts that blew her along,
her hood pulled up around her face. Branches rustled furiously in the
shrubbery enclosing the lane.
    Libbetty wished she could avoid discussing the rescue of
Lord Cauldreigh with Edwina. The thought she might end up helping her entrap
him gave Libbetty a stomachache However, if danger threatened Lord Cauldreigh,
it was her Christian obligation to discover the truth and save him.
    But if Cauldreigh truly were in danger, it had to be from
his uncle. Her pace slowed as she pictured Lord Neil at church. Those mocking
charcoal eyes, the quirk at the corner of his mouth—oh, she had memorized his
features too well. Heat crept into her face. Instinctively hiding the blush,
even though no one was around, she ducked her head and dashed forward.
    A fast-moving barrier suddenly blocked her path. Libbetty
stumbled back and fell, landing on her backside with a thump that drove the
breath from her body. She sat, staring upward, too shocked at first to suck
breath into her compressed lungs.
    The great black horse danced above her, hooves inches away
from her face. Lord Neil backed him a safe distance away and leaped from the
saddle to bend over her.
    “Miss Bishop, are you all right?” His voice shook.
Stunned, she gazed at his face, the furrows on his forehead, the worried
expression in his eyes…the pinpoints of light that appeared in the blackness
surrounding him. Her air-starved body slumped, and then fought to draw a
breath.
    Lord Neil yanked her to her feet and clapped her hard on the
back. With a whoop she drew in great gobs of precious air, then gasped and
coughed.
    The blows on her back stopped, but his hands still grasped
her shoulders, and he spoke soft, meaningless words, until her breathing
returned to normal.
    Once she had recovered, he scowled. “Good God, don’t you
watch where you are going? You should have heard my horse approaching half a
mile away.”
    “No.” Her voice came out whispery and hoarse. “I was
thinking…” Remembering whom she had been thinking of, her face ignited.
    “I see.” He smirked. He knew. She wished she could
disappear. Abruptly his hands dropped away from her shoulders, as if her heat
had burned him.
    She felt very cold.
    “Are you sure you will be all right now?” he asked.
    “Yes, I’m fine.” She shivered, drawing her cloak more
closely about her.
    “Then, I’ll be on my way.” With a final, searching look at
her, he remounted and rode away.
    Libbetty stood still, watching him as long as the winding
lane permitted. She shook, and chills shot through her. Her lungs ached and
her throat felt raw. She still could feel the heated imprint of his hands in
the places he had touched her.
    She couldn’t face Edwina today.
    She turned toward home.
    The burning in her shoulders lent a sensation of Lord Neil’s
presence. Her teeth chattered, and she could not draw enough warmth into
herself.
    She had not appeared in a very good light, nearly crashing
into Lord Neil’s horse through her inattention, falling so gracelessly, and
having the breath knocked out of her. Heat rushed into her face again.
    *
    “It’s monstrous unfair,” Miss Sybille Bassett said in her
soft voice as she sipped tea in the Bishops’ drawing room. “Everyone prefers
to think we have a murderer in our midst.