He Stole the Lady (Lords and Undefeated Ladies Book 5) by Judith Lynne

Author:Judith Lynne [Lynne, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Judith Lynne books
Published: 2022-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

“We shouldn’t unpack this here. I must get you home.”

The huge crate had been left on the sheltered side of one of Rob’s stables. Its raw wood squashed the tender grass trying to grow beneath it despite the still-frequent frost.

Zelda walked from one side to the other, surveying it. She smiled her knowledgeable smile that captured attention and didn't let it go. “I believe you've met me. Do you honestly think that I’ll leave without knowing the contents of your crate?”

Her stubborn determination to consort with him in public began to alarm him. If her reputation were destroyed, and Vere decided not to marry her, what would become of her?

She certainly couldn’t sleep in a borrowed sheep shed.

Why did he keep thinking about that?

“This is an inn. People may see you. There's nothing I can do to protect you from the damage to your reputation.”

She shrugged again; she had a knack for it. “I spent years locked in the same house and came all this way just to marry Lord Vere. My reputation is spotless. One spot won’t hurt it.” She sent him a sharp look and said under her breath, “The only things that have happened to me my whole life that could truly damage my reputation happened behind closed doors, and no one else knows of them.”

Then she slid straight from making him feel guilty to making him think her reputation deserved more spots.

“Is this something you stole in London? An accomplice has sent it to you? Oh!” He was beginning to be familiar with that look of wide-eyed delight that the idea sparked in her. Familiar with it and captivated by it. “You stole it from the King, and if discovered, you’ll hang!”

“Try not to sound so pleased by the idea.”

She looked the crate up and down. “It would seem too large for me to put in my pocket. But I'm willing to try.”

Half-afraid it was a mummy—he knew of the craze for Egyptian things, desperately hoped no one he knew would send him a mummy—Geoffrey used the inn’s crowbar to pry off the top.

Zelda’s head was inside before the crate wall hit the dirt.

“What on earth is it? It’s like half a cart.” She poked at the wooden thing packed tight in straw. “Sir Michael’s cart had four wheels. But this reminds me of that somehow.”

She was right. The contraption was confounding. It had two large wheels, one in front and one in back. A frame connected them and supported a narrow platform seat. A rod at the front, like a rudder, seemed intended to steer by turning the front wheel.

“I've never seen anything like it,” said Zelda.

“Because it's extremely peculiar,” said Geoffrey.

“This looks like something fun.”

“Fun how?”

While Zelda poked and prodded at the thing, Geoffrey noticed a letter tied to it with string. He pulled the knot and took the packet, for it was indeed a full packet of papers.

The first said:

Dear Lord Geoffrey:

I am delighted by your letter and a chance to return the favor you did me at Morland.

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