Must be Magic by Patricia Rice

Author:Patricia Rice [Rice, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-02-13T07:03:43+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Taking Leila up on the back of his old gelding, Dunstan wrapped her in his arms as if she belonged there. He wanted the right to shelter this spirited woman forever, protecting her from the world's iniquities.

And he wanted to console himself in the process, he acknowledged.

Not understanding why he felt compelled to protect a woman who possessed far more power than he ever would, he was silenced by confusion.

In his arms she felt slender and defenseless. She was a Malcolm, he reminded himself, and anything but defenseless. She tilted her chin defiantly, as if she were prepared to take on an army. Dunstan relied on her good sense not to plot anything foolish. The idea of what a Malcolm might do in retaliation gave him cold shivers. She didn't protest when he delivered her to her door. "I need to speak with you tonight, after I remove these leeches," she told him with her accustomed authority, although her wording revealed a hint of vulnerability. Dunstan hesitated. For the good of all, he needed to pack his bags and leave.

As if understanding his intention, Leila continued before he could reject her plea. "I learned something important today. I promise not to manipulate, seduce, or whatever else you expect of me, but I must talk with you." 199

Must Be Magic

by Patricia Rice

He didn't tell her that he wanted to see her so much that he feared himself and not her. Speaking to the butler who appeared behind her, reassuring himself that her loyal staff would take care of her and follow her orders to bar the gentlemen, Dunstan turned to find Leila watching him with eyes shimmering with hope and trust.

She trusted him—a man whom all London despised. He couldn't disappoint the one woman who believed in him.

Dunstan set his jaw, nodded curtly, and departed. He had the sinking feeling he'd just committed his fate to forces beyond his control.

At home, he ignored Griffith's questions, changed from his muddy clothes, silently shared the supper Martha had left, and cogitated on the enormity of his problem. He could lose his crop as easily as Leila had almost lost hers.

He didn't waste time questioning the injustice that gave power to spoiled brats. Instead, he applied his formidable thought processes to the dilemma of saving both his experimental plants and his hide, while also protecting Leila's interests.

Dunstan remained confident of his ability to turn the lady's estate into a viable, profitable farm that would feed and clothe an entire village while keeping her nephew in silk coats. But he'd been arrogant in thinking that he could ignore society. Pride came before a fall, and there was his stumbling block.

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Must Be Magic

by Patricia Rice

He couldn't ignore the society he despised, and that despised and feared him in return. They would crucify him. Leila was part of that society. Because of him, they might crucify her as well.

He forced aside a rising panic and proceeded logically, one fact at a time.

A man was only as good as his reputation.

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