Read Online A Game of Persuasion: Extended Prologue for the Art of Ruining a Rake (The Naughty Girls Book 3) by Emma Locke - Free Book Online

“Then I’m glad he does not.”

Chapter 4

    LUCY WOULD HAVE preferred walking to Celeste’s house, but she was only willing to break one of Trestin’s rules at a time.  
    She gazed out the window as the horses pulled her carriage through the streets. The city flowed past the narrow rectangular windowpanes, each scene a fascinating peek into lives she would never have the chance to live, for St James was a tableau of men being men: The wealthy ones entering their clubs or leaving their paramour’s doors, the poor ones doing their best to imitate the rich ones. A few shopkeeps hoping anyone with spare coin would grace their establishment, and several gambling hells that had taken that coin for their own.
    She was so occupied with woolgathering, she almost didn’t see Roman walking along the street as her equipage sailed past hm. She tumbled forward as she reached up to bang on the carriage roof. “Mr. Diggs! Mr. Diggs!” she called to the coachman.
    When the horses stopped, she opened the door far enough to lean out. “Lord Montborne! I say, can my driver take you somewhere?”
    Roman’s walking stick waved to and fro as he loped toward her door. “Why, Miss Lancester, it’s a lovely day indeed, when a damsel can rescue a man in distress.”
    She laughed and held the door open farther. “I’ll even slay the dragon.”
    He ducked his tall frame through the door and fell into the seat across from her, indolent as you please. His legs were so long, his boots encroached on her hem, but she didn’t mind. She’d gladly accept a bit of dirt on her new gown, if it meant being near him.
    “What brings you to this part of town?” he asked as the carriage lurched forward. Sunlight streamed through the pane and danced through his tousled curls. Idly, he turned his hand so that his sapphire signet ring caught the rays.
    Lucy pasted a look of utter innocence on her face. “What part of town, my lord?”
    He grinned and flexed his hand so his signet cast fairies of light over the carriage walls. “The very naughty part, Miss Lancester. Or did you not know you’re in St James?”
    She pretended to look through the window as if she hadn’t known, but might somehow recognize this area of Town she ought never to have seen before. Then she sat back again.
    The man across from her managed to fill the entire seat even though he was, on the whole, a rather lean specimen. He watched her, amusement written on his face.
    She folded her hands in her lap and reminded herself to breathe. This was why she’d agreed to come to London: chance meetings with Roman. She must make the best of this scandalous opportunity to spend time with him unchaperoned. “Where shall I instruct my driver to take us?” she asked, hopeful he’d know better what sorts of amusements were available.
    “Take me? Why, to return you to Trestin, of course. I’d never abscond with a lady, especially not a dragon-slaying one.”
    She frowned. “You can’t hand me off to my brother like some mislaid bauble you found in the street. I will arrive home when I arrive home, and Trestin must make do.”
    Roman watched her with an unfathomable expression. “Do you always speak your mind?”
    Her bravado faltered. Then she remembered—she was in control. “I say what is necessary. Being an unmarried woman, that means defending myself when warranted. I suppose you expected me to simper, to be grateful for the benefit of your protection as I make my way through the treacherous streets to the safety of my brother’s influence. But it was I who offered you protection. You’re the one who no longer need worry he will be accosted in an alley.”
    He laughed at her brazen speech. “Danger lurks in these streets for both of us. This carriage, on the other hand”—he captured her gaze with his just long enough to cause her to shift in her seat—“is perfectly safe.”
    Her heart skipped. Unbidden, a flush heated her face. “If you won’t tell me where you’re