Read Online Naughty in Nottinghamshire 02 - The Rogue Returns by Leigh LaValle - Free Book Online
Authors: Leigh LaValle
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have it. But, at this moment, I need to put you on a coach to London. You have no place in this danger.”
Oh, it was just like a man to assume unconditional authority. She’d begun this quest of her own accord, and she’d continue on as long as she wanted. No longer did she allow men to control her life. They just made a muck of things. Too agitated to remain seated, she pushed up to standing.
“Do not tell me where my place is. I still have choices and I am going to use them.” She planted her hand on her hip. “My options are limited, but they are mine . And if I choose danger, then so be it. I am not some wilting violet; I can handle three men riding north. It’s not like I’ve never faced dangerous men before. My brothers were excellent at getting into trouble, but absolutely terrible at getting out of it. I—”
“What dangerous men?” he challenged. “And did you face them with nothing but a shovel? Or did you have a wall of armed footmen to protect you?”
She scowled at him, unwilling to cede the point.
“Listen, Helen, you don’t want to come.” Roane ran a frustrated hand through his hair, leaving the curls in wild disarray. “You don’t need to do this.”
“What I want and what I need are vastly different things. Stop telling me I don’t know my own mind.” She thrust her feet into her boots, as if he’d run off without her and she’d need to chase him.
“Careful.” He nodded toward her muddy shoes. “There might be spiders in there, or worse. You’ll want to turn them over before you put them on.”
“Stop trying to scare me. It won’t work.” But it was working. She froze in place, only daring to wiggle her toes. Her boots were empty. She hoped.
Roane raised a golden brow, fairly mocking her for her reaction. As if he liked insects in his boots.
She huffed a breath. “I did not begin this journey as a lark. I am not a silly girl, making silly choices. I understand what is at stake. I understand the dangers ahead. And I am fully aware this”—she waved her hand—“situation could utterly destroy what little is left of my reputation, and my option to marry a wealthy man.
But there are very real consequences if I do not return home with the money. We still have upwards of sixty servants, if they haven’t all fled in my absence, and they have families to feed. Not to mention the hundreds of tenants at Slipstream Hall and Donnet Abbey who depend on the earldom.”
He unwound his long frame and stood. “And you shall provide for them, once I return to London with—”
“What if you can’t find the gold?” she pressed. “Two minds are better than one.”
“Oh, I’ll find it, even if I have to dig up half of England.”
“But that could take years . You never would have known the map was upside-down without me. What other clues might I decipher?”
“We can go over the map—”
“I cannot go back.” She closed her eyes, hating the sound of her desperation. Hating the choking feel of it even more. She couldn’t go back to London, to the sinking ship of her life. For months she’d felt like she was drowning, like she couldn’t breathe. Her powerlessness had been the worst part of it all. She could only watch as the debt collectors became more daring, the servants increasingly angry. She’d stopped going to social events altogether, as the gossips grew bold, and the men even bolder. On top of it all, Harry was following James’s footsteps to an early grave, and she had to find some way to save him, the last of her family. Repairing their finances was her only grand idea.
She couldn’t go back and sit at her window and hope Roane returned with the gold. Neither was she going to marry some man who had no care for her, yet possessed all the rights to her being. She’d rather face horses and caves and highwaymen than slowly drown while her life came apart at the seams. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away.
“Tears won’t work on
Oh, it was just like a man to assume unconditional authority. She’d begun this quest of her own accord, and she’d continue on as long as she wanted. No longer did she allow men to control her life. They just made a muck of things. Too agitated to remain seated, she pushed up to standing.
“Do not tell me where my place is. I still have choices and I am going to use them.” She planted her hand on her hip. “My options are limited, but they are mine . And if I choose danger, then so be it. I am not some wilting violet; I can handle three men riding north. It’s not like I’ve never faced dangerous men before. My brothers were excellent at getting into trouble, but absolutely terrible at getting out of it. I—”
“What dangerous men?” he challenged. “And did you face them with nothing but a shovel? Or did you have a wall of armed footmen to protect you?”
She scowled at him, unwilling to cede the point.
“Listen, Helen, you don’t want to come.” Roane ran a frustrated hand through his hair, leaving the curls in wild disarray. “You don’t need to do this.”
“What I want and what I need are vastly different things. Stop telling me I don’t know my own mind.” She thrust her feet into her boots, as if he’d run off without her and she’d need to chase him.
“Careful.” He nodded toward her muddy shoes. “There might be spiders in there, or worse. You’ll want to turn them over before you put them on.”
“Stop trying to scare me. It won’t work.” But it was working. She froze in place, only daring to wiggle her toes. Her boots were empty. She hoped.
Roane raised a golden brow, fairly mocking her for her reaction. As if he liked insects in his boots.
She huffed a breath. “I did not begin this journey as a lark. I am not a silly girl, making silly choices. I understand what is at stake. I understand the dangers ahead. And I am fully aware this”—she waved her hand—“situation could utterly destroy what little is left of my reputation, and my option to marry a wealthy man.
But there are very real consequences if I do not return home with the money. We still have upwards of sixty servants, if they haven’t all fled in my absence, and they have families to feed. Not to mention the hundreds of tenants at Slipstream Hall and Donnet Abbey who depend on the earldom.”
He unwound his long frame and stood. “And you shall provide for them, once I return to London with—”
“What if you can’t find the gold?” she pressed. “Two minds are better than one.”
“Oh, I’ll find it, even if I have to dig up half of England.”
“But that could take years . You never would have known the map was upside-down without me. What other clues might I decipher?”
“We can go over the map—”
“I cannot go back.” She closed her eyes, hating the sound of her desperation. Hating the choking feel of it even more. She couldn’t go back to London, to the sinking ship of her life. For months she’d felt like she was drowning, like she couldn’t breathe. Her powerlessness had been the worst part of it all. She could only watch as the debt collectors became more daring, the servants increasingly angry. She’d stopped going to social events altogether, as the gossips grew bold, and the men even bolder. On top of it all, Harry was following James’s footsteps to an early grave, and she had to find some way to save him, the last of her family. Repairing their finances was her only grand idea.
She couldn’t go back and sit at her window and hope Roane returned with the gold. Neither was she going to marry some man who had no care for her, yet possessed all the rights to her being. She’d rather face horses and caves and highwaymen than slowly drown while her life came apart at the seams. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away.
“Tears won’t work on
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