Read Online Once Upon a Diamond by Teresa McCarthy - Free Book Online

of his mouth curled upward into a slow,
satisfying smile. One thing for certain, the chit didn’t take orders very well,
from him or anybody. The man who eventually wooed her would be in for a sorry
surprise indeed.
    He wondered if the girl had locked her door. Yes, of
course, she had. She may be ill, but she wasn’t stupid. He recalled her
flashing brown eyes and let out an amused sigh.
    Within seconds, he began to drift asleep, oblivious to the
man prowling outside his room, sliding a beefy hand over the glint of steel at
his hip in search of his prey.

Chapter Four
     
    K ate was
almost asleep when she heard the floorboards creak beside her bed. She forgot
to lock her door, she repeated to herself. Dear Lord, help her! She forgot
to lock her door!
    Her eyes
snapped open and her heart beat wildly as her gaze locked on the shadowy figure
hovering over her bed. Before she could scream, a cold hand crushed over her
mouth.  
    “Where’s the earl, sweet thing? I know he was with you
tonight.” 
    Kate’s eyes widened in horror at the metal that flashed
in the moonlight.
    Lock your door as soon as I leave. The earl’s last words to her banged against her brain
as strong fingers squeezed her cheeks and the sharp point of a knife pricked
against her skin.
    The ludicrous thought came to her that if this man
didn’t kill her, Matthew surely would for putting herself in this horrid
situation.
    “Where is he?” the man growled. “His lordship. Where is
he?”
    The earl? He wanted the earl? She was slowly beginning
to gather her wits.
    “Be a good little gel and I’ll be treating you real nice.
I’m gonna let you go, and I ain’t wanting you to scream or I’ll be slicing that
smooth white neck of yours with one whack of me blade. Understand?”
    Kate nodded, inhaling the bitter smell of spirits.
    “There’s a good chit.” His hand released its death grip
on her mouth, and she let out a gasp.
    “Now, tell me where his lordship is, and maybe after I’m
done with this little job, I’ll be coming back here to teach you a few things.”
His grimy hand slid across her neck in a hideous caress.
    Kate’s skin crawled with fear as she stared back into a
pair of dark beady eyes. Eyes that reminded her of a weasel back home that had
been caught stealing eggs from the chicken coop. Fearless eyes. Eyes that could
kill without a thought, then move on to its next victim.
    “I d-don’t know where he is.”
    The man burst forth with an eerie snarl. A vile heat
washed through Kate. With all her heart, she wished she had followed her
brother’s orders and taken Mrs. Hollingsworth along with her as chaperone. I’m
sorry, Matthew. Forgive me.
    “Don’t lie to me, wench. I seen his lordship carry you
out of the tap. He’s coming back. I ain’t that stupid.”
    Alarmed,
Kate noted the man’s hand tighten on the heel of the dagger. With the other
hand, he whipped the quilt off her bed and greedily eyed her body.
    “You’re
a skinny one, you are, but he’ll be back. He’s a man, ain’t he?” His chuckle
sounded like the gates of hell swinging open to meet her. “They all come back.”
    “I
d-don’t know the earl. I j-just met him. He gave me this room for the night. H-he
felt sorry for me.”
    The man’s raucous laugh slammed into her ears. “And I’m
the King of England, missy. Blimey, he ain’t sorry for you. What a stupid
wench.” 
    He leaned over and grabbed a fist full of hair, yanking
her close. “But sometimes those are the best kind. Know what I mean?”
    A climbing anger slowly began to overtake the fear
lodging in Kate’s throat. Stupid wench!  
    As soon as the man let go of her hair and leaned down to
press his slimy lips against her neck, Kate grabbed the unlit lantern on the
nightstand beside her and whacked it against the intruder’s head.
    Terror filled her as the lamp glanced off the man’s body
like a child’s ball bouncing off a brick wall. She barely moved from her position
when he grabbed