Read Online Quick, Amanda by Surrender - Free Book Online

carriage door." Thought
    for certain you'd been run down by the mob. Hurry. We don't want to hang out in this street for long. No
    telling when the crowd might take a notion to come this way."

    "Rest assured, Lyndwood, I have no intention of dawdling." Lucas tossedVictoria up into the carriage
    and followed quickly, slamming the door behind him. The carriage took off at once and none too soon. In
    the distance the shouts of the mob filled the night air.

    Victorialooked anxiously at Annabella.
    "Are you all right, Bella?"

    Annabella clasped her friend's hand.

    "I'm fine. Bertie and I were on the fringes of the crowd when the trouble broke out. We managed to get
    out of the way almost at once. But I was so worried about you two. You were right in the heart of the
    throng, were you not?"

    "It was a near thing,"Victoria said. A wave of euphoria was washing over her now, rapidly replacing the
    tension that had gripped her a moment earlier. "We were accosted in an alley by two men intent on
    robbing us. But Stonevale produced a pistol and stopped them instantly. He was magnificent."

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    "Good heavens," Annabella whispered, shocked.
    "Damme, Stonevale." Lyndwood frowned with obvious concern.
    "A near thing, is right. Neither of you was hurt, I take it?"
    "We are both perfectly fit, Lyndwood, as you can see." Lucas dismissed the inquiry with a deceptively
    neutral tone. "Although Miss Huntington's disguise appears to have suffered somewhat."

    Victoriabelatedly checked her hair and realized something was amiss.
    "Oh, dear, I've lost my hat."

    "You are extremely lucky not to have lost more than a hat, Miss Huntington." Again Stonevale's voice
    seemed far too calm.Victoria slanted a sidelong glance at his hard profile and realized that Lucas was in a
    blazing fury. For the first time since the riot had erupted around her, she felt a trickle of genuine fear.

    Lucas glanced out at the empty side street as the carriage drew to a halt. "You intend to be set down
    here. Miss Huntington? We are nowhere near your front door."
    "It will do," she said calmly, collecting her handsome walking stick.
    " And how do you intend to get into the house if not through the front door?" Stonevale asked, annoyed.
    "I shall go over the garden wall and back through the conservatory, the same way I left earlier. Don't
    worry, my lord, I know my way."Victoria was already stepping down from the carriage as the door was
    opened. She hoped he wouldn't feel obliged to follow.
    "Good night, Vicky," Annabella called softly." It turned out to be a most interesting adventure, did it
    not?"
    "It certainly did,"Victoria replied. Lucas followedVictoria through the carriage door." Wait here,
    Lyndwood," he instructed over his shoulder. "I shall return as soon as I have escorted our reckless little
    dandy back over the garden wall."

    Victoriaturned toward him in alarm. "There is no need to see me home, my lord. I assure you, I am
    perfectly capable of finding my own way."

    "I wouldn't hear of it. Miss Huntington." He must have spotted the new uneasiness in her because he
    smiled knowingly.
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    "Excellent," he murmured, grasping her arm and propelling her into the shadows.

    "I see you understand me well enough now to realize that I am not in a good temper. It is always best
    not to argue with me when I am in this mood."

    "My lord," she began, her chin lifting imperiously," if you think to hold me accountable for what
    happened this evening, you can think again."

    "But I do hold you accountable, Miss Huntington." He glanced up at the high stone wall covered with
    thick ivy. "How do we get inside the garden?"

    She tried to retrieve her arm. When he took no notice of her small struggle, she gave up and nodded
    toward the far end of the walk.

    "There is a way over there."

    He hauled her along in the indicated