Read Online Sylvia Day - [Georgian 01] by Ask For It - Free Book Online Page A

skittering away across the dewy grass. The man’s left hand was limp, the red journal abandoned, while his right hand pressed against a wound to his shoulder. Swearing, he ducked between two bushes and disappeared into the trees.
    Stunned by the series of events, Marcus was startled as Avery ran past him in pursuit.
    “Bloody everlasting hell,” he snapped, furious at himself for allowing the situation to go so awry.
    Elizabeth took his arm, her voice shaky and urgent. “Are you hurt?” Her free hand drifted over his torso.
    His eyes widened at her obvious concern.
    “Damn you, Marcus. Are you injured? Did he hurt you?”
    “No, no, I’m fine. What the devil are you doing with that?” He stared, dazed by the sight of the pistol she held at her side.
    “Saving your life.” Her hand to her heart, she released her breath in a rush and then walked to the fallen journal to retrieve it. “You may thank me when you recover your wits.”
     
    Marcus sat silently in the sitting room of his London townhouse. Divested of his coat and waistcoat, he lounged with his feet propped up on the table, and watched the play of light from the window behind him as it moved through the brandy in his snifter.
    To say the morning had been a disaster would be an understatement, and yet Elizabeth had retained the book and wounded her attacker. Marcus was not surprised. His friendship with William had given him rare insight.
    Her mother lost to illness, Elizabeth had been raised by a father and older brother who were both notorious voluptuaries. Governesses never lasted long, finding the young Elizabeth to be incorrigible. Without the calming influence of a woman in the house, she’d been allowed to run wild.
    As children, William had taken his sister with him everywhere—galloping neck-or-nothing through the fields, climbing trees, shooting pistols. Elizabeth had been blissfully unaware of the societal rules women were expected to follow until introduced to them at boarding school. Years of rigorous training in deportment had given her the tools she used to hide herself from him, but he paid them no mind. He would know her, all of her.
    The mystery of the book was proving to be far more dangerous than any of them had previously realized. Steps had to be taken to ensure Elizabeth was kept safe.
    “Thank you for allowing me to repair myself here,” Elizabeth said softly from the doorway that led to the bedroom.
    She’d used the room that was meant to be hers—that of the lady of the house. Turning to face her, he saw her staring down at her clasped hands. “William would have known something was amiss if I’d returned home looking a mess.”
    Marcus studied her, noting the dark circles that rimmed her eyes. Was she having trouble sleeping? Was he tormenting her dreams the way she tormented his?
    “Is your family not in residence?” she asked, looking about as if she could find them. “Lady Westfield? Paul and Robert?”
    “My mother writes that Robert’s latest experiment is delaying their arrival. So that leaves you and me quite alone.”
    “Oh.” She bit her lower lip.
    “Elizabeth, this matter has become extremely dangerous. Once the man who attacked you recovers, he will come after you again. If he has associates, they won’t wait.”
    She nodded. “I’m aware of the situation. I will be on my guard.”
    “That’s insufficient. I want you to be guarded night and day, not just outriders when you go out. I want someone with you at all times, even when you sleep.”
    “Impossible. William will grow suspicious if I have guards at the house.”
    Marcus set the glass down. “William is more than capable of making his own decisions. Why don’t you allow him to decide if he can be of assistance to you?”
    She rested her hands on her hips. “Because I have made the decision. He is finally free of that damned agency. His wife is with child. I refuse to risk his life and Margaret’s happiness for nothing.”
    “ You are not