Read Online Teresa Medeiros - [FairyTale 02] by The Bride, the Beast - Free Book Online Page B

hoping to maintain her air of regal dignity. Which might have been possible if she hadn’t misjudged the distance and plopped down onto the floor, landing in a puddle of cold chocolate.
    Her captor’s rich laughter poured through the room.
    Gwendolyn furiously jerked off the blindfold, only to discover that the Dragon had flown.

    A short while later, Gwendolyn was perched on the foot of the bed, clinging to her soggy sheet and glaring at the panel when it crept open.
    Tupper poked his head into the chamber like a timid turtle. “ If you’re going to bash me over the head again, miss, would you mind letting me put down the tray first? White flour and Swiss chocolate are rather hard to come by in this particular corner of the Highlands.”
    “You’re safe for now, Mr. Tuppingham. I’m all out of birdcages.”
    “That’s a relief. Although getting clobbered did take my mind off the headache I’d earned from imbibing too much port last night.”
    As he moved to set the tray on the bed, giving her a wide berth, they eyed each other warily. With his puppy-dog eyes and sandy cowlick, Gwendolyn supposed he looked harmless enough. But she couldn’t afford to forget that he was one of Satan’s minions.
    “I gather your master won’t be joining us.” Gwendolyn gave one of the crossbuns a poke, pretending indifference.
    “Oh, he’s not my master. He’s my friend,” Tupper replied, offering her a delicate china cup.
    She took it, savoring the aroma of chocolate wafting up from its depths. The first sip was sheer rapture. “I can’t help but wonder how you came to make the acquaintance of such a”— she had to grit her teeth against the urge to bring her captor’s parentage into question—”mysterious fellow.”
    Tupper chuckled. “ It’s a long story, and my great-aunt Taffy always said I talk too much. I wouldn’t want to bore you.”
    “Oh, please do,” Gwendolyn implored, gesturing at the barren chamber. “What else have I to do?”
    When he appeared to be wavering, she offered him a crossbun, recognizing the kindred gleam in his eye. He wasted no time in plopping down on the opposite corner of the bed and tearing off a buttery hunk of the bread. Gwendolyn helped herself to a bun, in the interest of being companionable and encouraging him to confide in her. If she hoped to defeat the Dragon in his own lair, she would have to learn both his strengths and his weaknesses.
    “We met in one of the gambling hells in Pall Mall two years ago,” Tupper confessed, pausing just long enough in his chewing to brush a sprinkling of crumbs from his rumpled waistcoat.
    “Why am I not surprised? “ Gwendolyn hid the acid sweetness of her smile behind another sip of chocolate.
    “I was alone in one of the back rooms preparing to shoot myself in the head—” At Gwendolyn’s horrified gasp, he paused just long enough to give her a heartening smile. “As I was saying, I was in one of the back rooms preparing to shoot myself in the head when—” He paused again, his mouth hanging open. Gwendolyn leaned forward, praying the name on the tip of his tongue would come tumbling out. “—
the Dragon
came strolling in.”
    “And he stopped you? “
    Tupper shook his head vigorously, speaking through a hearty mouthful of bun. “Oh, no. He simply pointed out that I’d neglected to properly tamp down my charge and was just as likely to blow off my foot as my head. He removed the pistol from my hand, used his own rod to do the honors, then handed it back.”
    Gwendolyn lowered her crossbun, her mouth falling open. “If he was determined to be so accommodating, why didn’t he just shoot you himself?”
    Tupper chuckled. “I was deep in my cups at the time, and I do believe it was his matter-of-fact manner that sobered me out of my self-pity. You see—the Marquess of Eddingham had just threatened to call in all my vowels after he discovered I wasn’t good for them. He was intent upon ruining me. The scandal would have