Read It Takes a Scandal for Free Online

coat if you don’t want him to get caught on every thorn he passes.” He paused. “What was he in apology for?”
    “Oh.” She blushed and trained her eyes ahead. Mama would never forgive her for telling a complete stranger that Papa had bought Milo as an apology for the house. “Presumption.”
    “Ah.” He tucked the puppy back under his arm. “I hope the apology was accepted.”
    “Obviously—accepted and taken into the bosom of her heart.” Abigail rolled her eyes. “My mother will probably meet us at the door with half the constabulary behind her, ready to search the countryside for him.”
    “Won’t she be receiving her guests by now?”
    “Ah—yes, perhaps,” she murmured. So he knew about the ball and when it was to start. Who was he? “I beg your pardon, sir, but I don’t know your name.”
    For the first time a faint smile curved his lips. “Haven’t you guessed by now?”
    She racked her brain. What was the name of the estate that bordered theirs? Montgomery . . . Merrymont . . . Montrose Hill, she remembered in a burst of relief. “You’re the owner of Montrose Hill.”
    There was a slight hesitation before he responded. “Indeed.”
    Abigail waited, but he didn’t offer his name. He didn’t say anything else, just strode along at the same steady pace. It was a bit rude, to be honest. “I’m very sorry you couldn’t attend my mother’s ball.” That was also a bit rude, but she knew Mama had sent an invitation to Montrose Hill. She just couldn’t remember the name of the owner.
    “Didn’t it work out better for you that I didn’t?” he replied, seeming unperturbed. “If I’d been dressing for a ball, I would not have been in the woods to rescue your dog.”
    “But we might have met under more cordial circumstances.”
    Again he glanced at her with his unfathomable dark eyes. Abigail boldly gazed back. He was a striking figure, in a brooding sort of way. His dark, wavy hair curled above his collar, and his shoulders were broad beneath his coat. He held Milo easily in one big hand, although he wasn’t a large man, but rather lean and rangy. But it was his face that held her attention. His nose was a sharp slash, slightly crooked. His eyes were heavy-lidded, a bit sleepy looking despite the keen spark in his gaze. But no laugh lines bracketed his mouth, even though his lips looked firm and sensual. A somber man, she thought, who kept secrets.
    “What would it have changed, if we met under more cordial circumstances?” he asked at last, very softly. “I don’t attend balls.”
    “Not ever?” she blurted out in surprise.
    “No.” He looked away. “You’ll sort out why soon enough.”
    “That’s very mysterious,” she muttered.
    “My apologies. It wasn’t meant to be.” They had finally come in sight of the house. “Run in and fetch a maid.”
    She frowned at being so carelessly ordered about. “Please come in, sir. My mother will wish to thank you for saving her darling.”
    He sighed. “Your thanks are enough.” He stopped and shifted Milo, who had begun wriggling as they drew close to home. “Shh,” he said again to the puppy, who quieted a little. “He’ll run off if I let him go.”
    “Give him to me, then.” Again she put out her arms for the dog.
    This time there was nothing glancing about his gaze. It ranged over her hair, pinned up with sprigs of jasmine, over her face, then slowly down her figure right to the tips of her green satin slippers. Abigail was immobilized by the intensity of it, even though he did nothing but look.
    “He’ll ruin your gown,” he said. “I didn’t carry him all the way here only to dirty you up at the end. You look too lovely to spoil.”
    She was saved from a reply by the appearance of her brother, striding around the house. At the sight of them he paused for half a step, then came to join them. “Abigail! There you are. Mother was growing worried.”
    “Milo ran into the woods and this gentleman was kind