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to a halt in front of her defender, and as she peered over his shoulder, Emily could see they were older than she’d first surmised. At least eighteen or nineteen, they were a sorry lot, with pockmarked faces and lank, greasy hair. The one named Toby wore an evil sneer that had her suppressing a shiver.
    “Well, well, well, Toby,” her savior said in a casually insolent tone. “What ’ave we ’ere? Taken to bullying little girls now, ’ave we?”
    “You just stay out of this, Quick, and ’and ’er over. Mr. Flynt’s got business wiv this one.”
    “Ah. Mr. Flynt.” Quick paused for a minute, cocking his head as if considering the possibility. “What do I get if I do ? ’And ’er over, I mean?”
    Emily gasped in outrage and tugged at his sleeve, but he didn’t acknowledge her in any way. He didn’t take his eyes off the threat in front of them.
    Toby bared his crooked teeth in a caricature of a smile. “We’ll let you live.”
    One of the other boys laughed. “Your days are numbered anyway, Quick. Mr. Flynt’s runnin’ things around ’ere now, and your little gang won’t be lastin’ too much longer. What do you think about that?”
    “I think you should remember the other day, Sam, when I caught you and Toby shoving around one of my boys. My little gang sent you both on your way wiv your tails between your legs, didn’t we?”
    Toby’s face turned a mottled shade of red. “Things will be different today. There’s four of us and only one of you. I think we can ’andle it.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Sure of what?”
    Quick shrugged. “That there’s only one of me. I just thought you might want to count the rest of my gang, since they’re coming up be’ind you right now.”
    As one, four pairs of eyes swung to look over their shoulders, and in that instant, Quick grabbed Emily’s hand and hissed in her ear, “Run!”
    She needed no second urging. Hanging on for dear life, she raced after him. From behind, she heard a curse and the sound of pounding feet, and she knew the young men were hot on their heels.
    Quick led her on a zigzag course through the maze of alleyways, leaping over debris and rounding corners at a speed that had her breathless and gasping. The whole time, she could hear their pursuers gaining.
    Just when she thought she could go no further, a fence rose up before them, blocking their way. It was much too tall to climb, and she felt her heart sink with despair.
    “What do we—” she started to ask, but before she could finish the sentence, Quick was pulling aside one of the slats and shoving her toward the narrow opening. “Climb through. ’Urry!”
    It was a close fit, but somehow she managed to squeeze through, and Quick swiftly followed.
    Just in time. A loud slam came from the other side of the fence, then some extremely colorful swearing. Taller and heavier than the lanky Quick, there was no way Toby and his boys could ever hope to fit through.
    “Come on,” Quick said, jerking his head at her. “We’d better get out of ’ere before they find a way over.”
    Emily didn’t argue. Once again taking his hand, she allowed her rescuer to lead her off into the night.

Chapter 4

    T ristan arrived back at the Ellington town house with his temper still seething, his meeting with Viscountess Rotherby replaying itself over and over in his mind.
    He should have known better than to expect assistance from someone of her reputation, he reflected darkly, stalking up the wide stone steps from the street. The entire debacle had been a waste of his time, and he only wished he could dismiss her with as little effort as she had him. Unfortunately, his encounter with the lady wasn’t quite so easy to forget.
    “No luck, my lord?”
    At the soft query, he looked up to find Archer waiting for him at the front door, his expression anxious.
    “None at all,” Tristan told the butler, brushing past him into the entry hall and dropping his hat and gloves on a nearby table. “She