Read Nobody's Angel for Free Online

you wish it or not, I feel I must do what I can to keep you and yours safe."
    Greer transferred his gaze from the lady's face to Ian's. Ian regarded him with no expression whatsoever. Greer's fists clenched, and his voice grew harsh. "Despite what you may think, Miss Susannah here and her sisters are not unprotected. Do you in any way cause them to come to harm, or offer the least insult to her or hers, and I'll peel the hide from you inch by inch with my whip whether Miss Susannah says me yea or nay. Then, if the offense merits it, I'll have you dragged before the magistrate and with God's grace see you hanged as you doubtless should have been to begin with. Do you hear, fellow?"
    Ian stiffened, but did no more than that. The man was a bully and a fool and not worth the price that he would have to pay did he crush him like an ant. But his hatred, slightly cooled, boiled anew.
    In some strange way, Ian realized that he welcomed the emotion's resurgence. It strengthened him, fortifying him against pain and fear—and the ridiculous softening he had felt in himself as he had stared into Miss Susannah Redmon's smiling eyes. It had been so long since he had known true goodness that he had almost forgotten what it was like.
    "I'll thank you to save your bullying for members of your own household, Mr. Greer." If Susannah's eyes had been smiling when they met Ian's, they were smiling no longer as she turned them on Greer. Instead they flashed angrily, and her chin came up as she fixed Greer with a look that was as daunting as if the lady had been twice her present size, and a man to boot. "Now I must ask you to excuse us, please. Come along, Connelly. Come along, girls."
    Without so much as another glance at Greer, she turned on her heel and started to walk away.
    "But, Susannah . . ." The pink-bonneted girl protested in a faint voice as she fell back out of her sister's way.
    "Hush, Sarah Jane," said Susannah, and she tugged on the rope that bound Ian to her as she reached the end of its length without stopping. It was an absentminded tug, Ian thought, but still it was too much. The hemp stung as it dug into the raw welt left by Greer's harsh jerking of the rope, but the pain was nothing compared to the sting to his pride. He was having none of being hauled through the crowd at the end of a tether. He did not move but put both hands up to loosen the knot and slip the loop over his head.
    At his refusal to budge, the rope went taut and stopped Susannah in her tracks. She looked back over her shoulder at him to find the noose no longer about his neck but rather held in both his hands. Her expressive eyebrows lifted in silent inquiry. By way of a reply, he dropped the noose to the ground. His eyes challenged her to protest.
    Instead she nodded once, in a decided way. "You are quite right, of course. I should not care to be dragged about at the end of a rope, either. Now please follow me."
    Somewhat to his own surprise, Ian obeyed. With neither chains nor rope to hold him, freedom beckoned ever more brightly. But he could not very well just turn and walk away, however much he was tempted. Someone would surely give chase. He would be recaptured, probably harshly punished, and certainly guarded far more carefully in future. It was clear that his new owner had more heart than sense. He could tarry awhile in her household, regaining his strength and formulating a plan for the future, without fearing either physical abuse or humiliation. For the first time in a long time, his prospects looked bright.
    At the thought, Ian felt a lifting of his spirits. Unfortunately, his body did not respond quite as swiftly to the renewal of hope as did his mind. As he set one foot in front of the other, Ian was disconcerted to realize just how weak he was. He had to force himself to concentrate even on so simple an act as walking, had to will his feet to obey the commands of his sluggish brain. Something—the heat, the sun, the damned sickening smell of