Cooper's Woman by Carol Finch Page A

didn’t know that she and Mr. Chester were one and the same and she planned to keep it that way.
    â€œYou scoundrel—” she said with a hiss.
    â€œCall me all the names you want but keep your voice down,” he muttered against her ear.
    Coop clamped his hand over Alexa’s mouth and clutched her to him when she squirmed for release. When she gestured toward the corner of the house, he noticed her satin slippers sitting on one of the protruding stones. He snatched them up, but he didn’t set Alexa to her feet so she could don her shoes. Instead he carried her through the garden to the gate.
    He didn’t know whether to be angry or amused by her outlandish antics so he decided to be both. But angry first. “What the hell did you think you were doing besides taking the risk of falling off a ledge and breaking your damned neck?” he demanded sharply.
    Her chin came up and she refused to back down. “I was spying on Elliot. If it’s any of your business, which it is not. ”
    â€œAh yes, one of your favorite pastimes,” he murmured sarcastically. “How could I have forgotten?”
    â€œI told you that I am determined to discover Elliot’s true character, personality and expose any secrets he plans to keep from me,” she reminded him as he set her to her feet.
    â€œNice breeches, by the way,” he smirked. “Are those the latest fashion in your uppity social circle?”
    She glared flaming arrows at him while she crammed her feet in her slippers.
    â€œWhat the hell are you doing here? Really, ” he inquired.
    â€œI could ask you the same question,” she countered, tossing the comment he’d made last night right back in his face. “Why did you call on Elliot during dinner this evening?”
    Coop plucked up her discarded petticoats from the fence and tossed them over his shoulder. He delayed in answering her question by clutching her hand and leading her through the gate. He walked briskly toward the carriage where he’d tethered Bandit.
    Alexa jogged to keep up with his hurried strides. “You haven’t answered my—”
    â€œShh-shh-shh!” He made a stabbing gesture toward the front of the house where Oscar Denton stood as a posted sentinel.
    Thankfully Alexa didn’t fire more questions while he scooped her up and set her on the seat. With Bandit tied behind the carriage, Coop hopped up beside her. Before she tried to interrogate him again, he laid his finger to her lips to shush her. Then he grabbed the reins and drove off.
    She waited until he’d gone a quarter of a mile before she half turned on the seat to stare intently at him. “This is far enough. I demand to know what you wanted to talk to Elliot about. Do you work for Elliot? And why are you here now?”
    He avoided the first question and said, “I wanted to know why a woman, who has more money than God and as many social connections as the governor, is practically walking a tightrope outside the window. Who is in there with Webster?” he demanded.
    â€œA dark-haired harlot, judging by the skintight red dress she was wearing before it came off,” Alexa replied. “They were having a tête-à-tête and I saw far more than I wanted.”
    She stared accusingly at him. “You scared another ten years off my life when you grabbed my ankle. At this rate I won’t last until my thirtieth birthday.”
    Coop decided now was the time to tell Alexa about the madam. This should be the crowning blow that convinced her not to marry Webster The Philanderer.
    â€œWebster has standing appointments with Lily Brantley, the owner of Lily’s Pleasure Resort,” he reported. “Three nights a week, I hear. Regular as clockwork. I don’t know how often they have these late-evening trysts at his office.”
    He expected Alexa to recoil as if she had been slapped. Instead, she cocked her curly blond head and