Lady Emily's Exotic Journey by Lillian Marek

experienced.”
    These women were mad.
    Lucien turned away and went outside to seethe. Did they not realize what danger they had been in? Emily had been walking toward him. Had she been a step closer, that bullet would have plowed into her, not into the deck. And they were calling this exciting ?
    He walked to the front of the raft, where the wind might blow away some of the turmoil inside his head.
    He did not understand what had happened to him. It was some sort of temporary madness—that had to be it. He never acted impulsively. Always he thought before he acted, even in danger. No, especially in danger. It was a cool head that had gotten him out of ticklish situations from Morocco to Persia.
    If he had thought about it, even for a second, he would have gone to the protection of the ladies. Naturally. There was no doubt about it. He was not a scoundrel, after all. He would have behaved just as the others—Oliphant and Lord Penworth—had. At least he assumed that was how they had behaved. He had not actually seen them.
    No. He had not seen anyone. That was because the moment that bullet struck the raft, his only thought had been to protect Emily. It had not even been a thought. It had been pure instinct.
    This was not permissible. He could not allow himself to be ensnared. He would not be tied down, chained by obligations and responsibilities.
    No, that was unjust. She had made no effort to ensnare him. She had used no wiles. That was what was so dangerous. She was a pretty girl, yes, with that dark honey hair and that soft, luscious body… No. He had known pretty women before, beautiful women. None of them had caused him to stop thinking.
    It was that she used no wiles. She did not even try to tempt. There were no little wiggles, no pouting lips, no sidelong glances or fluttering lids. She did not even tilt her body to display her lovely bosom. It was her directness and her honesty that were the danger.
    She had offered friendship, and he had welcomed it. It had been a pleasure to ride beside her in friendly companionship. He had not seen any danger.
    But of course! That was it! That was the explanation. She was a friend, and naturally, when danger threatened, he immediately sought to protect his friend. There was no need to think of this as romantic or sentimental or any of that sort of nonsense.
    Assuredly she was an attractive woman, but that was beside the point. He noticed this because she was his friend. If he noticed that her eyes were a particularly vivid blue, sparkling with excitement at every new discovery, that was of no more significance than the fact that Oliphant had dark eyes. He thought for a moment. Oliphant did have dark eyes, didn’t he? Yes, he was almost certain of it.
    N’importe.
    She was a friend. That was all there was to it. And as for that rather embarrassing way his body had reacted—that had nothing to do with Emily. It was just that she was a woman and he was a man. One’s body had these reactions, after all. It was just nature. There was no need to think there was anything else to it.
    He heaved a sigh of relief. She was a friend, and in a month or so, she and her family would depart, and he would be on his way to distant places. He would travel the ancient Silk Road. He would go to Samarkand, Tashkent, Kashgar, and on into China through the Pass of the Jade Gate. He would continue on his adventures.
    But he did not return to the tent.
    * * *
    Inside the tent, Emily joined her mother and Julia in making light of the attack. Poor Papa looked so upset that they could hardly do anything else. At least it provided a distraction, and she sorely desired a distraction.
    What had happened earlier? Lucien was her friend. She liked him and enjoyed his company, but she didn’t understand quite what had happened.
    Well, of course she knew what had happened . Those ridiculous Kurds had fired shots at them, and Lucien had thrown her to the ground and thrown himself