Princess Charming by Nicole Jordan Page B

tears. I expected better of you.”
    His jibe made Maura’s spine stiffen. “I am upset because I meant to hold my temper and address Deering diplomatically when I encountered him.”
    “And instead you only made matters worse by striking him and berating him in front of his peers.”
    “Yes,” she mumbled, hanging her head. “I should have been able to protect Emperor.”
    “You will.” Beaufort’s tone had become softer, genuinely reassuring, and so were his eyes, she discovered when she looked up again. For a moment she found herself caught in those emerald depths …
    Realizing suddenly that she was sitting on his lap with his arm locked around her, Maura shifted uneasily. “You can release me now, my lord.”
    “I intend to, once you are calmer.”
    “I
am
calm.”
    He looked dubious and hesitated to do as she asked.
    “Set me down, I say,” Maura said more sternly. “You are causing a spectacle.”
    Beaufort’s mouth curved. “You dare to accuse
me
of causing a spectacle after that little drama you just enacted? You could be an honorary Wilde.” When she failed to appreciate the compliment, his smile faded. “I am preventing you from doing something you will regret, my little hothead. You would do better to use your wits. You need to be cool and unemotional whenever you confront Deering.”
    “I cannot possibly be unemotional with him.”
    “My point exactly.”
    She didn’t want to hear Beaufort’s logical arguments, but she couldn’t ignore them either. “Will you truly send your groom to look after Emperor?”
    “I said so, did I not? I am a man of my word.”
    That was some consolation at least.
    Meeting his level gaze, Maura gave in with reluctance. Fighting the Marquis of Beaufort in public would only result in another scene that could be detrimental to her cause of rescuing her horse, and to her stepsisters as well. As it was, she would have a lot to make up for. Priscilla would be livid when she heard about this morning’s confrontation with Deering.
    When Maura nodded, Beaufort set her on her own horse, but appropriated her reins before she gathered her wits enough to realize what he was doing.
    “Where are you taking me?” she protested as he led her from the park.
    “Somewhere you can expend some of your anger.”
    “This is becoming a vexing habit of yours, Lord Beaufort.”
    “You don’t say.”
    “Let me have my reins,” she insisted.
    “Not yet. I don’t trust you not to do something idiotic.”
    “What is this, an abduction?” Her voice turned exasperated as well as frustrated. “Do you mean to constrain me against my will?”
    “If I must.” When he glanced back at her, his green eyes held amusement. “I intend to save you from yourself, sweet vixen. Now hush and behave long enough for us to leave the park.”
    He sounded every inch the imperious nobleman, expecting instant obedience; he was a marquis, after all. And he was clearly giving her no choice but to accompany him.
    His dispassionate behavior was one small consolation, Maura supposed. His sister might be trying to matchmake for him, but thankfully Beaufort did not seem interested in romance in the least.
    With a sigh of resignation scraping past her tight throat, she allowed herself to be led away while trying to ignore the interested stares of the nearby park-goers.

 
    Ash led a
silent, brooding Miss Collyer out of the city, heading southwest toward Richmond. Once they reached the countryside, he returned her reins to her, since she seemed to have regained control of her militant emotions.
    Ash maintained a similar silence during the ride, contemplating the odd amalgam of his own emotions. Upon watching Maura come to her horse’s defense, he’d felt a fierce anger on her behalf, as well as an outsized protectiveness. And now that the physical threat was past, he could only shake his head in amusement and admiration.
    She was indeed one of a kind. He doubted even his feisty, headstrong sister would