Ryan's Bride by Maggie James

believe me or not, I gave this a lot of thought before I decided to do it.”
    “It’s only been a little over a week since she was arrested. That’s not enough time. But I did notice when we were in Touraine your mind wasn’t on buying horses.”
    “That’s only partially true. The horses weren’t as good as we were told, and you know it. But we’re going to Blois tomorrow to look there.”
    Corbett wasn’t concerned with buying horses, continuing to focus on Angele. “And how do you even know there’s room for her on the ship? We’re sailing in two weeks.”
    “No, you’re leaving then, as planned, but Angele and I will be going a week later on the James Munroe . There were no cabins available on the Victory . I’ve already made our arrangements.”
    Corbett sneered and shook his head. “Well, you can just make mine, too. You aren’t going to send me ahead to break the news to Denise and Clarice that you’re bringing a wife home. You’re going to be the one to do that.”
    “You won’t like the accommodations on the James Munroe . I booked the last cabin.”
    Corbett was adamant. “I don’t care. There is no way I will go back without you.”
    Ryan thought it would have been nice if Corbett could have smoothed the way. Denise would get over it, but Clarice might take a while. After all, she might consider Angele a threat to her authority but would soon realize she had nothing to worry about. The last thing Angele was qualified to do was take over a household, see that the servants did their job, plan menus for dinner parties, teas, balls, and all the other things that went with the Tremayne social life. His father enjoyed entertaining so those were extensive.
    “All right,” he conceded, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    “Anything is better than facing those women without you. Now, about dinner—”
    Ryan had not intended to invite Corbett to join him and Angele but saw no way out. They had dined together every night they had been in Paris, and he didn’t want to hurt his feelings. And what difference did it make, anyway, now that he knew everything. “You can join us if you like, but you’ll need to freshen up a bit. I’m taking her to Au Petit Moulin. I’ve heard it’s very nice, and the food is good.”
    “I saw the gown you bought her,” Corbett said, almost accusingly.
    “Did she like it?”
    “Oh, yes. She was going to take it with her when she was about to run away, but I talked her into staying.”
    Ryan had been in the process of pouring himself a glass of wine but froze. “What do you mean she was about to run away?”
    Corbett thought fast. “When I started asking questions about who she was and what she was doing in your room, she got upset and snatched up the box and ran out the door.” Seeing Ryan’s eyes flash with concern, Corbett embellished, “I ran after her and convinced her to come back so we could talk. That’s when she accused you of trying to trick her into working in your bordello.” Corbett pasted a concerned, worried look on his face. “Do you know what she meant by that, or is she just crazy?”
    “No, she’s not crazy, and thank you for bringing her back.”
    Corbett smiled, pleased with himself.
    “As for the bit about the bordello, I thought we had settled all that.” He explained about the commandant’s immoral and unscrupulous dealings with the female prisoners. “But I took care of that. It won’t happen again to anyone else.”
    “Then I can see why she was upset.”
    “Yes, when she saw you and realized how late it was, she was probably afraid I wasn’t coming back—that it was a trick. Thanks again for keeping her here.”
    Corbett turned toward the door so Ryan couldn’t see him scowl to think he probably should have let her go regardless of the consequences. “I’ll be glad to join you for dinner. I’ll go change.”
    “Corbett…”
    He turned.
    “I’m going to trust you not to say anything to anyone—not even