With This Ring by Amanda Quick Page A

effort of will she jerked her gaze to his face. "Tell me what happened tonight, my lord.-
    Leo started to raise his injured shoulder in a shrug. He stopped immediately, grimacing. "Curiosity compels me to first ask you what you believe occurred."
    "I see three possibilities."
    He cocked a brow. "Indeed?"
    "The first is that you rode out to meet a mistress and encountered the lady's husband instead.-
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    The firelight gleamed in the depths of his eyes. "I assure you, Mrs. Poole, I have a long-standing policy against becoming involved with married women. No lady is worth a bullet. What is your second guess?"
    "That you entertain yourself with playing the role of highwayman."
    "Imaginative, but hardly flattering." He poured another glass of brandy. "I am crushed by your low opinion of me. I assure you, it is entirely unwarranted."
    "Then I am left with the last possibility." She paused. "You went out to hunt the highwayman who stopped my carriage last night."
    He paused, the glass halfway to his mouth. Very deliberately he set the brandy down. "Impressive, Mrs. Poole. Most impressive. Tell me, who trained you in such powers of deduction?"
    "My father. He is convinced that the good Lord gave the powers of logic and reason to both men and women with the intention that those gifts be practiced equally by both sexes."
    A smile flickered briefly at the edge of Leo's mouth. "I believe that I would enjoy meeting your father."
    "You were about to explain your wound, my lord." "I suppose you deserve that much."
    "Yes, I most certainly do."
    Leo patted Elf on the head and then rose languidly from the stool. Brandy glass in hand, he walked to the wing chair and sat down.
    Elf wandered over to his customary spot in front of the fire and settled himself.
    "It is a rather sordid tale, Mrs. Poole." Leo stretched out his legs toward the blaze. "One in which I do not show to advantage."
    "Nevertheless, I would hear it."
    He leaned his head against the back of the red velvet cushion and1closed his eyes. "The long and the short of it is
     
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    that your third guess is the correct one. I went in search of the highwayman who accosted you last night."
    Although she had been expecting just such an answer, she was nevertheless appalled. "Do you mean to say that you went out in the middle of the night to search for a dangerous villain?"
    Leo opened his eyes and regarded her with an enigmatic gaze. "As it happens, that is the most suitable time to hunt highwaymen. They are creatures of the night."
    "Good heavens, are you mad?"
    He raised his brows in silent mockery and said nothing. Beatrice blushed and concealed her embarrassment behind a glowering frown. "I collect that you found your quarry.-
    "The gentlemen of the road tend to be predictable in their habits." Leo sighed. "But this one succeeded in surprising me. He had a companion with him. One whom I did not notice until it was very nearly too late."
    "There were two of them?"
    "Apparently after his encounter with you last night, the villain very wisely concluded that he needed assistance." "My lord, this is not the least bit humorous. Two high-
    waymen indeed. You are lucky to have escaped with your life."
    "I was not alone. 1, too, had an associate."
    Elf twitched his ears and made himself more comfortable.
    Beatrice glanced at the hound. 1 see. What happened to the two villains?"
    "What with this shoulder and the lateness of the hour, I was not in a mood to haul them into the village and awaken the local magistrate." Leo took another sip of brandy. "So I sent them on their way with a warning."
    "Merely a warning?'
    He smiled. "I do not think they will return anytime soon. Elf leaves a lasting impression.-
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    i n g
    Beatrice shuddered. "Yes, I'm sure he does." She glared at Leo. "You took a dreadful risk, my lord.'
    "It all should have been quite routine. But I admit I was a trifle careless tonight." He eyed her meaningfully over the rim