The Devil Rogue (31 page)

The rest of the world ceased to exist
. T
here was only the two of them, locked in a wildly passionate and seductive embrace
.
They were oblivious to anything but each other as lips connected, sighs were exchanged, and hands eagerly roamed.

Slowly,
Angela became aware of
voices,
and
the glow of a lamp
in the outer edges of her vision
,
br
eaking
the spell
.

Someone was attacking them
!

Ian’s grunts
and defensive movements indicated he was receiving blows from behind, his body over hers protecting her from
the threat of
injury
.
Her concern for him rose like a phoenix from its ashes as she struggled to get out from under him, the panic building in her chest
.

She would not let him be killed!

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Chapter
1
8

ONE MINUTE IAN
was enjoying the sweetness of Angela’s lips and
her
soft curves beneath the thin barrier of the
men’s clothing
, and
the next,
someone
was
pummeling
him from behind
.
They weren’t very hard blows, more of an irritation
, really,
than painful
.
He tried to maneuver himself over Angela in order to protect her, but she was wriggling about like a slippery fish
.
Rearing backward
and
onto his knees, he swung his arms
,
knocking his attacker off balance.

Suddenly there were shrieks and shouts coming from all directions
.
F
aceless hands
using
various objects as weapons were bludgeoning hi
s
head and shoulders
.
“What the bloody hell!” Ian bellowed
, rising to his feet.

“Everyone, please
!
Angela
shouted
.
“
It’s all right, he’s with me
.
”

“Oh, Miss Angela, we thought you were a goner, we did!”

When Ian was able to get a
good
look at his attackers, they turned out to be one aging butler, an elderly woman who looked like she would topple over in the slightest breeze, and a rotund woman of indeterminable middle years
.
It was no wonder their assault was less than impressive
.
“What in the bloody blue blazes is going
on, and who are these people?”

Angela stepped in front of him, as if to prevent him from doing bodily harm to the three people, who, despite their years, each eyed him with suspicion and warning
.

“Please, everyone, this is his lordship, the Viscount Blackridge, and he was not
. . .
attacking me
.
”
Angela
barely avoided choking on those last words
.
A bubble of laughter threatened to burst forth
, but she was able to subdue it
,
until she heard Ian’s “humph” from behind her
.
Unable to contain it any longer,
she
giggled, and then began to laugh heartily at the whole situation.

“Oh, my!” the stout, middle-aged woman said
.
“We
had no idea
, your lordship
!
We’re terribly sorry!”

She, as the rest of them did, eyed Angela askance, as though any sudden movement might cause her to go madder than she already appeared.

“It’s all right, Mrs. Haversham,” Angela said between
gasps
.
“There’s no way you could have known
.
I’m sure it looked as though I were being
—
”

“
R
avished?” Ian said quietly into her ear
, causing her cheeks to blush prettily
.

“Murdered?” the butler supplied.

“By my word, it did look as though he was doing you harm, Miss Angela,”
the old woman said
in a scratchy voice
.

“Well, I’m fine, as you can see,” Angela assured them gently
.
“Ian –er
,
my lord
,
I would like you to meet Viola, Mrs. Haversham, and Connors
.
Mrs. Haversham is the cook, Connors the butler, and Viola is
,
well
. . .
Viola is just
. . .
Viola.”

Ian presented them with a courtly bow, which
pulled
a giggle from Mrs. Haversham, and a gasp
,
followed by a smile from Viola
.
“I’m pleased to meet you, good people.”

A noise at the window drew everyone’s attention, as Rosemary burst forth from behind the curtains
.
“What the bloody hell is going on in here
?
I
could hear you from outside the window
.
It sounded like a war going on
.
Mrs. Haversham
,
is that you
?
And Connors
,
and Viola
?
Miss Angela, what’s happened?”

“I’m fine,” Angela
said
.
“Everyone’s fine
.
When I came through the window, Lord Blackridge was already in here, and then the servants came in and thought
—” She cleared her throat. “—
well, everything is fine now.”

Rosemary
crossed her arms in front of her,
g
iving
her mistress a knowing look.

“Where are the other servants?” Angela asked, wondering why they hadn’t been drawn here by the commotion.

“They’ve all gone, Miss Angela,” Mrs. Haversham answered with a sad tone
.
“Your father could no longer pay them, so he dismissed everyone
–
everyone but the three of us
, that is
.
Our age prevents us from gaining employment elsewhere, so we’re rather stuck here – pay or no.”

“But that’s horrible!” Angela
cried
.

“It’s a roof over our heads
,” Mrs. Haversham said, “
more than we could hope for on our own
.
”

“What about
T
he
B
aron – my father
?
How does he treat you?”

“Oh, he’s a grumpy old bastard – beg pardon, Miss Angela,” Connors said
.
“Same as ever.”

“He sleeps most of the day, and goes out every night, much to our relief,” Mrs. Haversham
added
.

Angela had an idea, but wondered if Ian would allow it
.
“May I have a word with you
,
over there?
” she asked him, pointing to a spot away from the three servants
.
When he made no move, just looked at her with a curiously blank stare, she took his arm, leading him there.

“Need I remind you, that we
’
re not supposed to be here
,” he said in a low voice, “
that we certainly don’t want the baron to come home and find us in his study?”

“It concerns me that they are alone here, su
bject to
T
he
B
aron’s cruel whims –
especially Viola.”

“What exactly does Viola do?”

“Naps most of the time
.
We keep her out of the way.”

“She serves no purpose?” Ian asked, incredulous
.
“Why is she kept on
?
I
find it hard to
believe the baron is so kind-hearted.”

Angela waved off his comment.
“Oh, we hide her
. We
have for years
.
The
B
aron
believes
she was dismissed long ago, but she
was old ev
en then, and none of us had the heart to send her out into the streets
,
and most likely, to her death.”

“You
– never mind
.
What are you
thinking
—” Suspicion colored his voice. “—
to bring them with us?
”

“Could we
?
”
Angela said brightly.
“But how kind of you to offer!”

Ian was
n’t
fooled by the way she
’d
turned his words around
.
“They are not puppies or kittens
.
” He remembered her story about rescuing a kitten, and suspected it
had been
a fabrication to hide what the baron had done.

“No, they’re not
,
they’re human beings, and I don’t wish to leave them here
in this house
.
I want to bring them with us.”

“And what will they do there
?
I already have a cook, and a butler
.
What I don’t have, however, is a woman old enough to have been alive during the Holy Wars
.
”
Placing his
index
finger on his chin, he looked thoughtful for a moment
.
“
I suppose every household should have one
. . .
a sort of mascot
—
”

“Oh, Ian, be serious
!
These people need my – our
help
and we are in a position to do so
.
It is our obligation to see to their well-being
.
I will take full responsibility for them, and when I leave they can come with me.”

If
she leaves.

“All right, all right
. B
ring them
. But
we should look around for anything of significance
while have the chance
.”

That reminded Angela of her earlier question, which was why he was here in the first place
.
After she explained
their plan
to the servants
,
they
we
nt
off to happily pack their belongings
.
Rosemary volunteer
ed
to help Viola,
leaving
Angela
alone with Ian. S
he
approached the desk where
he
was shuffling
through
some papers
.
“Why are
you
looking for information?” she asked.

“My mother told me about her
acquaintance
with your mother
—” He cleared his throat. “—
and the
question of your parentage,
which I already suspected,
so
I decided to do a little investigating on my own.”

“And did it not occur to you
that
the matter is
none of your business?”

“I meant only to put your mind at ease
.
I wanted to help you.”

“So, again, it didn’t occur to you
that
I might not want your help?”

“Regardless whether you want my help or not, I believe the point is moot
–
for the moment, that is
.
Since we are both here
,
in the baron’s study
,
we should do what we can while the opportunity is still available to us
, d
on’t you
agree
?”

Angela r
ealiz
ed
what he said made sense
, but was reluctant to admit it
.
“Yes, I suppose you’re right
,
” she
said
slowly
.

They spread out in different areas o
f the room with
Angela
looking through
the small
drawer
s in
T
he
B
aron’s writing bureau, while Ian continued to search the desk
.
There weren
’
t many other places to look where a document might be kept
.
Of course, there might not even be a document, or
the truth
could be
found by way of
something else altogether.

Disappointed that she didn’t discover anything, Angela straightened with a sigh and turned around, only to find herself in Ian’s arms.