Never Less Than a Lady by Mary Jo Putney Read Free Book Online Page A

separate—that’s a different matter. But I want very much to try, Julia.”
    She turned and met his gaze. “It’s been so long since I’ve touched a man for any reason except patching up injuries,” she said uncertainly. “Your terms are generous, yet even so, I don’t know if I can meet them.”
    “No?” Slowly, as if she was a skittish foal, he reached out and took her right hand in his. “Is this unbearable?”
    She closed her eyes, shaken by his touch. A virile male who wanted to marry her was holding her hand. Deep-seated fears were triggered, yet the warmth and strength of his grip were comforting. Most disturbing of all was the undeniable attraction. She opened her eyes. “Disconcerting, but not unbearable.”
    “And this?” He raised her hand and brushed the back with his lips.
    She shivered as long-forgotten sensations jangled through her, as appealing as they were frightening. “Not…unbearable. Though the limit of what I can accept now.”
    He gave a slow, deep smile. “Again I ask. Will you marry me, Lady Julia?”
    Even with his promise to always respect her wishes, she would lose the walls of privacy that had protected her for years. She hated knowing that would happen.
    But she would never get such an amazing, unexpected offer again. She believed Randall was being honest. Despite all the reasons any sane man would walk away, he wanted her enough to risk the likelihood that marriage might be a disastrous failure.
    And…he intrigued her. Though he was an alarming man in many ways, she paradoxically felt safe with him. She was tired of living in fear. The prospect of running away to a new continent made her want to weep.
    As a girl, she’d had a reckless streak. For too long, she’d suppressed that, but now she felt a mad desire to risk her future. If he was willing to dare marriage, she could do no less. But she had to know that she could escape if necessary. “I have a condition also. That you give me a signed, undated letter saying that you agree that the marriage has failed and that you also want a divorce.”
    His brows drew together formidably. “I…see.”
    She looked away. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to suggest that you’re untrustworthy.”
    “But you don’t trust me,” he said wryly. “Very well, I shall give you such a letter before we head to the altar. Is that sufficient?”
    For a proud man, he was accepting a great deal. She could do the same. Voice unsteady, she replied, “I believe that it is. If you truly wish it, Alexander David Randall, I will marry you.”
    “I’m glad,” he said simply. He squeezed her hand, then released it. Wise man.
    “Where do we go from here, Major?” She smiled crookedly. “First step, I imagine, is to get away without Crockett and his men seeing us.”
    “I’ll listen for them the rest of the night. They’ll spend time searching for you in the area where you escaped. Eventually, they’ll have to head back to Hartley or go on toward Carlisle, based on their best guess of where you might run.”
    “They probably think that as a weak female, I’ll head back to Hartley since it’s where I have friends.”
    “Very likely,” he agreed.
    She bit her lip. “I hope they don’t hurt anyone there.”
    “They’ve already attracted enough attention, so that’s unlikely,” Randall assured her. “I imagine they’ll station themselves on the road and fields outside the village so they can catch you before you return home.”
    She was unable to repress a shudder. “I feel like a mouse being stalked by cats.”
    “They won’t find you. Since they might be anywhere along the road, we’ll go to Carlisle cross-country. I’ll hire a carriage there. You can send a note to Hartley that you escaped your kidnappers but won’t return.”
    She hesitated. “There are a few items at my house I wish to retrieve. Mementos from my mother and the like.”
    “We can stop for them later,” he said, “but first Scotland and marriage.”
    She