Nothing but Trouble by Allegra Gray Read Free Book Online Page A

ushering her toward his carriage.
    “Who was that —the woman who called your name?” he asked after they tumbled inside and slammed the door shut.
    “It doesn’t matter ,” she panted. “It only matters that she knew me. I’m not supposed to be here.”
    Interesting . “I see. Where are you supposed to be?”
    “ Almack’s,” she admitted miserably. “Though I suppose the hour has grown too late. I ought to be home.” She gave him the address.
    Graeme paused . Almack’s? That place was filled with young innocents and their mamas, and the fops who sought to marry them. Never mind that he’d considered paying a visit to the venerable marriage mart himself. A female guest of the Wicked Baron was an unlikely candidate for Almack’s. She’d recognized his name, too. Almost as though she’d studied DeBrett’s Peerage.
    And then there was the matter of the address she’d just given him. Things weren’t adding up. Unless London had undergone dramatic change since his last visit, Miss Medford lived on a highly respectable street, home to some of London’s nobles. An unlikely residence for a courtesan, unless she were very discreet. Or very skilled. His gaze fell on the lush curve of her lip.
    He swallowed hard, then repeated the address to his driver, cracking the door for just a moment.
    When he turned back to her, s he seemed to be assessing him. He cocked his head, waiting.
    Finally she gave him a weary smile . “It was nice knowing you, however briefly, Lord Maxwell.”
    “You wish that I should not attempt to renew our acquaintance ?” He frowned.
    She gave a hollow laugh . “Fear not, my lord. Your gallantry tonight has not gone unnoticed, or unappreciated. But as to renewing our acquaintance, you needn’t bother. By my estimate, I have about eight hours to live. Possibly ten.”
    “What?”
    “That is about how long it will take before gossip spreads and one of my mother’s friends decides that the morning hour is decent enough for her to take on the ‘unpleasant’ duty—which of course she will greatly relish—of calling upon my mother to inform her of my whereabouts this night.
    “ It will happen earlier rather than later,” she said knowingly, “for whichever friend it is, she will not dare risk someone else beating her to the opportunity of being the one to relay such scandalous news.”
    “Ah, ” Graeme replied. Miss Medford not only resided at a respectable address, she apparently shared that address with her mother. Not a courtesan, then. The more he learned, the deeper the mystery grew. Just who was this beauty—and what had she been doing at such a masquerade?
    “Actually, ” she interrupted his thoughts, “could you ask the driver to stop just around the corner? I can see my own way from there.”
    He chuckled . Having decided to play the gallant, he wasn’t about to leave the job half done. That would only rob him of her company sooner and deny him the answers he sought. “Miss Medford, it would be negligent of me to send a lady in distress onto the dark streets of London, alone. I consider it my duty to see you safely delivered home.”
    She made an expression somewhere between a frown and a pout when he didn’t give her the answer she’d hoped for. But a moment later, a smile pulled at the corner of her lips. “You are far more chivalrous than the ‘knight’ I met earlier.”
    He chuckled, absurdly pleased.
    They sat in silence a moment. Her respectable address, not to mention her disapproving mother, made her off-limits for a liaison in Graeme’s book—no matter where they’d met. But he couldn’t suppress the desire that rose once more as he studied her slim curves in the shadowy carriage. Not a liaison. But a courtship? Was it possible he’d been drawn to the single true maiden attending the masquerade?
    Right now, he just wanted to touch her . He’d nearly decided to abandon caution and reach for her when she lifted her fingers to her lips and squeezed