[Victoria Alexander] The Virgin's Secret (Harringt(BookZZ.org) by Mom Read Free Book Online Page A

Gabriella looked around for something with which to break the glass.
    “It‟s a nasty drop to the ground,” Lady Regina warned, still gripping the sword handle, but making no effort to lift it. “You‟ll likely break your neck.”
    “I shall take my chances.” She spotted a poker by the fireplace and started toward it.
    “Stay right where you are!” The girl‟s voice rose.
    “You‟ll have to run me through to stop me.” Gabriella reached the fireplace, grabbed the poker, and turned just in time to see the girl hurl a vase at her. She ducked. The vase skimmed past her head, knocked off her hat, and shattered on the mantel behind her.
    Lady Regina gasped. “You‟re a woman!”
    “Yes, I‟m a woman!” Gabriella snapped, and started back toward the window.
    The girl advanced. “If you don‟t drop that this very instant, I assure you, I shall indeed run you through!”
    “Hah. You can barely lift that sword, let alone wield it.” Gabriella gripped the poker in both hands and pointed it at the younger woman. “And I assure you, I have a fair amount of skill with a…a poker.”
    Lady Regina narrowed her eyes. “Do I know you?”
    “No.” Lady Regina gestured with the poker. “Now stand back.”
    The girl studied her closely. “You look very much like Emma—Lady Carpenter, that is.”
    “Obviously, I‟m not.” Who was this Emma person?
    “No.” Miss Harrington shook her head. “Your hair is much darker. The light in here is weak but you do bear a striking—”
    “As much as I hate to interrupt you, I must be on my way.” Gabriella clenched her teeth. She didn‟t have much time before the rest of the household finally responded to the young woman‟s calls. It was something of a miracle no one had come yet. “I am going to break this window, so I suggest you stand back.”
    “I cannot allow you to do that!”
    “You cannot stop me.” Gabriella turned away from the girl, aimed the poker, and drew it back.
    “But I can.” A familiar male voice rang through the room. “Drop the poker! Now!”
    Gabriella sucked in a hard breath. This was it, then. Even if she broke the window, she would never be able to climb through it before he grabbed her. She released the poker and let it clatter to the floor, then turned to meet Nathanial Harrington‟s gaze.
    He gasped. “You!”
    Gabriella resisted the urge to drop a sarcastic curtsy. “We meet again, Mr. Harrington.”
    “And again in the library.” He had taken the broadsword from his sister, and for a fraction of a second she saw him as a knight of old. Strong and powerful and menacing. And for an even
    briefer moment, regretted that he was her enemy. He studied her through narrowed eyes. “How very interesting.”
    “Where have you been?” his sister snapped. “Why didn‟t you come when I called? I could have been murdered, assaulted, kidnapped!”
    “I‟m very dangerous, you know.” Gabriella stared at him with a bravado she didn‟t quite feel.
    “Oh, I am well aware of that,” he said coolly. He addressed his words to his sister, but his gaze remained on Gabriella. “One of the servants thought he saw someone on the grounds. Quint and I went with him to look but he was mistaken. We found no one.”
    Gabriella fought to keep relief from showing on her face. At least Xerxes was safe. At once her confidence returned. She could take care of herself, she always had. She smiled in a pleasant manner. “I assure you, I am quite alone.”
    Harrington raised a brow. “Forgive me if I find anything you say to be less than trustworthy under the circumstances.”
    “I say, what is going on here?” Quinton Harrington stepped into the room, followed closely by a woman Gabriella recognized as his mother, the Countess of Wyldewood, and his older brother, the earl.
    “What is all the commotion about?” Lady Wyldewood asked. She and the earl were both dressed in nightclothes and had obviously just awakened. “And who is this?”
    “That‟s