For Her Spy Only (Entangled Scandalous) by Robyn DeHart Page A

mustn’t go with him. We can wait for Holmes.”
    “Don’t be rude, Polly.”
    “Yes, don’t be rude, Polly,” he repeated. “I don’t believe you’ll have any other options tonight.” His shoulders rose in a slight shrug. “Though you could certainly choose to stay here and freeze,” he said. “I have made the offer.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
    “Miss Wilmington, you know what they say of him,” Polly said once he was out of earshot. She gripped Winifred’s arm tightly. “Mary, who works for Lord Garrick, says she knows the housekeeper that used to work at Coventry. He is a killer,” she whispered. “Murdered his own wife, tossed her right off a cliff, they say.”
    “Don’t be so dramatic.” But of course Winifred had also heard those rumors and plenty more when it came to the Marquess of Coventry. He had a most interesting reputation. Of course the fact that he rarely, if ever, was seen in London, only fueled said rumors.
    Unfortunately the man was right. The odds of someone else coming along to rescue them were very slim. “It is a good offer,” Winifred said. “Our only offer, as it were.”
    “He could be dangerous,” Polly warned.
    “He is a peer of the realm. Rumor or not, there is a code of etiquette.” When Polly looked unconvinced, Winifred continued. “Consider that being tossed off a cliff should result in a rather quick death, whereas freezing in this carriage would be slow and painful, I suspect.”
    Polly closed her eyes and shook her head as if warding off the image.
    “Excuse me, I should like to get down please,” Winifred called out. Nerves fluttered in the pit of her stomach, though it could have been the chill from the opened carriage door. Several breaths passed before a footman appeared to assist her to the ground. “Oh, you must be one of the marquess’s men. Thank you.”
    The man nodded, but said nothing. The snow swirled around her, soft as a whisper, covering her face and sticking to her eyelashes. She put her hands in her muff and walked quickly toward the other carriage.
    Polly raced up to meet her. “Miss Wilmington, think of your reputation.”
    “Don’t be silly. I am a spinster who was jilted. Besides, my reputation has already been damaged. Furthermore, my reputation certainly won’t matter if I freeze to death, now will it?”
    “I shall not ride with that man,” Polly said with a firm nod of her head.
    “Suit yourself, you can wait for Holmes. Do try to stay warm,” Winifred said.
    “If you go with him, I shall resign,” Polly warned.
    “Don’t bother, I shall simply dismiss you,” Winifred said.
    Polly made a growling noise, yet still followed behind. “I shall come with you to keep you safe, but I refuse to ride inside with him.”
    “Do whatever you wish. I am riding inside where it promises to be nice and cozy.”
    And with that a gloved hand reached out of the carriage door. She took a deep breath, placed her hand in his, and climbed into the carriage. A lantern hung from a hook, illuminating the interior. She took a seat on the plush bench across from the marquess. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
    “I instructed my footman to stay and wait for your driver.”
    He certainly did not appear to be murderous. Not that she had any notion of what a murderer might do or say.
    “Your maid, she is going to ride outside?” he asked.
    “She’s a stubborn lot,” Winifred said.
    “You sacked her,” he said.
    “Third time this week.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Polly and I have plenty of disagreements.”
    He nodded, then picked up the book that had been sitting on the seat next to him. The carriage lurched forward.
    She eyed her unlikely travel companion. He wasn’t a friendly sort; formidable was more what she’d consider him. He was tall and lean and imposing, but younger than she had expected. She’d heard of the Marquess of Coventry, but had never before seen him. His reputation in London was notorious.