Glorious Angel by Johanna Lindsey Page A

anyone to tell her whether she could or not. She was stopped, but only to be handed her cape and jacket. She donned them quickly and left the building.
    The bright morning sun blinded her when she walked out the door. That and the recently fallen snow made everything a white blur for a moment and she had to stop to get her bearings. But with squinting and shading her eyes with her hand,she finally saw him just a few yards from her, standing in front of a small coach.
    She walked toward him, deliberately taking her time, her eyes riveted on his face. He was smiling, actually smiling! That was the last straw. She stopped only inches from him and then her hand snaked through the air and cracked against his cold cheek.
    Bradford was genuinely surprised. “What was that for?”
    “You dare to ask!” she shouted furiously. “If I had a gun right now I would shoot you. I would honest to God shoot you dead!”
    “Lower your voice, damnit, or you will have the police out here to arrest you again.”
    “Yes, by all means, throw me in jail again!” she stormed. “You can say I assaulted you.”
    Bradford’s eyes narrowed. “Get in the coach.”
    “I certainly will not!”
    He grabbed her arm and shoved her roughly through the coach door, tossing her suitcase in after her. Quickly, he was inside and the driver started them off down the street.
    Angela crawled up on the seat opposite him and glared at him murderously. “You stop this coach right now and let me out! I refuse to go anywhere with you!”
    “Shut up, Miss Smith, and stop acting as if I wronged you. You stole from me, remember? I could have left you to rot in jail.”
    Angela felt a tight knot swell in her throat. Herlower lip began to tremble and tears sprang to her eyes.
    “You didn’t have to be so cruel,” she said in a tiny voice. “I offered to give your vest back, but your lawyer said that wasn’t good enough. All along, it was your fault I took the vest to begin with.”
    “My fault? That’s ridiculous.”
    “Is it?” Her body stiffened and her eyes glistened with anger again. “I needed you that day to fasten my dress, but you were passed out. That was why I needed your damn vest.”
    “So that’s why you took it?” Bradford laughed. “My dear, there were any number of women below who would have been glad to assist you.”
    “I couldn’t go down there and risk running into that horrible Maudie.” Angela was aghast.
    “So you fled, and fortunately left your jacket and cape behind.”
    “Fortunately?”
    “That’s how we found you. I had a man sent there in case you returned, and he discovered from the doorman that you had left the articles behind. It was lucky for you he swiped them before Maudie found them.”
    “I wouldn’t call it lucky if it led you to me,” Angela snapped.
    “Would you rather Maudie found you? She was determined to, you know.” He grinned when she remained silent. “I didn’t think so. At any rate, there was a piece of note paper in the pocketof your jacket, math notes written on school stationery. My man went to the school and you were recognized from a description.” When she still did not speak, he sighed. “Angela, I didn’t want to have you arrested, I only wanted you to be here when I returned.”
    It took all of Angela’s willpower not to strike him again. “Are you saying that I spent the last three days in jail, not because I took your vest, but because you wanted to make sure I would be here when you returned? Of all the contemptible, loathsome—”
    “That’s enough!” Bradford cut her short. “If you want to talk about what is contemptible, let’s talk about you. You are a student in an exclusive school, you obviously come from a good background, yet you went to a brothel to prostitute yourself.”
    “I did not!” Angela gasped.
    “Then what would you call it, Miss Smith?” he asked her pointedly. “Do you deny I paid for you? Or are you going to say I raped you?”
    “What I did