Page 12 of Along Came a Rogue

She hesitated, an expression of such grief and fear dashing across her face that he lost his breath. For one moment her lips parted, and she looked pleadingly at him for understanding, as if she wanted to unburden herself—

Then her mouth snapped shut, the veil once more falling over her face.

She arched a brow. “You won’t leave here without me?” she asked, veering the conversation back to their standoff.

“No,” he answered firmly.

“Then we seem to have a problem, Major.” Indignantly, she pushed him back and stepped past. “Because I’m not going anywhere!”

Clenching his jaw so tightly that the muscle twitched in his cheek, he watched her bend over to pick up the hunting gun she’d used to shoot at him. Then she walked away toward the house.

“You don’t have a choice,” he called out to her retreating back. He’d shove her into a carriage and drive away with her inside if it came to that.

She faced him, holding the gun expertly in the crook of her arm. “Thomas taught me how to shoot. He’s a very good shot. The best, in fact.” She paused meaningfully, a warning in her voice. “Since my husband’s death, I sleep with a loaded pistol next to my bed. And I never miss.”

His mouth twisted wryly. “You missed me earlier.”

“I hit a foot above your head, exactly where I aimed.” She tucked a golden curl behind her ear. “So please keep that in mind should you decide to try kidnapping me in the middle of the night.”

With a toss of her head, she opened the door and disappeared inside the house.

Grey stared after her, blowing out an aggravated breath. Where on earth had the adorable brat gone? How had this woman with the temperament of a she-devil and the body of a temptress taken her place, a stubborn minx who refused to leave her home without force and who had just threatened bodily harm to him should he attempt to try?

He rolled his eyes. Good Lord. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Emily leaned against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut as she struggled to calm both her racing heart and her swirling mind.

Captain Nathaniel Grey…Impossible!

Yet here he was. The man she still remembered so vividly from his visit to Ivy Glen when she was sixteen…those chocolate eyes that crinkled when he laughed, that mouth that grinned so charmingly, and that thick, unruly blond hair curling at his neck. His body was broader now, the hard muscles of his chest and shoulders much more developed, but those eyes were the same. So were the chiseled lines of his handsome face.

Grey. She could hardly believe it. Thomas had sent him to her after all these years, and he’d appeared like some dashing knight in shining armor. Yet as she fought back a sob of anguish, she knew she had no choice but to chase him away.

With grim resolve, she pushed herself away from the wall and hurried downstairs to the kitchen to find Yardley.

The woman had been with her for the past two years, arriving just after Andrew brought her to Snowden, when he decided the maid who had attended Emily since her debut was disrespectful to him and replaced her. Emily had been devastated. But the older woman was kind and gentle, and now Yardley was the only person in the world she trusted with her secrets.

“My lady.” Yardley nodded as Emily entered the kitchen, putting together a tray to take upstairs to the men.

“We’re having guests for the night,” Emily told her unhappily.

Yardley’s hand froze in midair as she placed a saucer on the tray. “Is that wise?”

“I don’t believe we have a choice.” She frowned as she looked down at the shortbread on the tray. Five years ago, Grey had raved about Cook’s cinnamon biscuits. If she had known he was coming, she would have made some for him. Yet perhaps it was better not to make him feel too welcome, not when her primary goal was to drive him away.

“And who are they, my lady?”

“Major Nathaniel Grey and his man.” Emily hesitated. How on earth did one describe Grey? “The major is…an old family friend.”

But he was far more than that. Even at sixteen, she’d realized how special Grey was. Dashing and kind, he possessed a fierce determination to carve out a brilliant career for himself, and a handsome presence that caught the ladies’ attentions. With her, though, he’d simply captured her heart. Yet to her chagrin, he’d paid her no more mind than a piece of furniture…until that one afternoon in the garden.

“A family friend, eh?” The suspicious glance Yardley slid her as she placed a teacup onto the saucer told her that the woman didn’t believe her.

“It’s not what you think.” Yet she couldn’t stop the blush of embarrassment heating her cheeks.

The last time she’d seen him, the very last time—heavens, she’d been so foolish! She’d asked him to give her a kissing lesson so she would know what to do with suitors…or some such silly nonsense she barely remembered now. Yet her manipulation worked, and he’d kissed her. It had been the most magical moment of her young life, until her parents stumbled upon them. Amid angry shouts and accusations, Grey left Ivy Glen, with Thomas riding away after him. And two days later, she was sent to boarding school, where her parents hoped to keep her away from “upstarts” like the captain.