The Rogue

he had not seen it this clearly before: the vulnerable girl beneath this mask of gay sophistication she put on for others. Now he saw it and it made him ache

His hands found her back, his nose the fragrant depths of her hair, and he held her as she wished to be held, and as he needed to hold her, tightly to him.

an uncommonly pretty girl with a streak of daring in her soul

“We are all marked with our parents’ stamp.” Lady Emily Vale appeared at her best friend Kitty’s side, and spoke directly to the viscount. “It is the manner in which we cast off those marks that defines us.”

“If you have summoned me here to chastise me, I beg you to save your breath. I told you weeks ago that I won’t be threatened. And as you already know, I am even less amenable to scolds.” He looked to her again. “Constance, I cannot be sorry for having been the cause for the end of your betrothal to a man you do not wish to marry. But know that if I could silence the mention of your name upon the tongues of gossips

“Is he? A man who would compromise an unwed woman in a public place? Is that honorable, Constance?”

“I begged him to.” Her breaths came hard but her voice remained strong. “I begged. These past weeks he has done everything he could to help me and yet remain aloof from me. Last night I was distressed, and when he offered me comfort I begged him to hold me. Does that disgust you, Father? Are you sorry now that you wasted so much effort on such an unruly specimen of femininity?”

now. He already knew she enjoyed challenging herself and that it made her radiant. But each time he witnessed it, he lost a little of his mind again

The curse of it was that defiance only made her more beautiful

“I think I have never felt quite so lightheaded watching a man wield a parasol before.”

I mean to become invincible, you know,” she said.

“You will