Page 20 of A Wallflower Takes a Duke

“You stowed away in the boot, didn’t you? What a little sneak you’ve become. What else do you have planned? Perhaps a trip to London with a traveling circus?”

She stared at the ground for a long time, the grasses beneath their feet flattened and muddy from so many carriages and horses.

“Well? Have you nothing to say for yourself?” Julian finally prompted.

She finally craned her neck and gave him an impudent look from beneath the battered hat she’d stolen from the Montcliffe Abbey stable boys. “D’you think I could get away with joining the circus?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Julian raised his index finger. “First, your father would find you as soon as possible and haul you back, but even before that…” He raised a second finger. “You’d have to prove to the circus impresario that you have a talent worth his while to put up with you.”

“I’m a great acrobat,” Mina insisted, and proceeded to walk on her hands to prove her prowess.

* * *

Julian suckedin a breath of terror before immediately grabbing Mina, causing her to crash to the ground. When he jerked her back to standing, she slapped him away.

“Owww…why’d you do that?”

“Remember? Your missing cheese-cloth?”

She slanted a startled glance down her front just before he took off his jacket and draped it across her shoulders. She didn’t argue, as he’d expected, but instead pulled the coat tightly across her chest in spite of the heat of the day. She turned away to hide her embarrassment, but he could see the hot blush spreading from her face to her neck.

“Everything will be fine, Mina. We’ll get you home, hopefully before anyone finds out you’re gone.”

He carefully deposited her inside the carriage with the Tindalls’ coachmen on guard. With a wink, and in a voice loud enough for Mina to hear, Julian told the man, “Shoot her if she tries to escape.”

12

Julian’s heart plummeted and then flopped over in his chest. He could not believe how little George and Wills cared for their sister’s welfare.

“She’s Mina. She’s never going to change, let alone care how her escapades affect the rest of the family.” George slanted Julian a superior look. “We always knew she’d never amount to anything.” He took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair before clapping it back onto his head. “Don’t know why the pater expends so much energy trying to make a lady out of her.”

Wills, who had been staring blearily at them, finally spoke. “Blood will tell.”

Julian closed his eyes and counted to ten to keep from smashing the two brothers’ heads together. “Fine. I’ll see her home.”

“Whyn’t you let the coachman take her back to the Abbey? You don’t want to miss the matches, do you? There’s a rumor Jem Ward will fight tomorrow afternoon.”

“Where did you hear that?” A familiar voice rang out behind them.

Julian whipped his head around and there stood his business partner, Hugh Elliott. “Don’t you ever stay at the club and watch over your investment?”

Hugh laughed and fixed a bright blue stare on Julian. “Are you worried?” Broad-shouldered and tall, his unruly blonde curls were whipped into a frenzy by the winds hauling across the open field. Julian wondered for a moment how the man would fare in a stare-off with Mina. The look he fixed on anyone unfortunate enough to run afoul of him had the same intensity as hers.

Wills’s attention fixed on Hugh. “I heard Ward might fight tomorrow, but they couldn’t advertise lest the crowds flood in.”

“Has anyone taken your bet on the match?” Hugh gave Wills a shrewd look.

“I know some people.”

Hugh laughed again. “I’m sure you do.” He winked at Julian. “I have a proposition for you gentlemen. I heard His Grace requires your carriage to deliver your sister back home. I’m staying until the end of tomorrow’s matches, and you’re welcome to ride back to London with me. In the meantime, perhaps you two can benefit from my knowledge of all these Hittites.” He was quiet for a minute before adding, “But before he leaves, there’s one last thing I require.”

Julian tilted his head, much like a cat being bombarded by feathers, quizzing a question at Hugh.

The earl leaned close so that only Julian could hear. “I want to meet this wild child who keeps besting you as well as a whole family of men at whatever game she chooses.”