Gallant Waif by Anne Gracie (best ereader manga .TXT) 📕

on my property, you won’t. I’ll teach you a lesson in how to treat a lady—one you’ll never forget.”

Jack stepped forward, murder in his eyes, oblivious to Kate’s frantic jerking on his sleeve.

“Jack, stop it! You mustn’t. He didn’t hurt me. Jack!’ she cried, but he was determined on his course. He moved purposefully towards Cousin Jeremiah, his fists bunched, blue eyes glittering with rage.

“Jack, he asked me to marry him!” screamed Kate in his ear.

At that Jack came to a dead halt. He swung around and stared at her in shock. The angry colour died from his face, leaving it a bleached grey.

“He what?” he croaked at last.

“He asked me to marry him,” repeated Kate quietly, belatedly realising she’d given Jack the wrong impression, but seeing no immediate way out—except violence. She’d seen enough violence.

“So that’s why…” Jack choked. He wrenched his eyes from her face and turned away. “I. . .see,” he muttered. Without looking at either of them, he left.

Kate gazed after him, biting her lip. There had been pain in his eyes. Because he thought she was to marry Cousin Jeremiah? She wanted to run after him and tell him she’d refused, but she was afraid that if she did Jack would return to his former rage and do Jeremiah a grave injury. And now that Jack had stopped her cousin she felt she could handle things herself. She might be angry with Jeremiah for the way he had forced his embraces on her, but much could be forgiven a man rejected in love, and he was still her cousin, after all.

She turned. “I think you’d better leave, Cousin Jeremiah. I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

He had struggled to his feet by now. His fright had passed, and was fast turning to indignation at the way he had been treated. “I must tell you, Cousin Kate, that I am deeply offended by that man’s treatment of me. I have a good mind to report him to the nearest magistrate. He is clearly a dangerous lunatic.”

Kate’s temper finally exploded. “How dare you say such a thing? If you must know, I think you got off lightly, for if I were a man I would have knocked you down much sooner. How dare he? How dare you? To force your kisses on me, and think to overcome my refusal by brute force! Report him to a magistrate if you dare, Cousin Jeremiah, and you will find yourself reported for assault—on me!”

Cousin Jeremiah blanched and calmed down immediately. “Now, now, Kate, my dear, I did not mean it. I. . .I was upset. I think you must allow me the right to feel angry at being attacked so violently, but of course if it will upset you I will take no injudicious steps to have the matter followed up.”

Kate was mollified. She spoke more softly. “I am sorry it had to come to this, Cousin Jeremiah. If you please, we will never speak of this matter again.”

“No, no, of course not,” he agreed eagerly. “But now, my dear, I would like to have the matter of our marriage settled as soon as possible.”

Kate stared at him incredulously. Was the man utterly impervious? “Cousin Jeremiah,” she said firmly, “all this happened because you refused to listen to me the first time. I am sorry, but I will not marry you.”

“But I love you,” he insisted.

“Then I am sorry for you, but I do not return your love.”

“Love can grow after marriage,” he persisted.

“Not in this case,” said Kate bluntly. She had endured enough of his florid compliments and hand-kissing to last a lifetime.

“I do not mind if you don’t love me; I will marry you anyway,” he declared nobly.

Kate gritted her teeth and began to wish that she had let Jack give him a thrashing after all.

“But I do not wish to marry you.”

He took several steps towards her, and she backed away. Good God, he was going to try to embrace her again.

“Cousin Jeremiah, I am not being missish!” she almost shrieked in her frustration. “I said I will not marry you and I meant it. Nothing will make me change my mind.”

“How sweetly shy you are,” began Cousin Jeremiah, advancing on her, a determined smile on his face.

“I am not shy!”

“I think you’d better listen to the lady,” said a quiet voice from behind them. “My friend Mr Carstairs has already introduced you to the rather crude fighting methods of the Coldstream Guards. I would like to demonstrate the techniques favoured by gentlemen of the 95th Rifles.” Francis began to roll up his sleeves, then paused. “That is, unless you apologise to the lady and leave before I finish rolling up my sleeves.” He continued rolling them back, very deliberately and precisely.

Cousin Jeremiah eyed the sinewy forearms that were emerging. He already had a massive headache and a cracked jaw from just one frightful punch from Carstairs. He began to mutter indignantly about violence being offered to a man whose only crime was to woo a lady too ardently, when he caught Colonel Masterton’s glittering eye. It bore a disturbing similarity to the look that he had seen in Mr Carstair’s eye a few moments before. Hastily Cole gabbled an apology to Kate and left, almost running across the lawn in his desire to be quit of the place.

Despite the comical sight he made, Kate had no desire to laugh. She felt like a wrung-out rag. Nor did she feel up to discussing it with Francis.

“Thank you, Francis,” she said quietly, and turned to leave.

“Are you all right?” he said.

“Oh, I’ll be as right as a trivet,” she said, attempting a cheerful smile that failed miserably. “I just need to rest for a while, I think.” She turned and ran upstairs to her room.

Later that evening she went downstairs to supervise the preparation of dinner. Jack had taken himself off somewhere. The tavern, no doubt. Kate didn’t feel up to dining with Francis, so she ate