My Dangerous Rogue by Paula Wong (english novels for students TXT) 📕

Just like Michael.
Richard ignored the thought and continued to look at them. He and his wife look like they are having the time of their life.
Happy. They all look happy him, his wife, and his daughter.
I wonder what I would be like to have a life like that. He thought.
To have a family, to have a daughter or son, to have a wife who would kiss him in the morning, when he comes home from his morning ride. To have a wife he would make love with all night.
He isn’t a machine who wouldn’t think these thoughts.
Even sometimes a rogue wonders.
But wondering wouldn’t get him anywhere.
Maybe he can take advantage of this masquerade ball.
Nobody knows who he really is with the mask, so maybe he can change his personality, for once he would stop being a rogue.
He placed the now empty goblet on the table and stepped toward the mass of crowd. Then stopped.
“Yes,” the group of lovely young ladies fans themselves, their curls falling from the pins. “I know precisely where Loretta Chase is. I know for a fact that Lord Frinchester isn’t here either. I saw her earlier, her mask was off so I was able to identify her. It was indeed Ms. Chase. I assumed she wanted to talk so I had stayed. Then Lord Frinchester appeared and told me to leave them be. I have a feeling those two are madly in love with each other,” they giggled.
He balled his fists, he clenched them so hard his knuckles turned white. So that’s where she was, that slut woman moving on to another man who are apparently interested. Richard had rejected her and now she’s moved on to another target?
Devious woman indeed.
“So you came,” a voice said behind him.
Richard looked back and groaned. “I do not know what you are talking about miss,” he said smiling at his older sister.
“Don’t play dumb with me Richard, I’m not stupid. I know that when you stand up you always have that handsome feature,”
She wanted to say that he looks just like Michael, he’s not stupid. But he appreciates that she doesn’t compare him to Michael. “Thank you,”
He gave her a smile, and this time a real smile. Something that he doesn’t show around people.
Even behind the mask, he can tell her eyes widened and smiled back. “For what?”
“Not comparing me,”
“Never,” she nudged him on the shoulder and stepped next to him. “So have you found anyone yet?”
Her pale blonde hair, was in short curls gently masking her face while the rest of her hair was tied up in a tight bun.
Evangeline’s feature wasn’t like any women. Her beauty was natural. She doesn’t put powder, or lip stick, none of what most women use. She wears her beauty with pride and confidence. He chuckled and reverted his gaze back on the crowd again.
Robert was a lucky man that bastard.
“No, all of these women bore me,” he scanned the room.
“It seems you have your eyes set on someone already brother. Who is she?”
Richard grinned. “It’s one of the hosts,”
Evangeline looked up at him. “Brother, every single hosts of this masquerade ball are already married. Of course there’s Loretta Chase but-,” she stopped and looked up, her eyes leveling his. “Oh brother, please don’t be ridiculous, you can’t.”
“They don’t call me a rogue for nothing Evangeline,”
“But she’s getting married Richard. Even you can’t possibly ruin her reputation. You know what that will do to her. It will ruin her,”
“Why do I care about her well-being? You know as well as I do I only care about myself,” Well that isn’t true. He cares about other people. Hell, he even cares about the starving children outside of the snow right now. That is why once a year, he donates a great amount of money to the orphanage, anonymous of course. He doesn’t want people knowing what he has been doing on his free time.
“That is a lie and we both know it. Don’t forget Richard, I am your older sister. I’ve remembered when you were a boy when you couldn’t even hurt a bug or possibly kill it because you treasure their life so much,”
He sighed. “People change Evangeline. You should know that,”
“They do. But they do not change into a cold-hearted person,”
“That’s just what I am,” he shrugged and crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“I doubt it indeed,” she mumbled and her gaze landed on a man. Their masks matched.
Robert.
He looked over at Evangeline and smiled, making his way by her side, wrapping an arm around her waist, kissing her on the lips. “I have been looking anywhere for you,”
“I as well, how is your night in the evening ball honey?”
“It was like hell without you,”
She smiled and wrapped her hands around his neck. “I am here, never fear,”
Richard fought the smile that was beginning to form his lips. They were the perfect couple.
A sudden unwanted feeling rose in his stomach.
Wife. Yes, he needs a wife.
And he will find one.
Richard placed the empty goblet on the tray and slowly made his way out of the room and into the massive hallway. He needs to talk to this damn woman. He wants and explanation.
Then after the explanation, he doesn’t care if it’s her reputation that’s ruined, he will have her.
No matter who gets hurt, there must be some explanation on why she had confessed her love to him. Even if that love wasn’t real, why would she do it?
What could she have gained from it?
Pure entertainment, he thought grinning. This…woman is after amusement? Well then she will get one.
She had made a bad mistake of viewing him as an amusement.
You’ll regret that Madam Loretta, you will regret that you even stepped foot in my home and in my life. You want entertainment? I will give you one.


Loretta looked up at Lord Frinchester, he is the last person she wants to see right now. But as she glanced around the long and wide garden filled with flowers that is popular to the ton, each rows different varieties, she knows that nobody here can her hear pleas, nobody can hear a syllable.
She gulped down the lump that formed in her throat.
“What is it, my lord?” She turned away from him and examined the garden; it is a good thing that it is wide enough to run freely in. Plant bushes stood up in the air, eight to nine foot tall, each one of them beautifully trimmed and cut from time to time. Loretta knew the garden pretty well so there is likely a chance she could escape this man whenever he tries anything.
Please don’t let him try anything.
“Why? Because I want to get a chance to know my future wife that’s all,” he remained by his spot, never moving an inch.
“Oh really? Well that is nice to hear Lord Frinchester,” she sighed and looked up at him. This won’t work. All of this…this preposterous games. Who was she trying to fool? As much as does not want to, she has to. Then a thought had occurred in her head.
She has to marry.
Loretta smiled and looked up at him. “I’m sorry John, but I am afraid I cannot marry you,”
Frinchester looked at her as if she’d gone mad. “I beg your pardon?”
“I said I cannot marry you,”
She must have hit a nerve for the next thing she knew, his face was the color of her own natural red lips. She had heard of his face turning like this, only when he was furious.
Loretta winced and looked around. He is about to erupt. Something she doesn’t want people to witness. Rumors has it that Frinchester, even though he is at an age, still has a bad temper. In the past Joanna’s old friend, who was one of the women married to him, had suddenly appeared in the front steps of the Chase Estate, asking for help. Her face was bloody and bruised. She had said that she was going to leave him because of his age. It seemed he didn’t take it too well. Though now, he admitted he had changed. That he wasn’t the same man he was back then. Even now she wonders what her parents were thinking letting her marry an abusive mind. Of course she had asked the questions herself if it was either they were needed of money or some sort of deal only Frinchester can give them. But they had said no.
They claimed that everything was splendid. And now this is how she got herself in this situation. What would have happened if she had stood up to her parents?
Certainly not in this position, probably she would be in France right now or with her Aunt Stacie.
His eyes widened with fury and took her by the hair, pulling her farther into the garden. She startled a scream as the pain inflicted her head but his hand on her mouth prevented her from fashioning the words. “Listen here you infinite brat,” he hissed shoving her onto the tree, the bark digging through her dress and onto her bare skin. She stifled a cry, struggling to break free from his grasps, but his legs pinned her in place. “You cannot possibly deny me; you would be a fool to,”
Somehow, in the midst of struggling, she can still talk. “No, that is where you are wrong. I did not want to marry you in the beginning. You would be the last person I would marry. You are at age!”
Frinchester was beyond furious; he swung back a hand and brought it forward.
She closed her eyes and held her head high, if she is going to get hurt, then she will get hurt with dignity.
“Indeed I trust that your mother or father did not teach you to mind your manners?” A man came behind Frinchester, his calm deadly voice echoing in her ear. Loretta’s eyes widened as she realized that it was the same man who had saved her in the ballroom. Her body trembled, heart beating fast, breathing uneven. This is not the time to get on a nervous breakdown, she thought clasping her trembling hands together. The mysterious masked man’s strong hand wrapped around firmly on Frinchester’s stopping him in mid-air.
“Get out of here,” Frinchester hissed, turning around to face him. “This is not your business,”
“It became my business because I made it mine. I cannot simply allow you to hit a proper elegant lady. From what I had observed, she has done nothing wrong. Though,” his grip tightened around Frinchester’s wrist, making him enough to wince and drop to the ground, his other hand trying to support the wrist that was under the mysterious man’s hand. “I do think that when I have a chance to tell this encounter to Lord and Lady Chase, they would be most disappointed that you of all men would hit their daughter. If I did hear correctly, you would even hit your own flesh and blood just to get rid of that temper of yours,”
She let the tree support her, wrapping both of her hands around its trunk as fascinatedly watched the two gentlemen. It is rather funny,