“Are you always so untrusting, Lady Alice?”
She was right, of course. He was trying to ensure she did not stumble into danger, or get close to the animal that was Kenneth Jackson, but he would not be telling her that.
“Yes,” she said, chin lifting. “I have been given many examples in my lifetime of what trusting someone can bring me. I no longer do so without knowing a person well, and even then—”
“I take your meaning,” he interrupted, raising a hand.
“Excellent,” she added primly, which only annoyed him more.
This woman was a danger to Jamie simply because she couldgeta reaction out of him, and not many could, save perhaps his oldest friends.
“Why were you fighting in that ring?” she asked, eyes narrowing. “You, a wealthy, powerful peer of the realm, stripped to the waist and behaving like those beneath you.”
“Not all beneath us are common, Lady Alice,” he said, his voice roughening to a growl.
“I did not say they were. And do not think that I believe money and title maketh a man, Lord Stafford, because I have ample evidence to the contrary.”
Jamie’s jaw clenched. Why did he enjoy sparring with her when she wrenched so many emotions from him? Why did she intrigue him when so few ever had? Her wits were sharp, her intellect keener still. Anyone who looked at her and saw an empty-headed, gently born woman would be sorely mistaken. Lady Alice was far more dangerous than that, and he was fast coming to understand it.
“I have my reasons for fighting,” he said. “Reasons I will not discuss with you, my lady. But you must not go there alone again. It is far too dangerous, as evidenced by those two men mistreating you when I found you.”
She studied him, her expression unreadable. Then, to his relief, she nodded once.
“I will make you a deal, Lady Alice.” He held her gaze, searching for something, anything he could read. “If you tell me what you know, I will share my information with you.”
“I will do that, Lord Stafford, if you promise to take me with you when you get a lead on Kenneth Jackson.”
He hesitated. He didn’t want to say yes because most of his hunts for Jackson took place in the early hours, and in places no lady should ever be. Yet he knew she would simply take it upon herself to do the same without him.
“Very well,” he said at last. “You have a deal. But I insist that if the situation we face is dangerous, you will take instruction from me.”
“Absolutely not. I take instruction from nobody. I can shoot better than most men and am handy with a knife.”
“That may be, my lady,” Jamie said evenly, though his pulse had begun to thrum, “but a man’s strength will always be greater than yours.”
“I am stronger than I look,” she countered, with that infuriating gleam in her eyes. “And I have someone who ensures that is the case.”
“Who?”
“That is no concern of yours, Lord Stafford.”
“Your aunt—”
“Knows none of what we speak of, and I wish to keep it that way.”
He studied her for long seconds. She didn’t flinch beneath his gaze, instead, lifting her chin, meeting him head-on. She had courage—too much of it, but that could land her in trouble.
Jamie could think of no way to stop Lady Alice, no way to keep her safe. If he excluded her, she’d continue her inquiries alone, but if he included her, at least he could watch her movements.
“Very well.”
She extended her hand, and he stared at it.
“Have you never shaken the hand of a lady, my lord?”
The little witch was mocking him now. He took her fingers. Neither of them wore gloves, and her skin was warm in his. The moment lingered longer than it should have before he releasedher. Jamie barely resisted the urge to step back. He’d felt that touch all the way to his toes.
“What information do you have?” he asked, voice rougher than he intended.
