“Of course, though we don’t have to be too fast at it, do we?” He stroked the inside of her arm. Truthfully, the caress felt nice, even through her glove. She wasn’t immune to the pleasure of a man’s touch. His stroke made her skin tingle, and he was pretty enough. She wouldn’t mind kissing him, and indeed, why not? Just for a little bit. She could forget her fears if only for a moment.
She let him draw her deeper into the shadows. She wasn’t exactly agreeing, but she wasn’t disagreeing either. Perhaps if she knew more about him—
A screech cut through the air. It didn’t sound like Sadie, but she couldn’t be sure. Twisting out of Mr. Barrett’s hold, she dashed into the darkness. Her hands were balled into fists, and she was ready to strike out, but what she saw had her slowing her steps.
Sadie’s gentleman was on the ground, his hands shoved between his knees. Sadie stood above him, shaking her head.
“Tsk, tsk, Mr. Carr. When a lady says no, she means no.”
The man looked up at her and started cursing her in terms that were rather mundane despite the vehemence with which he spoke. The words were crude and vicious, but rather common. Meanwhile, Mr. Barrett appeared to be very uncomfortable.
“I say, Gene, that’s not very nice.” He stepped forward and held out his hand. “Get up now. You’re ruining your coat.”
His cousin grabbed his wrist and slowly hauled himself upright. His face was a mottled red and he remained hunched over his balls, but there was venom in his eyes when he looked at Sadie.
“You Scottish bitch!” he hissed.
Sadie watched him with an amused expression as she smoothed down her skirt. She opened her mouth to say something impertinent. Sadie did love being impertinent, but she never got the chance.
While Iseabail was wondering if anyone else had heard Mr. Carr’s squeal, the man abruptly lunged for Sadie. He caught everyone by surprise, Sadie included. She slammed backwards into a tree, grunting at the impact. Mr. Carr raised his fist, ready to strike, but Iseabail got there first. She rabbit-punched the bastard as quick as she could right in his side.
It distracted him, but it didn’t cause much damage. She didn’t have enough power in her punches to stop a man deep in his fury. Mr. Carr rounded on her, and she scrambled backwards. She stumbled over Mr. Barrett who was doing nothing but standing there gaping, and her footing got fouled in his big feet.
She stumbled and fell backwards onto her rump. Mr. Barrett squeaked in alarm and jumped in the opposite direction. Iseabail looked up in dismay, seeing the raw emotion in Mr. Carr’s face. She’d seen the same naked fury on other men. She knew how dangerous it was.
She tried to gain her feet, but she was in a gown on the ground. Her slippers gave no traction and—
A branch came down hard on Mr. Carr’s temple. A single whack that dropped him where he stood. Sadie had power in her swing, and that branch was thick and heavy, so the sound of impact had been gruesome indeed. Fortunately, it still did its job. Mr. Carr crumpled until he dropped face-first onto the ground. Then he lay there, preternaturally still, while Sadie tossed the branch aside.
“Damn,” she cursed. “That was a better blow than I expected.”
“Did he hurt you?” Iseabail gasped.
“Me? No. What about you?”
“I’m fine,” she said as she finally gained her feet. Her dress might be stained, but given that the ground was dry, perhaps there hadn’t been much damage.
“I knocked him out,” Sadie said, disgust filling her tone.
“Why do you sound upset by that?”
“Because I wanted to tell him something.”
“What could you possibly need to say to him?”
Sadie shrugged, then turned her gaze to poor Mr. Barrett who had a handkerchief pressed to his face. He was sweating profusely and looking like a trapped rabbit.
“I guess you’ll just have to tell him,” Sadie said.
“What?” The word came out in another squeak. Honestly, didn’t Englishmen’s voices ever drop?
“We know about you now,” Sadie said as she brushed a bit of bark off her hands. “We know what you did to Miss Duncan.”
“I didn’t do a thing!” Mr. Barrett said, his voice still painfully high.
Iseabail snorted. “Just a nip and tickle?”
Sadie shook her head. “He wanted a great deal more than that, and you, Mr. Barrett, helped him. You’re the well-spoken one. He’s the rapist.”
