“This had better be important,” she said waspishly as she walked into the grotto where he stood under a tree.
Stepping out from underneath the branches, the moonlight now on his face, the stranger grinned at her. The smile on his face was not pleasant. It was cruel. Malicious. Josie’s breath caught in her throat, her thoughts racing, sifting through her options in less than a second.
Scream.
Do not scream. You will be ruined.
You are already ruined. Scream, so you are not harmed.
Even if they only think he ruined you, you will be forced to marry him.
I do not want to marry a total stranger who set a trap for me.
“It is,” he said, his voice deep and threatening.
Josie stepped back, then whirled to run, but he was faster. If she had been in breeches, she might have stood a chance, but her skirts hampered her movements as they swished around her, and he caught her arm in a cruel grip. She cried out, though not loudly, as she was hauled back against him. Harsh fingers gripped her breast, sending a shocking pain through her as he dug into the soft flesh. No man had ever touched her like this, so intimately, so callously, but she had not forgotten everything Evie had taught her.
Josie, tall for a woman, threw her head back, hitting him on the chin with the back of her skull. Pain exploded in her head, but she hurt him as well. A small surge of victory rushed through her when he cursed, and his grip on her breast loosened. Twisting, she tore herself out of his grasp, turning and striking. He dodged the blow aimed at his face.Blast. She was out of practice—that should have landed.
“Bitch.” He snarled, grabbing the front of her dress and yanking.
This time, Josie shrieked, unable to stop herself as the fabric tore with a loud ripping sound. She felt the cool night air on her chest all the way down to her stomach. She gasped, choking back a sob, barely aware of the tears on her cheek as she tried to cover herself.
Someone rushed by her, barreling into the man who had assaulted her. There was a flurry of fists, moonlight on dark hair… Josie blinked the tears away.
There was a shout behind her, back toward the patio, and the two men broke apart. She could finally see her rescuer.
“Elijah?” she whispered, almost unable to believe what she was seeing. Elijah was her hero?
The villain ran off into the darkness of the gardens, and for a moment, Elijah looked to follow him, but Josie whimpered, and he paused. The shouts behind her were growing louder.
Eyes falling to where Josie was clutching the tattered fabric of her dress, trying to cover her breasts, Elijah cursed. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Angry, dark eyes blazed as he glared down at her, mere inches from her tear-stained face. Despite the anger in his eyes, she was not afraid. Elijah was here when she was in trouble, the same way he had always been her entire life, getting her and Evie out of scrapes.
She was in far more dire straits than any childhood trouble, but she trusted him to take care of it.
“Not one word,” he whispered fiercely, tension vibrating through every line of his body. “Do not say one word. I will do the talking.”
She did not have a chance to respond before there was a loud chorus of gasps behind her.
Chapter 2
Elijah
Anger thrummed through his veins as he lifted his gaze away from Josie’s shocked countenance and tear-filled blue eyes. His pulse pounding in his ears, his body screamed for action rather than standing here and doing nothing. He should be chasing down the villain who had attempted to ravish her. He should be shaking her for being so stupid to come out to the gardens, in the darkness, alone. Or, better yet, turning her over his knee.
Unfortunately, that thought reminded him of the flash of pale skin and creamy curves encased in her corset he’d glimpsed, and it sickened him. Not that she was grotesque, but he knew she would have never willingly chosen to display herself so blatantly to him. Yet he could not forget what he had seen, which made him feel as much a blackguard as the man who had assailed her.
There was no time for self-recrimination, though.
The gossips were already upon them. Somehow, he had to save both Josie’s reputation and himself… and he did not know if the latter would be possible if he managed the former.
His mind raced as he met the stunned expressions of five members of theton, including Lord Jarret, who despised Elijah’s father.Hisexpression shifted to savage glee when he met Elijah’s gaze, realizing the position that Elijah was in.
“Lord Stuart, how could you?!” The woman in the lead, Lady Carmichael, pressed her hand over her heart, fan already fluttering. She made no move to help Josie, though. Despite accusing Elijah of the attempted rape, her eyes were lit with the juicy tidbit of gossip.
Despite his association with the Society of Sin, which was utterly secret, Elijah had maintained a spotless reputation, as had his brothers, for years. Some had called him priggish or even uptight, but it had not bothered him. The reputation had served him well, allowing him to be overlooked in situations where he needed to go unnoticed.
“He did not. He saved me!” Josie’s outburst, well-intentioned though it was, made him want to shake her again. What part of ‘do not speak’ had she not understood?