A Notorious Love by Sabrina Jeffries Page A

over her. As always, his sheer size roused a trifle apprehension in her chest. She feared no man, but Mr. Brennan was not just any man. For one thing, despite her height, her nose reached only to the top of his shoulder…his big, brawny shoulder attached to an arm that could fell her with one swipe.
    He was so close now that his breath warmed her cheek. “See here, Helena, can’t you trust me with this at least?” His tone was softer, laced with genuine concern. He’d never used her Christian name without her title, and it seemed shockingly intimate…and thrilling at the same time. “I’ll bring her back safe as can be. There’s no need for you to go.”

    “But there is. I know what he looks like. That sketch is not nearly good enough, but I can recognize him—”
    “And I can recognize your sister, which is all that matters.”
    She went on the offensive. “What reason could you have for not taking me? Other than the stupid ones you’ve given so far?”
    “Stupid?” He stepped back from her with a low oath. “To be concerned for your safety? Pryce might be a smuggler, remember? I’ll have to go into seedy taverns and unsavory inns to ask after him, places you shouldn’t even enter.”
    “I don’t have to go into all those places with you. I’ll simply stay out of your way while you do.”
    “You’ll stay out of my way, all right,” he growled, “here in London where you belong.”
    “You have no say in the matter, Mr. Brennan. Though I prefer to have your help, I refuse to take it if it means you travel without me. I followed them to London successfully, and I can follow them out entirely alone.” She held out her hand. “If you will just return my sketch and miniature and tell me which direction they went—”
    “Bloody hell, woman! What will you do once you catch up to them? Give Pryce one of your Lady High-and-Mighty stares and order him to release your sister? Lay him low with your contempt? The cut direct may make your kind quake in their boots, but it only angers mine. Act haughty in my world, and you’ll find yourself knocked back on your elegant arse.”
    She pointedly ignored his insults, not to mention his coarse language. “I’ll convince Juliet of her folly, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll…I’ll summon a constable. Or pay Mr. Pryce off.” When Mr. Brennan shook his head,she went on heatedly, “I don’t know what I’ll do, all right? But I’ll stop him however I can.”
    What she wanted was to unman the wily Mr. Pryce, which would definitely break some rule in Mrs. N’s guide. Besides which, she didn’t have the faintest idea how to go about it. “I’m going after them, with or without you.”
    “What about your reputation?” he snapped.
    That brought her up short. “What about it?”
    “You travel alone with me, and you might as well throw it away. Such behavior isn’t proper for a lady, and well you know it.”
    “I suppose bringing a maid along is out of the question?”
    “It’s all out of the question, damn it!” he roared. “It’ll be difficult traveling with one woman under these circumstances, much less two!”
    She sniffed. “Well, forgive my presumption, but I didn’t think it would hurt to ask.” When he drew himself up like a snorting bull about to charge, she added hastily, “In any case, I’m not concerned about my reputation.” She thrust the point of her cane at him. “And since when do you care about what’s proper? A man who greets his visitors half-clad is in no position to lecture on the proprieties.”
    “A lady who takes offense at it is in no position to flout them, either.”
    “Under the circumstances, I have no choice. Besides, it’s not as if anyone need know we’re traveling together.”
    He gaped at her as if she were insane. “What about the inns we’ll have to frequent, the posting houses, even the road itself? You don’t think anybody will notice a refined lady traveling with a low-born lout like me? You