He had been so busy mulling over what she had said to him that at first, he didn't really notice her very well. However, as she walked away from him, a realization came to him suddenly. While her strides were powerful and she was walking swiftly, it was still very pronounced that she was walking with a limp.
How did that happen?
He felt a spark of compassion at the sight, but it soon disappeared when she turned to lock eyes with him, then shouted, "When you are ready to make your order, you know what to do!"
Thomas shook his head in exasperation. And she says I am the stubborn one.
Thomas knew that he should have just left the tavern right then and there but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Despite his annoyance and his shock, he was intrigued by the attendant.
The growling in Thomas' belly reminded him that he needed to do something about his hunger and thirst. This meant that if he was not going to leave for another tavern, he had to shout to place his order like he had seen the rest of the patrons do.
Thomas opened his mouth but he just couldn't bring himself to. He suddenly felt self-conscious as though everyone was looking at him and it made him feel incredibly vulnerable. However, he looked around and saw that not even a single person had spared him a look. They were all immersed in their food, alcohol, and banters, so no one even cared about him.
Thomas decided to try again then.
"Attendant! I need some—" he stopped abruptly when he realized that his words had only come out as a whisper or a growl at its best. He was sure that other patrons hadn't even heard him not to mention the stubborn attendant.
Of course, he had to try again, so this time, he shouted at the top of his voice.
"Attendant! I would like a bowl of your best broth with a mug of ale to accompany it!” The moment the words were out his mouth, he regretted them.
Everyone in the tavern was now staring at him as though he'd grown a horn on his head. His cheeks colored up and he quickly fixed his stare at the table while hoping that the ridiculous girl would bring his order now. He couldn't bring himself to shout again and he would rather pluck out his eyelashes one after the other before he would even think of it.
Thankfully, he didn't really have to because the next thing he knew, the girl had placed his order on his table.
"You’re a quick learner," she drawled, true mirth tugging at her lips as she put down the food and alcohol. "Now that you seem to understand me, let me repeat once more that you should keep your eyes to yourself. Unless you’re that desperate to lose them.”
He fixed her with a terrible look but she didn’t stick around to see it. Sighing, Thomas turned his attention to his food and drink. He didn't know how hungry he was until he started wolfing down the food.
Who would have thought? He couldn’t help but wonder as he swallowed the food noisily while taking into account what was going on around him. Just as he was about to focus on his food, his attention was drawn by a man’s prying eyes. He had first thought he was wrong but it persisted. The gaze was very strong and it held something that sent chills into his heart. He seldom saw such expression but when he did, he knew exactly what it was – hate.
Chapter 5
"Why don't you wait until the end of the day?" Sam said once again.
Mary Ann had informed Sam that she was leaving, and ever since the tavern owner had been trying to get her to stay longer.
"I would have really loved to but I have some things to do at home," she lied.
Home? Who am I deceiving? The shack that I live in is nothing like a home. In fact, I have never really had a home as far back as I can remember. I’ve always been homeless.
"If you insist then," Sam said shrugging. He reached down to her and patted her shoulder.
“I will be on my way now,” she told him, taking a step away from him.
“See you soon, Mary Ann," Sam said in a low tone.
It took all she could not to allow her eyes to water. If it wasn't for Sam who was constantly being of help, she wasn't sure what would have become of her right now. Mary Ann hated receiving help, believing that if she’d manage on her own this long then there was no need to accept someone’s pity. But with Sam, she didn’t feel that way.
The work house had been the only place that had been ready to take her with her disability. However, she had to flee not only due to the rather strenuous job that she had to do but also because of the advances of the men there.
“Thank you, Sam,” she said softly, a bit out of character for her.
"You don't need to thank me, Mary Ann. Now run along."
With that, Mary Ann made her way out of the tavern. The only patron that caught her eyes was the obnoxious man that had been expecting her to wait on him like he was some noble. He inclined his head toward her when their eyes met and she sneered before dismissing him completely.
As soon as she stepped out into the sun outside, she nearly ran back into the tavern. The sun was scorching and if it hadn't been that she had already bade Sam goodbye, she would have gone back into the tavern.
On the brighter side of things, she had entered Sam's tavern hungry, thirsty and poor. Now, she was leaving with her stomach filled and her thirst quenched. She was still poor but at least Sam had given her a small stipend for helping him out today.
Mary Ann made her way toward her abode, thinking about how she was going to survive the next couple of days.
As she turned toward a dark alley which was the fastest route to her house, she heard a rustling noise right behind her. She quickened her hobbling steps immediately without even bothering to look back to see what it was.
She needed not be reminded that this part of the town was dangerous, and it was even more dangerous for a young woman like her.
"Cripple!" a loud booming voice resounded from behind her.
Is that the same man from before?
There was no doubt in Mary Ann's heart now that she was in some kind of trouble. She tried to move faster, but her darned leg made it difficult. The more she tried to strain her bad leg to walk faster, the more it hurt.
"You should already know by now that you can't get far," another voice said behind her and she immediately made a mental calculation that there were two people following her.
Mary Ann knew that she was no match for two men, but she didn't stop regardless. She couldn't afford to let them catch her. From their voice, she could tell they had no good intentions toward her.
She was still limping rapidly when she started hearing loud footsteps behind her. She broke into a run, but she hadn't even run for more than a few steps before she felt a coarse hand on her shoulder.
A shriek caught in her throat as she was twisted around. She looked right into the face of a strange but extremely ugly man. He took several steps toward her and the smell of stale ale wafted toward her. The fact that the man was staggering slightly told her that he was drunk.
"Where do you think you are running to, Cripple?"
Mary Ann nearly retched at this point because, even as the man spoke, the vilest smell ever was wafting out of his mouth. His mismatched and discolored teeth didn't help matters.
“Let go of me,” she snarled, her voice venomous.
That tone had served to shock the audacious man in the tavern. It barely touched the man before her now. He only tightened his grip on her as he pulled her closer to his face.
“Or what, missy?” he asked in threateningly, his warm spit hitting Mary Ann’s face.
She would have covered her face and nose but instead, she mustered all the strength she could get from herself and pushed the man away.
“Feisty!” the other man who had been silent commented as he watched the one who was holding Mary Ann stagger backwards.
“Let’s see how well you do when all your bones are broken,” the one who was holding her responded. “You walk pretty well on that leg but can you manage having the both of them that way?” He kept his gaze on Mary Ann as he gnashed his teeth to add
to the horror she was feeling
She was cursing in her head, saying all manners of terrible things she wished she could speak aloud. Had it not been for a small voice telling her that they would surely do her more harm, she might have. Mary Ann wasn’t used to backing down, preferring to fight her battles head on. But she also needed to be smart about it and, right now, she was weaponless and outnumbered.
The man she had pushed away careened slowly toward her while the other stayed on a spot smirking. She had had heard of this kind of situation before. The last man was the contingency plan, in case she was going to run.
“What do you say, damsel, you want to play with us?” the first man asked, pulling his crotch upwards as he moved his tongue frantically.
“Like I would ever willing touch the likes of you! Now let me go!” She tugged on his hold, but this only made the men laugh.
“You heard her,” came a voice from before her. “Let her go.”
“Or what?” the second man asked but as he turned to look in the direction of who had spoken to them, a hand shot out in the darkness and his back was on the ground, his jaw twisted slightly out of place.
“For Christ sake, you broke me jaw,” he cried out and his voice reeked with a deep native accent.
Mary Ann was still focused on the newcomer’s voice but she couldn’t place it until the first man was down and the man was out in the light. It was as if the light was shining upon him alone, giving him a somewhat odd but appealing aura.
“I believe you heard me the first time,” said the man from the tavern, his voice low, “and I do not like to repeat myself.”
The first man didn’t let go of Mary Ann, even as he growled at the newcomer. “Do you take me for a joke, boy?” he questioned. He had shifted his focus to Thomas since his partner went down.
“Since you think it is fine robbing a defenseless woman? If you are not a joke, then you are certainly quite the menace.”
Mary Ann blinked. The man was quite… tall. She didn’t know why this was her first thought as she watched him regard the men harassing her. He had quite the way of looking down his nose at them without being condescending. And looking far too handsome while he was at it.
Just as she watched, the two robbers lurched forward at the same time. Mary Ann’s heart shot into her throat, her eyes going wide. She nearly jumped forward herself, to perhaps protect this foolish man who thought he could save her, but then she realized she didn’t need to. As soon as the men were upon him, he ducked under their arms and punched both squarely in their chest. The men doubled over wheezing, knees hitting the ground while her savior stood over them, shaking his fist as if it pain.
“Well, I did not like that one bit,” her dark-haired savior commented.
The first man managed to pull himself up, reaching for his friend. “You will regret this,” he wheezed before they both escaped.
Mary Ann watched them go for a moment before she returned her attention to the man who saved her. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed he was already staring.
“What is your name?” he asked her without warning.
Mary Ann tried not to show her surprise. Her first instinct was to lash out at him, annoyed that she had needed to be saved in the first place, but she reined it in. “Mary Ann. What is yours?”
“Thomas. What kind of lass walks a dark alley alone, Mary Ann?” he asked as he walked toward her.
She lifted her chin defensively. “I was managing just fine before you arrived,” she uttered instead.
The man looked taken aback by her words. For some reason, that made her regret them, which only made her more defensive. “What?” she snapped. “Cat got your tongue?”
“No, the least you could do is thank me for saving you from those men,” he said.
“I didn’t ask for your help, did I?”
“It doesn’t seem like that from where I stood. Just say your appreciation and let us go our separate ways.”
Chapter 6
“Shoot! Keep your tongue in your mouth, and stay behind me, damsel,” he murmured the last word close to her ears.
Thomas heard her growling before her angry words came lashing out. “Move along. I warned you to stop ogling me, remember?”
Thomas looked at her and he felt the hardness again. “You must be the most impossible person in the world.”
He walked very close to Mary Ann, their bodies touching. He was closer than he had meant to be and he could hear the rhythm of her heartbeat. It wasn’t beating very fast as it must have before he came to her rescue. The rhythm was soothing and unconsciously he stared at her chest.
“Did you find what you are looking for?” she asked pettishly.
They locked eyes for a couple of seconds. Her impenetrable gaze seemed to pierce into Thomas.
What is going on inside that mind of yours?
She had quite the temper. There was no denying that now and, as she stared at him, Thomas felt both wary and aroused. It was then that she walked closer to him. Her steps were slow yet striking and she didn’t stop until their bodies were almost in contact.
“I asked you a question,” she repeated slowly.
This time her voice sounded calmer than usual and Thomas, if not for their previous conversation, would have thought she was trying to win him over. Even if that was her plan, it was working.
“What are you doing?” he asked. To his alarm, his voice was but a squeak. What is she doing to me?
“I should ask you since it looks as if you are following me around. First, it was the tavern, now here,” she shot back.
During this time, they were still up close to each other and since Thomas was taller, he bent his torso to level his eyes with hers.
“Please,” he said in a tone that he hoped would snap him out of this trance she was putting him under, “do not flatter yourself.”
He waited to see her reaction, but she looked calmer, almost soft.
Unexpected, he thought. But this didn’t stop him from what he planned on saying.
“I just saved you from those men because I saw that you were in need. I would be remiss in not coming to your aid.” He looked down at her and stopped at her leg before looking her in the eyes again. “But since you have no gratitude toward me, I pray we never meet again.”
Mary Ann’s eyes slid to the side. “Hmph. Well, then I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to say that I’m—”
The alley was already getting windy at this point and part of her dress was billowing. Thomas took a couple of steps backwards, but Mary Ann stood her ground.
As Mary Ann was trying to keep her dress in check, Thomas was also trying to conceal his protruding manhood. He used one hand to cover up and the other to pull the strand of hair trying to find their way into his eyes. Just as they were doing this, Thomas caught Mary Ann’s looking below his torso. Flustered, Thomas muttered something inaudible in the breeze. Mary Ann moved forward to hear what he had to say but something caught Thomas’ attention and it made him walk toward her.
His gaze fixed on something up ahead but Mary Ann realized a little too late. She turned to see what it was but she missed her step and was headed to the ground. Thomas turned quickly and was able to grab her before she could reach the ground but at an expense. He wrapped his right hand around her waist and his other hand was pulling her dress closer to his body.
Thomas caught her eyes. It felt like she was piercing into his soul. They stood like that for a few seconds, but it felt so slow Thomas would have thought it happened in about an hour. He could feel her cold palm against his warm hand. The dress she wore was quite worn, even though it looked clean. Her breath was warm, but it sent a cold chill all over his nerves as it hit his body.
He would have loved to close his eyes and savor the moment, but his hands were already weakened. He took one more look at Mary Ann, and alas!, he remembered what was going on before Mary Ann’s fall.
“Enough of this already,” Mary Ann murmured, but her voice didn’t have as m
uch of a bite as he’d expected.
Slowly, Mary Ann was pulled back to her feet, but Thomas was still holding on to her hand.
“Look here, mate,” a voice grunted in the dark.
The husky voice mixed with the whistling breeze made it sound like an injured wild beast ready to make its last attack. Mary Ann held on tightly to Thomas’ hand, so he looked in her direction. The hardened girl scowled with anger but Thomas didn’t miss the flash of fear on her face, which she quickly tucked away. The sight was far too endearing to ignore, even as she put up a furious, brave front.
A Fiery Duchess for the Dashing Duke: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 4
