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A quick glance up and down the street assured hi, and he quickly scaled the wall, his ascent much easier this time, now that he knew exactly where to place his hands and feet The as still slightly open, just as he’d left it the last tiain

He jah, and landed with a thud on the carpet just as Hyacinth entered through the door

“You,” he growled, co to do”

“Me?” Hyacinth returned “Me? I hardly think—” Her lips parted as she belatedly assessed the situation “And get out of my room!”

He quirked a brow “Shall I take the front stairs?”

“You’ll go back out the , you miserable cur”

Gareth realized that he’d never seen Hyacinth angry Irritated, yes; annoyed, certainly But this…

This was so else entirely

“How dare you!” she fuin to reply, she stormed to his side and smacked him with the heels of both of her hands “Get out!” she snarled “Now!”

“Not until you”—he punctuated this with a pointed finger, right against her breastbone—“pro as foolish as what you did tonight”

“Unh! Unh!” She let out a choking sort of noise, the kind one ible syllable And then finally, after a few erously low, “You are in no position to de of me”

“No?” He lifted one of his brows and looked down at her with an arrogant half smile “As your future husband—”

“Do not even ht now”

Gareth felt so squeeze and turn over in his chest “Do you plan to cry off?”

“No,” she said, looking at him with a furious expression, “but you took care of that this evening, didn’t you? Was that your purpose? To force eable for any other man?”