A Kiss In The Dark Read Online Free Page A

had first suggested he approach her for help, he’d viewed the idea with a certain amount of distaste. But after his frustrating visit to Bow Street and what he had discovered upon his return home, he was desperate enough to try anything if it meant finding Emily.
    As they entered the small, tastefully decorated parlor, he returned his attention to the lady in question. She wasn’t at all what he’d expected, he mused. Instead of the hard-eyed, jaded female he’d envisioned, he’d been confronted by a woman whose striking beauty had stunned him. Tall and slender, with an air of quiet refinement, she possessed bright, emerald green eyes and rich auburn hair restrained in a tidy coronet, though several spiraling curls tumbled free to cling provocatively to the sides of her neck.
    He watched as she crossed the room and seated herself on the edge of a velvet-cushioned love seat, the muslin material of her jewel-green gown barely hinting at the curves that lay beneath. Feeling an unwelcome jolt of lust, he mentally pushed it away with firm determination. He had to focus on Emily, and he couldn’t afford to let himself be distracted by any unanticipated stirrings of attraction.
    With a regal inclination of her head, she indicated that he was to take the chair opposite her. As he moved forward to do so, however, he noticed by the light of a nearby lamp that she was observing him rather warily.
    Come to think of it, her behavior had been odd from the beginning, he realized as he lowered himself into the chair. Almost as if she expected him to leap on her at any second. He knew he was a bit large of frame, but surely that gave her no call to eye him as if he were some sort of ogre.
    Deirdre, meanwhile, was praying her guest wouldn’t notice the slight trembling of her hands as she crossed them demurely in her lap. She struggled to keep any sign of her anxiety from showing on her face. “Now, what can I do for you, Lord …?”
    “Ellington.”
    She couldn’t restrain her start of surprise. She’d heard of the Earl of Ellington. The ton had been buzzing for months about his recent return to take over the title after the late earl’s death in a carriage accident. But she had never associated the name with the gallant young knight who’d raced so bravely to defend his mother all those years ago.
    “To be truthful, I’m not certain there is anything you can do for me,” he was saying, leaning forward in his chair. “But I’m desperate, and someone suggested you might be of help.”
    Deirdre tilted her head in a considering pose. Though his tone was chilly and his manner stilted, she could detect no hidden anger or animosity. As impossible as it was to believe, she was beginning to think his presence here truly might be a coincidence, that he didn’t know who she was. But until she knew for certain, she had to tread carefully. “Oh? In what way?”
    “My sister has … run away.”
    “Your sister?”
    “Yes.” The earl reached up to run a hand through his thick, ebony hair, disordering the blue-black strands and causing an errant wave to tumble down across his forehead. It made him appear oddly boyish for such a big man. “I’ve only newly inherited the title, and along with that responsibility came the guardianship of my younger sister, Emily.” One corner of his mouth gave a rueful quirk. “I’m afraid my father was a bit more lax in keeping track of her activities than I’ve been, and she resents my intrusion into her life. Earlier this evening, after one of our more … voluble disagreements, she left a note and slipped out of the house.”
    He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again his voice was strained. “My servants and I have combed every inch of Westminster for hours and we have yet to find her.”
    For the first time, Deirdre noticed the lines of tension bracketing his mouth, the exhausted set of his features. This was no Banbury tale being spun to lead her into a trap. He was in earnest, his