A Second Chance for Murder Read Online Free

delighted when she partnered with him for a lively quadrille. There was also a gentleness about him that spoke through his soulful blue eyes. She remembered Ivey telling her that if she were to have a child, she wished the babe would have eyes as blue as Lord Flemington’s. Lord Avery Flemington was a pugilist, a form of exercise he preferred over fencing or riding, and according to her brother Nyle, quite an accomplished one. Thora wished she could cross him off her list as she was rather fond of the man, but until she was certain he would have to stay on.
    Satisfied that all her suspects had arrived, Thora started to return to her seat to have a second cup of tea when suddenly three voices rang out in unison, “Who is he?”
    Turning back to the window, Thora peered out in time to see a man ducking his head to alight from his carriage. Planting two highly polished black boots on the ground, he unfolded his extremely tall frame. From beneath a jacket of light wool broadcloth, his massive shoulders pulled back to stretch. He wore his thick, chestnut-colored hair long, swept back from his face. His nose was straight and his chin firm.
    Thora’ strained to see the color of his eyes, but they were hidden under such dark, long lashes that it seemed almost sinful for a man to possess them.
    “Do you know him, Thora?” Lauryn whispered excitedly.
    “No, I don’t,” Thora replied, without removing her gaze from the stranger. “A friend of Nyle’s, I suppose.” Gazing down on the tree-sized stranger, Thora suddenly felt heated, as if she were standing dangerously close to a raging fire. When the newcomer’s footman closed the gleaming black-lacquered door of his master’s carriage, her keen eyes noticed a brass family crest that seemed vaguely familiar. A shield. Narrowing her eyes, she saw what appeared to be a raised symbol of some sort, proudly displayed at its center. Now where had she seen that before? She only knew that it had been some years ago in the early days of her youth.
    Suddenly, as if he knew he was being watched, the striking, large-framed visitor suddenly looked up at the library windows. His perceptive gaze startled her three companions. Gasping, Floris, Lauryn, and Cecilia stumbled backward from their concealed viewing spot, tumbling over one another like circus clowns.
    Thora rolled her eyes but, unlike the other three girls, she stood her ground, meeting the stranger’s stare with one of her own. She was taken back when an unhurried smile spread across his face. That, she did not return. “Insolent rogue!” she muttered under her breath, roughly pulling the curtains shut. In a huff, she stalked back to her seat and dropped down onto its cushion. Quickly, she poured a much-needed cup of tea, sipping it slowly to hide the flush in her cheeks. The new arrival, she told herself, as impressive as he might be, was of little concern to her. It was upon the men she had pointedly observed earlier and who were now somewhere inside the manor that she needed to focus her attention.
    “You’re so fortunate, Thora, to have a brother with so many handsome friends.” Lauryn sighed, returning to her seat after tidying her skirts from her topple with Cecilia and Floris. “Each time my father has a house party, his friends are either married”—Lauryn waved the third finger of her left hand——“ancient,” she went on, bending her body forward while she pretended to shakily lean onto a cane for support, “or hideously unattractive.” The petite girl playfully squished her face and crossed her eyes. Her silly antics had all the girls chuckling.
    “It stands to reason that Lord Somerville would be surrounded by attractive friends. ‘Birds of a feather do flock together,’” Cecilia remarked as she and Floris took their seats. “And how wonderful of him to open the manor to guests again. I surely thought I would die of boredom cooped up for weeks on ends after Ivey’s—” Cecilia’s words abruptly