Always Come Home (Emerson 1) Read Online Free

overhear more, Colin bumped
into a chair, which screeched on the floor. Unfortunately, that brought the
woman’s delightful recitation to a halt.
    “Who is there?” she asked.
    “Please forgive me,” said Colin as he stepped into
the light. “And pray do not let me interrupt you. I believe you were just
getting to Clayton and I am all agog as to what you will say next.”

CHAPTER THREE
    Damnation! Ava could not believe she’d been caught behaving in such an inappropriate
manner, especially in front of one of Lord Clayton’s guests. Hopefully, he was
drunk enough that he would forget the entire matter.
    It was a fair wager that he was, since his
lordship’s guests spent little of the day sober.
    He must be a new arrival for she would have remembered
seeing him. He was sinfully handsome with his wavy black hair that was
slightly too long and eyes so dark they could be black, as well.
    As much as she might like to stare at the man in
different circumstances, it was always dangerous to be cornered by his
lordship’s guests anywhere in the house, and especially in such an isolated
hallway.
    “If you will excuse me, sir, I should be going,” she
said.
    “You cannot seriously mean to deprive me of hearing
what you were going to say about Clayton.”
    “It was wrong of me to speak disparagingly about my
charges, sir. I certainly shan’t exacerbate the matter by speaking ill of Lord
Clayton.”
    “Not even a little bit? What if I started? I have
always marveled at the way he tries to stand in such a way as to give himself
greater height. Surely you have noticed. Now that I have said it first, it
would do no harm in discussing it further with his ancestors.”
    “I shall not say anything of the sort, sir.” Though
Lord Clayton’s awkward pose had not gone unnoticed by her. He also had a habit
of standing near his shorter friends in an effort to appear taller. A failed effort.
    “All right, what about the fact he has almost no
knowledge of basic geography? When we were at school, he once placed the Andes
Mountains somewhere in the Congo.”
    Ava could not prevent the snort – the snort! – of
laughter that escaped.
    The man laughed outright. “So you have noticed
that.”
    Ava schooled her features in what she hoped was a
proper, governess-like way. “I shan’t discuss Lord Clayton with you.”
    “But I have a feeling you would not place the Andes
in the Congo.”
    “Of course not. But one’s lack of knowledge of
basic geography does not excuse gossip of any sort.”
    “Where have you travelled?” The sinfully handsome
man was looking at her with head tilted.
    “What makes you think I have?”
    “The way you said ‘of course not,’ as though only an
imbecile would make such an error. An imbecile named Lord Clayton, but that is
neither here nor there. Where have you been?”
    “I really should get back to my charges.”
    “You’re the governess to Clayton’s sister?”
    “Sisters. Twins.”
    “I am sure they’re delightful. Where have you
travelled, Miss….”
    “We have not been properly introduced, sir.”
    “You have a lot of rules. No gossip, no giving me
your name without the benefit of a proper introduction.” He pointed to a
portrait of a lady from the last century dressed for court. “Perhaps her
ladyship could introduce us.”
    Ava gave in to a bit of laughter. “Very well, I am
Miss Ava Conway.” She curtsied.
    “It is a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Conway. I
am Colin Emerson. Ridgeway, for my sins.”
    “You’re the earl Lord Clayton found in town?” she
asked. Oh, dear. Angelique would take one look at this handsome man
and do whatever it took to be his countess.
    “I don’t generally define myself in terms of how
Clayton finds me, but yes. I just arrived today.”
    “And when, Lord Ridgeway, do you plan to depart?”
    *
    This was becoming more and more
interesting by the moment . Colin had been enchanted by her
conversation with the portraits and even more intrigued