Amy Lake Read Online Free

doubted that Claire de Lancie wanted to call undue attention to herself in the present company of the haut ton . For the moment, at least, she was his to do with as he pleased. His finger trailed down her smooth skin to that very alluring décolletage . Desire had turned into an urge strong enough to cause Edward some discomfort. He watched Claire’s face carefully, but he could see no answering emotion. She looked . . . detached. Why should he care a fig for the girl’s sensibilities?  She’d as much as told him she was in the Pemberton home under false pretenses. The earl moved forward and captured her lips beneath his, deepening the kiss as the feel of her body against his erased caution.
    Edward did not have the reputation of being a cad, but the luscious figure of Miss de Lancie, combined with the girl’s infuriating refusal to respond to his touch, was driving him half mad. She should be melting under his caresses, or at least–thought Edward, his logic a little fuzzy–struggling to fight him off!  Indifference was not a response he was familiar with in women.
    He kissed her again, keeping his hands firmly around her waist.
    Nothing. Edward broke off the kiss to see her looking at him with evident calm, as unruffled as if they had been discussing the weather.
    “Are you quite through?” asked Claire. “It won’t do, you know. Even an older gentleman will require purity in a bride of my age.”  She smoothed a runaway tendril of hair. “We should return to the ball.”
    Are you quite through?   The earl bit back the first reply that came to mind. How dare the chit speak to him like that?  He was about to remind her of her place and opened his mouth to say–
    “Marry me ,” croaked the Earl of Ketrick. ?
     

Chapter Two
     
    Edward stepped back abruptly, stunned at the two words that had come out of his mouth. Had he just asked the chit to marry him?  Miss de Lancie’s composure–which had been up to the mark when dealing with his amorous advances–now disintegrated.
    “What!” she gasped, and slapped him roundly across the cheek.
    This was too much for the earl and he burst into laughter. Claire hitched up her skirts– Edward caught a glimpse of trim ankle–and ran.
    * * * *
    From what Jody could see of it in the dark, the Pembertons kept an especially well-tended garden, mercifully free of brambles. He had found a secluded niche inside the wall at the southwest corner and dozed off briefly while waiting for his sister. It was a perfect hiding spot–Jody had become an expert on this sort of thing–with a row of tall yews between him and the house, and the road just on the other side of the wall. He sat patiently, hearing the murmurs of passersby in the street and the clip-clop of horses’ hooves.
    Jody rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, feeling thoroughly bored. Whatever thrill he may have found in sneaking around outside the great homes of the ton had long since worn thin. London had proved to be much less exciting than he had hoped, and finding a husband for his sister too much like work. Maybe Cheltdown Manor hadn’t been so bad, after all. At least he’d had Cousin Harry to talk to, although–well, Harry was a bit odd.
    He’d forgotten to tell Claire about the young man he had seen on the street earlier that day who had looked so much like their cousin. But why would Harry Rutherford be in London?  It couldn’t have been him, thought Jody. Harry  would be the last person to enjoy town life. Still, it had certainly looked like their cousin, and the other day, at Green Park–          
    No. It couldn’t be. Claire would say he had an overactive imagination, that’s all. Besides, when the man saw Jody looking at him, he had turned and walked away.
    The minutes crawled by. He was standing up to stretch cramped muscles when he heard the sound of running feet crunching over gravel. Claire?  His sister didn’t normally run in a ball gown.
    “Jody!  Jody!” 
    It