Capturing Sir Dunnicliffe (The Star Elite Series) Read Online Free

loneliness that had made her feel more ostracised from the villagers than ever. Although she knew her mother had been vilified by some of the village matriarchs years ago, they were all now dead, and luckily their offspring hadn’t continued the spiteful harassment of Harriett.
    The image of a tall, dark-h aired man with gorgeous emerald-green eyes flew into her mind and hovered there, taunting her with all the things she would never have. Immediately she tried to blank it out, but found herself wondering about him anyway. Where was he? What was he doing?
    He had attended the wedding, at Peter’s insistence, and had made a point of singling her out to escort her into the church. Harriett knew that he had been asked to look after her by Jemima, or Eliza, who hadn’t wanted her to be alone on their special day. While Harriett had been grateful for their forethought, she wished they had chosen someone other than the rather too-handsome officer, who made her feel things she had no business feeling.
    She had spent the day acutely aware of his towering presence beside her. He was so tall that he had towered over most of the congregation, giving him an air of command that he seemed to carry naturally. His thick brown locks fell in stylish disarray, touching the collar of his pristine white shirt that was accompanied by a neatly tied cravat. His breeches were of the finest cloth, and his highly polished boots were cut from the thickest leather. He was exactly as he appeared; an extremely handsome man, comfortable in his world.
    Hugo had left the day after the wedding . Harriett could still feel the sharp pang of disappointment that had swept over her when she had appeared at breakfast only to find Hugo on his way out. He had taken his leave of her, thoroughly polite, but clearly eager to leave. Thankfully, he had been oblivious to the thrill of pleasure that had swept through her when he had bowed politely over her hand, his gorgeous eyes staring directly, but dispassionately, at her for a brief moment before he had walked away, leaving her far more bereft than she had any right to feel.
    She was more shaken than she wanted to admit, and had pasted an over-bright smile on her face that had remained for the rest of the day, until Jemima had asked her if she was feeling quite all right. Then Harriett had felt the need to be at home, by herself, well away from interested eyes, and far from any reminder of the awakening feelings she didn’t want. She had made plans to leave a couple of days later and, although she was sad to say goodbye to her friends, had left for home with an eagerness she had been unable to hide.
    W hen she had returned to her little cottage with Harrold, she hadn’t felt the sense of homecoming she had anticipated. Instead, she felt as though she didn’t belong there either. The plants and herbs she had spent many years nurturing had withered, having had nobody to tend to their needs. The house was cold and had an air of dampness that had made her shudder.
    It felt as though the house was empty - waiting for something that she alone couldn’t provide. The sense of isolation had continued to grow relentlessly until Harriett felt quite discontent with her lot in life – which she had previously found acceptable.
    Not perfect; just acceptable.
    Even Harrold appeared quite discontent with his situation, and had taken to wandering aimlessly around the cottage, growling at nothing and howling in the middle of the night. It was as though he also sensed something was going to happen, and didn’t like it either.
    Outside, the dull clouds had merged into the night skies. Heavy rain clouds had descended, covering everything in a thick haze that blanked out all sign of the harbour. The faint flickering of the candle behind her did little to penetrate the inky blackness outside the window, and showed her a clear reflection of herself in the window.
    She didn’t possess a mirror of any kind, and took the opportunity to