Desired by a Lord (Regency Unlaced 5) Read Online Free

nefarious purpose, as he had earlier implied she might be.
    Which in turn caused her to question how often Lord Whitney would also be working in his study? Even a few hours a day might be too much, in light of Emily’s heightened and unexpected awareness of him.
    She was a healthy woman aged almost three and twenty, and could surely be excused such folly when it came to such an impressively male gentleman as Lord Alexander Whitney. She dared even the sophisticated ladies of the ton to remain immune to this arrogant gentleman’s rakish handsomeness and fitness of form.
    “You are having second thoughts, Mrs. Marsden?”
    She glanced across to see Whitney had now raised one arrogant brow. “Not in the least,” she assured him briskly. She was a grown woman, a widow moreover, and in need of employment that paid money. What did a little physical discomfort matter? “I thank you for this opportunity, my—Whitney.” Her cheeks felt warm at the informality.
    He nodded. “You have one week to prove to me I did not make the wrong decision,” he announced.
    Emily knew her capabilities to be more than adequate to pick up the gauntlet this man had thrown at her feet.
    It was the challenge of her unexpected attraction to Whitney himself which would prove the more difficult.
     
    By late the following morning, Xander had already realized the impracticality—and physical torture—of having Emily Marsden in his study with him—or without?—for hours on end.
    The previous evening, Clarke had informed him that Mrs. Marsden was fatigued from her journey. That she had been down to the kitchen to collect tea and biscuits and taken them up to her bedchamber with the intention of retiring for the evening.
    Xander had been disappointed. After four months of seclusion—he had refused all invitations from his gossipy neighbors, avoiding both their company and relieving him of the chore of having to return the politeness—he had actually been looking forward to having female company at the table with him for dinner.
    Consequently, when she entered the study this morning, it was the first time he had seen Emily Marsden’s hair uncovered. As he had surmised yesterday, it was a vivid shade of red. Quite beautiful, in fact, if not for its lustrous color being diminished by the severity of the unbecoming and tight bun once again secured at Mrs. Marsden’s slender nape.
    At least she was not wearing more widow’s weeds this morning, but instead had on a gown of a small-red-and-green-check material. Something Xander felt sure she had fashioned herself, no doubt to allow for maximum comfort during her task of going up and down a stepladder—brought into the study earlier by one of the footmen, under Mrs. Marsden’s instruction—and removing books from their shelves, her height such that she could not reach the top two shelves.
    The bodice of the gown was as prim as the one she had worn yesterday, full-sleeved and buttoned up tight to her throat. But there was something different about the skirt. The material seemed to be joined together between her legs, to all intents and purposes making it into a pair of baggy trousers.
    Xander found himself watching in fascination every time she climbed the ladder to take a book from one of the top shelves, at which time the material would pull tight, often exposing a delectable glimpse of her shapely ankles and calves.
    In truth, his cock had been up and down as many times this morning as Emily Marsden had climbed the ladder!
    Not a particularly comfortable circumstance. In fact, it was not only uncomfortable but also damned frustrating when in connection to a young widow who was not to his usual taste at all.
    For her part, Mrs. Marsden went about her work as if completely unaware Xander was even in the room with her.
    Which, for some reason, he found more irritating, possibly even insulting.
    He was known as something of a rake in Town, and he could only assume this was chagrin on the part of