How to Woo... A Reluctant Bride Read Online Free Page A

smiled warmly at both men. “Good evening, gentlemen. Mr. Channing, I had no idea you were joining us.”
    Frederick Channing sketched her a bow. “I hope you do not object.”
    “No, of course not,” she murmured.
    “There has been a slight change of plans,” Evan said. “We have all been invited to dine at the home of an Indian friend.”
    Lydia frowned slightly. Something in Evan’s intent gaze made her think this was some kind of test. Did he think she was too snobbish to consort with his friends or business colleagues? In truth, she could ill afford such an attitude.
    “How lovely,” she murmured. “Will we be sampling Indian cuisine?”
    “Indeed we will, Miss Blatchford,” Frederick Channing said, with an approving smile. He gestured toward the carriage waiting by the street. “Shall we?”
    Lydia took Evan’s proffered arm and let him lead her to the carriage, wondering what the evening would bring.
    Evan helped Lydia into the carriage and sat beside her, leaving his uncle to take the rear-facing seat. “Now tell me about this friend of yours.”
    “Zahra, Miss Patel, is a personal friend,” Frederick said smoothly. “Someone I knew in India.”
    “And now she is here in London?” Lydia asked. “What a brave woman she must be to travel so far.”
    Frederick Channing merely shrugged. “She is rather adventurous.”
    “She must be,” Lydia agreed. “Such a long trip.”
    “Would you not like to see India, my dear? I thought you might like to go with me this winter,” Evan said.
    She glanced at him in surprise. “I hadn’t thought of it.”
    He leaned forward and quirked an eyebrow. “It is a long voyage, and we will have a lot of time to get to know each other better.”
    Her heart raced at the thought of being alone with him in a ship’s cabin for weeks on end, with nothing to do but explore each other. “Yes, I see.” The huskiness in her voice surprised her.
    “Then we shall go,” Evan said and relaxed back in his seat.
    Was that a test, Lydia wondered? If so, she had evidently passed it.
    As the carriage ride progressed, Lydia grew more anxious, glancing nervously out the window of the carriage as the scenery changed from the luxury of Mayfair to far less pleasant areas of the city. She thought they must be near the docks. Drunken sailors staggered out of taverns and she saw women who were surely selling their bodies on the corner.
    “Do you not worry about your friend living in such a run-down area?” she asked with a frown.
    “She is well protected,” Frederick said, his tone implying an end to the conversation.
    The carriage pulled into a more respectable looking side street and dropped them off in front of a red brick town house. Evan helped Lydia from the carriage and escorted her up the steps where he banged on the door. It was opened by a tall Indian man wearing a turban and with a large dagger tucked in his wide belt. Well-protected, indeed.
    “Thank you, Vijay,” Frederick said, closing the door behind him.
    “Missy Zahra will be with you soon,” said Vijay, in heavily accented English.
    “Thank you,” Lydia murmured.
    He ushered them into a large room, bowed, and left.
    Glancing around, Lydia felt as if she’d stepped into another world. The room was decorated in the Hindu style, with colorful pillows and draperies, incense burners, and what she guessed was some very valuable artwork. Miss Patel must not be without resources, but if so, why live here?
    “Vijay and her maid Uma are completely devoted to Zahra,” Frederick said as he helped himself to a drink from a cart. “Sherry?”
    “No, thank you,” Lydia murmured as Evan accepted a glass of something that looked more like whisky than sherry. Was it her imagination or did he seem nervous tonight?
    “Welcome to my home.”
    Lydia spun around to meet her hostess. Zahra Patel was a small woman, with light brown skin, long, straight, black hair and the biggest brown eyes Lydia had ever seen. Of course, it