Surrender Read Online Free

Rycott." Victoria
    looked down at the woman who stood
    several inches shorter than she.   Are you
    acquainted with the earl?"
    Isabel shook her exquisitely shaped
    head.   We have not yet been introduced,
    unfortunately. He has only recently entered
    Society, although I hear he has been active
    at the gaming tables in the clubs for some
    time now.
      I    heard    the    same    thing,"    Annabella
    said.   Bertie says the man is an excellent
    gamester. Very coolheaded."
      Really?" Isabel glanced across the room
    to where the earl was still standing with
    Lady Atherton.   He's not at all in the way
    of being handsome, is he? Still, there is
    something quite intriguing about him."
    Handsome? Victoria could have laughed
    aloud at the notion of using such an
    insipid word to describe stone vale. No,
    he was not handsome. His face was strong,
    harsh even, with a sharp blade of a nose,
    an aggressive jaw, and an unrelenting
    awareness in those gray eyes. His hair
    was the color of a moonless night sky, shot
    with silver at the temples, but none of it
    added up to handsome. When one looked
    at stone vale, one saw quiet, controlled,
    masculine power, not a fine dandy.
      You must admit," Annabella said,   that
    he certainly wears his clothes well."
      Yes," Isabel agreed softly.   He wears his
    clothes exceedingly well."
    Victoria did not like the assessing look
    Isabel was employing as she surveyed
    the earl, but there was no denying that
    stone vale was one of those rare men who
    was not dominated by the elegant tailoring
    that was so fashionable. His powerful
    shoulders, flat waist, and strongly molded
    thighs needed no padding or camouflage.
      Perhaps he will turn out to be rather
    amusing," Isabel said.
      Yes, indeed," Annabella agreed cheer
    fully.
    Victoria glanced again at the tall, dark
    figure beside Lady Atherton.   Amusing may
    not be quite the right word." Dangerous was
    the right word.
    But Victoria was suddenly willing to
    experiment with this dash of danger; the
    social whirl of the ton, which lately she
    depended upon more and more to fill up
    the long hours of the night, was no longer
    enough. She needed something else to help
    her hold the restless nightmares at bay.
    The Earl of stone vale might be just the
    tonic for which she had been searching.
      Dearest Lucas, what did you think of
    her? Will she do?" Lady Atherton gazed up
    at stone vale with an anxious expression in
    her beautiful, gentle eyes.
      I think she will do nicely, Jessica." Lucas
    sipped champagne from the glass in his
    hand, his eyes moving across the crowd.
    I know she is a bit old."
    I, myself, am a bit old," he pointed
    out dryly.
      Nonsense. Thirty-four is an excellent
    age for a man intent on marriage. Edward
    was thirty-three when I married him."
      Yes, he was, wasn't he?"
    Jessica   Atherton's    eyes    were    instantly
    filled with a heart-wrenching contrition.
      Lucas, I am so sorry. How clumsy of
    me. You must know I did not mean to
    hurt you."
    I'll survive," Lucas finally spotted Vic
    toria in the crowd. He kept his gaze
    on the tall figure of his quarry as she
    stepped out onto the dance floor with a
    plump, elderly baron. Victoria obviously
    enjoyed dancing, although she appeared to
    restrict her partners to very young, socially
    awkward males or those much older than
    herself. She probably viewed such men as
    harmless.
    He regretted he did not dare risk asking
    her out onto the floor. It would be
    interesting to see if she followed him
    there as easily as she had followed him
    into the card room. But he was not certain
    how well she would tolerate the lack of
    grace in his damned left leg, and at this
    juncture he could not take any chances.
    He sensed no streak of cruelty in her,
    though. She definitely had a temper,
    but he knew she would not stoop to
    insults or cutting remarks about his limp.
    Nevertheless she might very well tread quite
    forcefully on his toes if he managed to