Veiled in Blue Read Online Free Page A

contact.
    He smiled down at her. He was half a foot taller than her, if not more. “Do you think you can take your own weight, or should I carry you to your door?”
    “Sir!” Scandalized, she opened her eyes wider while heat rushed to her cheeks. The notion of all the residents of the green watching while he picked her up was unthinkable. Or almost. The small part remaining was her romantic self, the part she ruthlessly crushed. It lingered this time to whisper, What if I let him? in the dark recesses of her mind.
    Showing nothing but polite gratitude, she thanked him kindly. “I daresay you will be away in a few days, so I doubt we will meet again. So allow me to thank you now. I am deeply grateful for your help, sir.”
    Now, looking directly at him, she sensed danger lurking in the clean-cut features. This man had a wild edge, well concealed but there. Intelligence gleamed in his eyes, together with the wry humor he had displayed during their journey. For one reckless moment, she thought he might tighten his hold, force her to drop the basket, and kiss her. His lips were full, eminently kissable. Not that she had much experience.
    The light left his eyes as if he’d forced it away. “I will release you now, ma’am, so you may test your theory. I do intend for us to meet again. Would you have any objection if I called on you?”
    “You cannot. My mother is a widow.”
    “I wish only to see how you are doing and if your ankle is well. Should you object to that?”
    She did not. Why not allow herself another slight thrill, another memory? “No, sir. I am past the age of missishness. However you will be busy at Woolton, will you not?” With the owner, Lord Ripley.
    “Not all the time.” He glanced up. “How far is the house?”
    “Another five miles by road. Two if you walk across the fields.”
    “I see. Then I shall stay here in the village. That way I am sure to see you sometimes, am I not?”
    Treacherous hope rose in her breast, but Eve suppressed it. “Indeed you will. There is only one church. Even Lord Ripley and his lady attend, though I doubt we will see them this Sunday.”
    “No, indeed. His lordship may well be taken up with the new addition to the family.” He paused.
    By the light of the flickering candle in the window, she made out his clean, clear-cut face and the blue eyes glimmering with promise. His jaw showed signs of golden fuzz, so under the plain conventional wig, his hair must have been fair. She had never found herself drawn to fair men, but she would make an exception in this case. He was well formed, without fault, his hands strong and his shoulders broad.
    “Have you finished looking?” He sounded amused rather than offended.
    She dragged her attention from his feet back to his face. “I’m sorry. I was—”
    “No matter. It’s flattering when such a beautiful woman pays me some attention.”
    She stared up at him, but she could not deny his statement. She had a mirror. Not that her looks were anything but a curse.

Chapter 2
     
    Julius stretched and groaned as the twinges from sleeping in a confined space made themselves apparent. Sunshine bathed the grubby ceiling of the room the landlord of this benighted place had allotted him, what passed for drapery at the windows not equal to the task of keeping out the light. He picked up his watch and flicked open the cover, listening to the chimes ring out half past seven. Early for him, probably half the morning gone according to most of the residents of the village.
    Horses clopped past, people called to each other, scintillating chat like “Nice day,” and “Will you be at the inn later?” The sounds were not too different from his bedroom in London. Except that his room there faced the back of the house, and here he couldn’t hear any street vendors or the rattle of carriage wheels on cobbles. Oh, yes, and this room was the size of his powder room. He glanced around. If he’d had this old, worn furniture in his house,