Wicked Promise Read Online Free Page A

with every step. Elizabeth watched her begin to lay out a fresh chemise and her mind turned to Nicholas Warring. She couldn't help wondering why a man as handsome and intelligent as the Earl of Ravenworth would choose to throw his life away.

    The earl was still on her mind when she saw him the following morning. Having always been an early riser and certain that none of the dissipates who had gamed in the hall the night before would be up before noon, Elizabeth had, begun taking her morning meals in the sunny little breakfast room at the rear of the house. It was a quiet, pleasant place, done in saffron and olive green, with windows that overlooked the garden.
    This morning, however, as she seated herself on a yellow- striped chair in front of the oak table, the door swung open and in walked the earl. Surprise arched his sleek black brows while Elizabeth's own eyes widened.
    "My lord, I... I didn't think you'd be up quite so early."
    A thin smile lifted a comer of his mouth. He closed the door and strode toward the place where she sat suddenly fidgeting with nerves. "And I thought we had an agreement. You were to take your meals in your suite while I had guests."
    Her chin inched up. "Your guests are hardly likely to be downstairs at this hour, considering the drunken state they were in last night. And even if they were, by some miracle, to appear, I doubt my presence would offend their delicate sensibilities."
    "I am not concerned with their sensibilities, Miss Woolcot. I am concerned with yours. Though some of them may be peers, they are definitely not of the first stare, hardly the sort of acquaintance for an innocent young girl." He braced his hands on the opposite side of the table and leaned forward. "And how is it you know what state my guests were in last night?"
    She flushed a bit and unconsciously smoothed a wrinkle from the skirt of the same apricot muslin gown she had worn the night before. "I am not a fool, my lord." She met his unrelenting gaze. "Your friends drink all day and well into the evening. They stagger through the halls as if Ravenworth Hall were their own private alehouse, and you expect me not to notice? It is a miracle our paths have not already chanced to meet."
    Ravenworth leaned farther across the table, his blue-gray eyes skewering her to the seat. "Do not make me regret my decision to let you stay, Miss Woolcot. There are a hundred and forty rooms in this house. Should you choose to, you could disappear for days. From now until my guests return to London, I'd advise you to stay out of their way."
    She shoved back her chair and stood up. "I shall do so, my lord. And out of your way, as well." She brushed past him and started for the door, but the earl caught her wrist before she could escape.
    The eyes on her face were gentler, more a soft blue-gray. "You have come for breakfast. There is no need for you to leave before you have had the chance to eat." He turned to a servant who stood near the door to the kitchen. "Miss Woolcot and I will be breaking our fast together this morning. Have Cook send a pot of chocolate and some cakes." He glanced in her direction, his gaze even lighter, skimming over her face. Elizabeth could feel it almost as if he touched her.
    "Would you care for some eggs, Miss Woolcot, or perhaps a slice of meat? Tis a habit I acquired since my return from the West Indies." He smiled, a flash of white in a dark, compelling face. "There are times even now, I wonder if I shall ever get enough to eat."
    Something pulled in Elizabeth's chest. For the first time it occurred to her how much he must have suffered during the years of his indenture. It surprised her he could speak of it with such ease, that the smile he wore seemed so unexpectedly genuine. She could hardly believe the transformation. If he was handsome before, when he smiled that way, he was devastating. Absently, she rubbed her wrist, which still tingled where his fingers had wrapped around it.
    "Miss Woolcot?"
    She