A Little Thing Called Love Read Online Free

military?” she asked, having caught his slip, revealing knowledge of her sire.
    “Of course I’ve heard of the valiant Colonel Tarleton.” At another time, Fyclan would have choked on the words in speaking them. He wondered what she thought of the colonel. Did she worship him as a hero? Could he stomach such a thought?
    If he wooed and won Miss Tarleton, the colonel would be related to him by marriage. There was a thought to give a man pause—­
    Suddenly, the library clock chimed . . .
    “Oh dear, the time is passing. I must leave,” she said. “I’m terribly sorry to be so abrupt. I am supposed to attend a musicale this evening. Thank you, again, Mr. Morris. Thank you.” She had already started moving to the door as she spoke, holding the book out to Childs to record. She sounded rattled, as if Fyclan’s mention of her father had reminded her of where she was, what she was doing.
    He wanted to stop her from leaving. He wanted her to stay here with him until he knew her every secret, want, and desire—­which would take a lifetime.
    Instead, he came to stand by her side. The scent of her pleased him. She smelled of field flowers as they warmed in the summer sun . . . apparently she brought out the poet in him as well.
    “I shall read Sir David’s book and return it forthright,” she promised Fyclan, taking the book from Childs.
    And then she did the most amazing thing. She touched Fyclan. Her gloved fingers lightly brushed his arm, the barest hint of a caress, but it sparked a hunger in him. He wanted more.
    Instinctively, he reached for her, but she’d already moved away, her arms around her book. She was out the double doors in a blink and moving rapidly down the hall.
    “Come, Mandy,” she called. Her maid fell into step behind her. Childs raced to reach the front door and open it for her.
    Fyclan rushed forward as if to stop her, but Miss Tarleton did not linger on the front step. By the time he reached the door, she was moving with her customary purpose toward the busy main thoroughfare, rushing as if to an appointment and fearing she would be late.
    For a little more than a quarter of an hour, he had basked in the presence of his destiny, and now she was walking away.
    But then, at the corner, she stopped and looked back. Her gaze found his. She raised a hand and gave him a small wave before disappearing from his view.
    Yes, she had looked for him.
    He struggled with the urge to chase after her. Then again, half the men in London probably shared that same struggle.
    But she was his . He knew it all the way to his bones. She would be the mother of his children. You chose well, Gran.
    “She is stunning, isn’t she, sir?” Childs remarked.
    Fyclan was not surprised that Jennifer Tarleton had made an impact on even the taciturn manservant. She had completely changed his life.
    “More than stunning,” Fyclan answered. He pulled a guinea from his pocket. “When she returns the book, send someone for me. My offices are around the corner. You know where.”
    Childs palmed the coin. “I will do so, sir.”
    But that wasn’t going to be enough for Fyclan. No, if an Irish mongrel like him wanted to win the heart of a woman with such sparkling intelligence, he needed to be more clever than her other suitors. And he could not be shy.
    Then he remembered what Bishard had said. The betting books across the city were weighted heavily in favor of Stowe, the man his superiors in the Company were seeking as an investor.
    Stowe was a pompous fool. He also had a gut the size of a whale. A man like him should not consider himself worthy of a jewel like Miss Tarleton although he had no doubt Stowe and the colonel meshed together very well.
    If it was money Tarleton wanted for his daughter, Fyclan had plenty of it and would receive even more when he was named director. However, if it was a title and prestige, well, Fyclan could be out of the running.
    Then there was the problem that he and Tarleton were the