A Kiss from the Heart Read Online Free PDF

have the coachman saddle up Monty for me?”
    â€œAt once, my Lord.”
    Feeling considerably happier he strode upstairs and ordered Monkhouse to lay out his riding habit.
    As he admired himself in the mirror, his blue eyes stared back and he noticed how pale his skin had become since his return from India. He had grown so accustomed to seeing himself with a tanned complexion that he did not find this new pallor appealing.
    Yes, there was definitely something amiss and he could not help wondering if a moustache would rescue his ailing attractiveness. He had heard that ladies were fond of the way it tickled.
    â€œMy Lord, Monty is ready for you.”
    Monkhouse’s discreet voice broke directly into his indulgent train of thought and he pulled himself away from the mirror.
    A few moments later he was outside in the mews being helped up onto Monty.
    He patted Monty’s strong black neck with pride and congratulated himself on having the stallion brought to London from Ledbury Hall. He would now enjoy his trot around Hyde Park and who knows whom he might see?
    With spirits rising he dug his heels into Monty’s side and he moved off down the cobbled mews. The warm summer breeze caressed his cheek as he turned towards Grosvenor Square.
    In the elegant Mayfair streets passers-by turned to stare at the good-looking figure on his handsome mount.
    Ladies felt their hearts beating a little faster as they eyed his broad shoulders and well-muscled thighs.
    However, the Earl’s eyes stayed steadfastly ahead as the ladies sighed in his wake –
    He was soon crossing Park Lane and through the gates that led to Rotten Row.
    â€˜Dashed packed today,’ he muttered to himself, as Monty narrowly avoided being hit by a springy brougham that cut across their path.
    The June sunshine had obviously brought out every fashionable carriage and they were queuing three deep to enter the Park.
    With easy expertise the Earl guided Monty through the traffic and on to the soft earth of Rotten Row.
    He glanced at the carriages crawling along and cast a smile at a pretty blonde in an open phaeton. When he saluted her, her dour-faced chaperone glared at him, daring him to pursue the encounter.
    The Earl chuckled to himself and began to relax for the first time in days. The warm rays of the sun penetrated his jacket and stirred his blood. He trotted along, garnering yet more admiring glances from ladies.
    â€œWhat ho, Templeton!”
    The Earl jumped in his saddle as a chestnut stallion came alongside. In a flash he recognised the tawny hair and wide grin of his close friend and Army colleague, Lord Albert Chalmers.
    â€œOn the look-out for popsies?” asked Lord Albert in an insidious tone. “Today you can have your pick of the bunch!”
    The Earl smiled broadly.
    Although rather coarsely expressed, his friend was right. It seemed that nearly every fashionable and eligible young lady was in Hyde Park that afternoon resplendent in her best finery.
    â€œI don’t need to search for female company,” he replied loftily. “Ladies flock to soothe returning heroes – ”
    â€œ – And are first to console the recently bereaved too no doubt,” added Lord Albert with an ironic note. “I was dashed sad to hear that your old man had bought it. Wish my Pater would hurry up and do the decent thing. I shall enjoy having the ladies comfort me .”
    â€œYou are a callous fellow, Albert, but what is this I hear about you getting married this autumn?”
    He sighed, his pink-and-white features colouring.
    â€œIt is true, I cannot deny it.”
    â€œI always thought that you and I were of the same kidney. Was it an entrapment? I confess I was shocked to hear that someone had put the yoke around your neck!”
    â€œNothing of the sort,” replied Lord Albert, deeply embarrassed.
    Before he could elaborate, a small cream brougham pulled up beside them.
    The two of them stared as