A Scandalous Proposal Read Online Free PDF

compelling gaze captured hers. “I would not beteem the winds of heaven/visit thy face too roughly,” he paraphrased from Hamlet. Gently he touched one finger to the bruised corner of her mouth.
    A jolting spark tingled her lip. She stood mesmerized as he slowly removed his hand.
    Bemused, she raised her own hand to the spot. ’Tis the bruise that throbs, she told herself.
    â€œEv, the runner wishes to speak with you.”
    It seemed to take a moment for the newcomer’s voice to penetrate. With a grimace, Lord Cheverley stepped back. Waving at him from the garden door, Emily saw, was the man who had accompanied him to her shop the previous day.
    His lordship turned on her another dazzling smile. “I shan’t keep you any longer, ma’am. The patrols will be properly maintained, so you may rest easy. If anything occurs to frighten or trouble you, send to me at once. Number 16, Portman Square. Someone there will know where to reach me if I’m from home.”
    Once again he raised her hand to his lips. “I shall call again later.”
    â€œâ€™Twould be an honor, my lord,” she managed to murmur.
    As Lord Cheverley strode from the garden, his companion ambled toward her. “Brent Blakesly, ma’am,” he said with a bow. “You can rest easy, you know. Evan is as good as his word. Trust him to guarantee your safety.”
    â€œSo I’ve been urged,” she murmured, recalling the solicitor’s advice. “I only wish he were not doing so at such great expense.”
    She must have looked troubled, for Blakesly’s friendly face sobered. “You mustn’t distress yourself, ma’am. Evanis wealthy enough that his kindness places no strains upon his purse.” He gave her a deprecating smile. “I suppose, having always had vast sums at his disposal, he never realizes it might be difficult for his friends to easily accept his assistance.”
    â€œBut I am not a friend,” she replied, her voice low. “I have no more claim to his largesse than I have the means to repay it.”
    â€œMay I speak candidly, Mrs. Spenser?” At her nod, he continued, “Evan has a great dislike for bullies. ’Twas how I first met him, when as a runty lad at Eton he pummeled the two upperclassmen who were tormenting me. Seeing some villain attempting to take advantage of a lady, he would feel compelled to prevent it, even—” he grinned at her “—did he not so greatly admire the lady. But you must not imagine his doing so places you under any…obligation whatever. Indeed, I am certain he would be appalled should you even consider such a thing.”
    Somehow, his certitude didn’t raise her spirits. She followed as he walked out to join Lord Cheverley on the street. No obligation whatsoever, Blakesly assured her. Trust him to do what is right, the solicitor advised.
    But what is right? she wondered as, with a wave, the two men started down the street. And why did her dratted lip still tingle?
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    Hours later, Emily looked up from the tangle of bills on her desk. Dusk had fallen, and she could hear the lamplighters going about their tasks. Through the salesroom window she glimpsed the glow of a lighted cheroot. Another guard on duty, she surmised.
    Sighing, she rubbed the tight muscles at the back of her neck and took another sip of her tea, long cold now. She had entered all the invoices into her ledgers, and though several customers had settled their accounts today and LordCheverley had brought his mama’s payment along with an advance on another order, the debit and credit columns still were nearly equal.
    We are just barely surviving, she thought with a sigh. If she did attempt to repay Lord Cheverley, ’twould likely be his great-grandson who signed off the debt. Would he give her that long? Dear God, what was to become of them if he refused?
    Immediate reimbursement in coin was impossible, the ledger