A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance Read Online Free PDF

Prunella spoke. “Lord Henry Dracott is certainly not much like Lord Cecil Dracott! I had not remembered his being so…large. Greatly altered since I last saw him, but what can one expect after years of warfare following the sad loss of his wife and son. None of the refinement of his dear papa, but it does him credit that he intends to model himself on Lord Cecil. I daresay the gentility and sensitivity he must have inherited will soon shine through.”
    Katherine restrained herself from reminding her aunt that Dracott refinement was known to skip a generation. Since his youth, people had remarked on Master Harry’s resemblance to his namesake, the fourth baron, whose portrait dominated the entryway of Dracott Hall. Even though he was dressed in the fashion of his times—satin breeches, heavily laced shirt, powdered wig, high-heeled shoes, and patches—no one described the fourth Lord Dracott as “refined.” “Intimidating,” “overbearing,” but not “refined.” And certainly not “sensitive.”
    By the time they had finished luncheon and Aunt Prunella retreated to her room for her afternoon nap, Katherine was fatigued with the talk of the new baron. If, as he said, he wished to emulate his father, he would have acted the true gentleman during his morning call. Instead, he had followed his overtly offensive behavior of their first meeting with covert teasing in their second. Katherine already had to cope with one ungentlemanly gentleman in Sir Clive, but he was a familiar irritant. Lord Henry Dracott was another matter. He showed an unsettling talent for…Katherine tried to name it, but failed. Lord Henry Dracott showed an unsettling talent for being unsettling! And she would have to learn to cope with that new fact of her life.
    Meanwhile, a brisk walk to Drayford Village would clear her mind of irritating cousins and unsettling barons. And arranging the altar bouquet at St. Chrysostom’s was wonderfully soothing. Sally could help her with the water cans.
    They were less than a mile from their destination when a dogcart overtook them. To Katherine’s dismay, Lord Dracott was the driver.
    “Miss Brampton, if you don’t mind, I’d like to walk on ahead,” Sally asked before Katherine could form a polite dismissal of the baron. “My brother, Jimmy, has been helping the ostler at the King’s Arms, and I’d like to see him. I’ll just drop these things”—her arms were full of flowers and water cans—“by the church on the way.”
    Sally set off without waiting for Katherine’s permission.
    “Clever lass,” Lord Dracott observed, tying the horse’s reins to a nearby fence post and helping Trinket out of the dog box. “Knows when she’s not needed.”
    With an effort, Katherine stilled her anger at Sally’s insubordination and braced herself for yet another encounter with the baron.
    “Needed to apologize for my behavior yesterday.”
    At least he came right to the point.
    “Would never have recognized you as Richard’s sister,” he continued. “Would not have dreamed of giving offense.”
    “At least to a lady.”
    Katherine was too angry to accept his apology graciously.
    The chill she was becoming accustomed to in Lord Dracott’s eyes was turned full force on her.
    “I am not in the habit of forcing my attentions on housemaids, if that is what you are implying. By Jove, what happened to the days when a gentleman could make his apologies and have them accepted with a pretty smile?”
    And what had happened to the days when she could control her temper and act in her own best interests? Katherine castigated herself silently.
    “I do apologize, my lord,” she said stiffly, praying he would take his leave.
    Lord Dracott ran a hand over the back of his neck.
    “I had thought to make a fresh start with you, Miss Brampton, but maybe a standoff is the best we can do. You might as well let me take you the rest of the way into the village. Would not want the story to get around that I leave