An Accidental Affair Read Online Free PDF Page A

side bordering the terrace door in search of a cooling breeze along with her niece. She caught her gown in her hands as she spied the exact color of Cecily’s peach muslin gown flittering away from her. She followed Cecily as quickly as she could, rather glad that the direction would take her away from Lord Rothwell. After experiencing his kiss, his presence would be unbearable now.
    She inched through the crowded ballroom, apologizing profusely as she squeezed past revelers; however, there was no sign of Cecily on the dance floor or trapped near the wall by one of the groups milling about, which meant that her niece had successfully slipped out of the ballroom, most likely through the open terrace door ahead. Farnsworth would be livid when he found out she’d courted scandal and would likely blame Arabella yet again for his daughter’s exasperating behavior.
    Arabella gained the terrace and peered into the darkened corners in search of Cecily. Not a shape could be seen in the shadows of the garden’s shrubbery, which was lit by the waning moon above. But then she caught a whispered word, just beneath the volume of the ball taking place behind her. A trickle of dread caressed her spine and she eased further along the terrace until she’d left the safety of candlelight spilling from the ballroom. She stopped in a patch of deep shadow with her breath held and waited.
    When her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, she detected a couple, a tall man and a woman of slight build, standing below her on the lawn beside a garden statue. The couple also appeared to be kissing very passionately.
    She squinted at them, praying her first suspicion was wrong. Her niece would not be so easily led astray, yet it might just be Cecily. Although the fellow below needed to bend considerably to kiss the woman, he was very tall, lean, and the gold buttons of his coat shone brightly. He reminded Arabella of a stork. She groaned. Lieutenant Laurence Ford, one of Rothwell’s cousins, in fact, fit that description and had been flirting with Cecily since they’d first met nearly two months ago.
    Arabella drew in a deep breath, ready to descend and break the would-be lovers apart, but a firm hand curled over her gloved arm and held her still.
    “Stay here,” Lord Rothwell said quietly, appearing at her side as if from thin air. His touch slid down her arm in a slow caress and he squeezed her hand briefly. “I’ll send her back to you.”
    At a loss for words, Arabella stared at him. The sensations he’d stirred in her during their kiss returned, but gaining Lord Rothwell’s assistance to avoid scandal was the last thing she’d counted on. Before she could assure him that assistance was unnecessary, he was gone, rushing down the stairs, separating the lovers by force, speaking harshly to them both. Although she strained, she could hear none of Rothwell’s remarks clearly. But given the tone and the way the lieutenant drew back, Rothwell had clearly made a good argument for a return to decorum.
    Cecily persisted, however, and stepped toward Lieutenant Ford again. The young man shook his head and backed up several steps.
    “Return to your aunt before you cause her even more embarrassment than your current behavior has,” Rothwell urged in a louder, clearer voice. He turned on his cousin. “And you, Aunt Pen is here, you fool. Do you really want everyone to hear her opinion on your behavior tonight?”
    Lieutenant Ford’s shoulders sagged in defeat. It seemed there were more people besides Arabella eager to remain on Lady Penelope Ford’s good side. Even grown members of her family seemed intimidated. Arabella thought Lieutenant Ford very sensible at that moment.
    For a few perilous seconds, Cecily held her ground, but then her niece fled back toward the terrace where Arabella waited. Cecily’s face was a mask of mutinous fury, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed. The girl stopped a few paces away. “Do you have any idea what your meddling has