Dark Angel / Lord Carew's Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

betrothed at last. He had smiled at her and told her she had made him the happiest of men. She was going to see to it that that held true for the rest of their lives.
    He kissed her hand again when he and his parents took their leave a few minutes later. So did the earl. The countess hugged and kissed her again and even shed a few tears.
    Jennifer, dismissed by her father, refused to feel flat and depressed. How ridiculous! But how natural when she had just been offered for and had just accepted and had no one at the moment with whom to share her joy. She forgot herself as far as to take the stairs two at a time to Samantha’s dressing room.
    T HE E ARL OF T HORNHILL put into effect his promise to ride in the park at the fashionable hour the day after he had ridden there early. He was accompanied by Sir Albert Boyle, as before, and by their mutual friend, Lord Francis Kneller.
    This time the park was as crowded as it always was at such an hour during the spring. He was not as embarrassed as he had half expected to be, though, he found. Many of the gentlemen he now saw, he had met at White’s yesterday or this morning. Men tended not to be swayed greatly by scandal when it concerned one of their own.
    Many of the ladies in the park did not know him—yet,anyway. It was a long time since he had been in London. Those who did—mostly older ladies—looked haughtily at him and would have given him the cut direct if he had given them the opportunity, but they were far too well bred to make a scene.
    It all went rather well, he thought, and he was glad after all that he had come to town first before going to Chalcote. The next time he came he would be old and stale news. Other scandals would long ago have supplanted the one in which he had been involved.
    “A shame,” Sir Albert said, looking around the crowd carefully. “Not a sight of her, Gabe—of
them
. The most delightful little blonde you have ever set eyes on, Frank. And her companion had long legs that Gabe admired. Fancied them twined about his own, or something like that. But they are not here.”
    Lord Francis guffawed. “I hope you did not tell her so, Gabe,” he said. “Maybe it is common courtesy to a Swiss miss to tell her such things, but an English miss would have twelve fits of the vapors and her papa and all her brothers and male cousins and uncles would separately challenge you. You would have appointments at dawn for a month of mornings.”
    “I kept my thoughts to myself,” the earl said, grinning, “until I was foolish enough to confide them to Bertie. They must be otherwise engaged this afternoon, Bertie. Or perhaps they have not been presented yet. That would explain yesterday’s solitary walk.”
    He too had looked about hopefully for them—in particular for the redhead. He had surprised himself bydreaming of her last night, but she had been telling him, alas, that he should go home where he belonged.
    And then his grin faded and he completely missed the witticism of Lord Francis’s that set Sir Albert to laughing. Yes, he thought.
Yes!
    There had been another reason for his return to London. He had hardly acknowledged it to himself and it might very well have come to nothing. But yes. He felt something strangely like elation. He had come at just the right time. He could not have timed it better if he had tried.
    He had always known that he must confront Catherine’s former lover somehow. The Gothic notion of challenging the man to a duel and putting a bullet between his eyes had passed long ago. But there had to be something. His father was dead. He was the head of the family that had been dishonored. More important, he had always been fond of Catherine, and he had been with her through much of her pregnancy and confinement. She had had to bear the whole burden alone, not the least part of which had been a deeply bruised heart. And though she was now passionately devoted to her daughter, nevertheless all the responsibility and stress of