Edith Layton Read Online Free PDF

Season.
    But though the proposals she received wereheartfelt, they were never ones she wanted to hear.
    “I say, Cammie, you and I deal so well together, let’s get married, what do you think of that?”
    “What fun we’ll have together Miss Croft. You know horses as well as hazard. In short, you understand a chap and don’t kick up a fuss over nonsense like other girls do. And you’ve got a sense of humor. You don’t need the flowers and the poetry. You’re sound as a winter apple and sane as you can hold together. I ain’t so bad, neither. So will you marry me?”
    “A fellow doesn’t have to worry about minding his manners around you, Camille, he can be himself. I’m tired of doing the pretty for all these Incomparables with their temperamental fits and starts. I want to go home. I’ve got parents itching for grandchildren, a good income, and a fine estate. How about it? Want to get shackled?”
    Those were the more romantic offers. But she hadn’t got even a hint of that from the one man she most wanted to hear it from. He could have asked her any old way. Sometimes, when reality rode her hard, she doubted he ever would. But she wouldn’t accept anyone until he at least asked someone. So long as he was free, she was caught.
    It could happen, she told herself fiercely. Hadn’t all the men who’d offered for her been friends? Anything could come from friendship. She had to believe that.
    Eric Ford was everything she wanted. When hespoke, she had trouble hearing the words because the deep timbre of his voice thrilled her so much, and that was a pity, because he was so smart and she hated to look stupid. When he took her hand, her heartbeat faltered. It wasn’t just because his hand was so big that it made hers seem dainty, although that was a delight.
    She wasn’t entirely blind, though. He had his faults. It was just that she loved them all. He was so big and blond that it took a moment to realize he wasn’t classically handsome or even spectacularly so. On closer consideration, it could be seen that his face was a jot too broad, his nose a bit too large. In fact, if he’d been a smaller man, he mightn’t have been as eye-catching. But he dominated a room, and not just because of his size. A woman felt protected in his shadow, and she could be sure he’d move that shadow if he thought she wanted to be in the sunlight. Because he was as kind as he was bright.
    No, she didn’t worship him; she just wished she could marry him. The effect he had on her was tumultuous and had been since the day she’d clapped eyes on him at her brother’s wedding. It only intensified when she’d seen him at her first formal appearance in London.
    When Miles had come home and restored their fortunes, he had promised her a Season, complete with gowns and parties. A Season hadn’t tempted her that much, but oh! Eric did. She’d come to London to please her brother and her sister-in-law, but she stayed because that was where Eric was. She’d immediately quizzed her brother about him, trying to be casual so he wouldn’t know how his friend had affected her.
    “Did you meet him when you were in the navy, Miles?” she’d asked at breakfast the morning after she’d met Eric, sifting in her questions about him along with comments about the ball.
    “No, he was army. We met years before, at school.”
    “Why did you never bring him home?”
    “He spent vacations at his own home. He’s devoted to his family. They live in the country. His father’s a retired colonel. His stepmother, a charming woman, is like his sister, Rafe’s wife, Brenna, in looks. It’s strange to think of them as brother and sister. She’s as dark and exotic as her Welsh mama. They say Eric is as fair as his late mother was. Different as they are, both he and Brenna are handsome as they can stare. But then,” he’d added, because of his wife’s raised eyebrow, “of course I’d notice that. I have a fondness for exotic ladies. Luckily, I got