Grace Read Online Free PDF

looked as though it might have a tendency to curlif allowed to grow. As she continued to stare, his well-formed lips swept into a lazy smile, deepening the long dimples on either side of his mouth, transforming his face from chill perfection to warm male beauty. Grace felt her heart clench as he opened his mouth to speak.
    “I’ve been looking for you,” he said, in a deep, resonant voice that brought to mind the times she had curled up in her father’s lap as a child, her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his rumble as he read her a story from her favorite book. She did not respond, just continued to watch his lips form meaningless words.
    “Miss Ackerly?” He spoke a bit louder this time, his brows raised in silent question at her continued lack of response. Shaken from her reverie, Grace suddenly remembered her predicament. She glanced back in Sir Harry’s direction just as he spotted her and began to head determinedly toward them.
    “I beg your pardon, sir,” she said to the man she had run into, belatedly letting go of his coat and pulling away toward the French doors, only to find herself stopped as his grip tightened imperceptibly on her arms.
    “Please,” she said a little desperately, looking back toward the approaching knight. She could still make it outside and have time to hide, if only this infernal man would cooperate. “Let go of me, sir.” Another couple of seconds and Harry would be upon them. Her need to escape escalated to something near panic as she tried to pull away once more, then abruptly changed to annoyed displeasure when his hold on her tightened. She stopped struggling and looked up at the unknown man in irritated confusion.
    “Why should I let go of you when I’ve only just caught you?” The man chuckled. When she saw her nemesis appear behind him, Grace gave the stranger a look of scathing contempt, then reluctantly composed her features to face Sir Harry.
    “Is there anything amiss?” Harry asked evenly. He raked his eyes over the scene, taking in Grace’s slightly flushed face and the hands of an unknown man closed with unsettling familiarity around her upper arms.
    At the sound of Harry’s clipped voice, the hands imprisoning her fell away and Grace took a quick step away from both men.“No, sir, everything’s fine,” she assured him hastily, then rolled her eyes skyward in exasperation as the stranger turned. The two men began to assess each other in the nauseating manner of all males who sensed competition.
    “I’m afraid I haven’t met your companion,” Harry said to Grace, looking the stranger up and down rudely.
    “Sir Harry Thomas,” Grace began, before she remembered she had no idea of the identity of the newcomer; nor did she know from where he had come. At her questioning look, he smoothly stepped forward and extended a hand to Harry. “Trevor Caldwell,” he said, then smiled at Grace with an air of friendly camaraderie as the two men shook.“There’s no need to put my title in the way of your friends, is there, my dear?”
    Feeling a bit dazed by the rapidly changing events of the last few moments, as well as by the lingering effect of the stranger’s incredible smile, Grace automatically shook her head, then realized he had inadvertently given her the perfect opportunity to make her escape. “Why, of course not, Trevor,” she agreed with a charming smile. She took a small sidling step away from the two men. “Now I’ll just leave you two to become better acquainted.” She dropped a haphazard curtsy in the general direction of both men, whirled quickly on one foot, and almost managed to step away. This time Harry’s hand stopped her from leaving.
    “I’ve come to claim my dance, Miss Ackerly,” he said irritably, annoyed by both Trevor’s familiar handling of Grace, whom he considered his exclusive property, and the intimate-sounding
my dear
the unknown nobleman had used when he addressed her.
    At his statement, a look of revulsion