His Jilted Bride (Historical Regency Romance) Read Online Free PDF

promises,” he muttered, coming up to
her.
    If she honestly thought he was
genuinely interested in seeing her naked body, she'd be flattered
by his staring and excited by his statement. But she knew better.
He was just enjoying the fact she was stuck in the
window!
    He walked over toward her and reached
his hands up inside her skirt to find the ties that would release
her stays. The bare skin of her thighs burned at the feeling of his
gloved hands brushing them.
    “ Just cut them,” she blurted.
    “ Are you sure?”
    She'd never been more sure of anything
in her life. “Yes. I have no idea why my mother insisted I wear
these hoops anyway, they're nearly twenty years past
fashion.”
    “ All right, I'll cut them. Step back into the room and lift
your skirt.”
    “ How charming,” she said under her breath.
    “ I try,” he said with a smile. He reached into his pocket and
pulled out his penknife. “Ready?”
    She nodded as nervous excitement
coursed through her. It was bad enough she'd been jilted today.
It'd be even more awkward if someone were to enter the room at this
very moment and see her holding her heavy skirts up so Elijah Banks
could reach in through the window and cut her stays away. If her
bridegroom not showing up wasn't enough to make her a laughingstock
already, this particular situation would get her name whispered
behind fans for generations.
    The sharp sound of cloth—not just any
cloth, but the cloth under her gown—being torn sent chills up her
spine. Chills of excitement or danger or uncertainty, she might
never really know.
    “ Turn,” Elijah commanded.
    She turned and he continued cutting
the fabric until suddenly the sound of fabric-covered metal hitting
the wooden floor floated to her ears.
    Elijah put his knife away and then
reached up toward her. “Let's go.”
    Without hesitation, she leaned out the
window, wrapped her arms around Elijah's neck and let him pull her
out of the church and away from the public shame and embarrassment
she'd be condemned to as a jilted bride.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Blood thundered in Elijah's ears. How
far would they get before Elijah's absence was remarked on and the
bride was found missing? They'd never make it to Gretna Green
without being discovered. It was too far, and with only Elijah's
horse, they didn't have a chance of arriving there
anyway.
    He'd be sure to send up a prayer of
thanksgiving tonight that she'd been so easy to convince. But then
again, she hadn't really had much of a choice because if she'd been
her stubborn self and refused his offer, she'd have ended up a
pariah for the rest of her life.
    He twisted his lips. Thinking of it
that way, her acceptance wasn't nearly as flattering as he'd like
to pretend.
    But that didn't matter. His offer had
already been made, she'd accepted it and now they'd just have to
ride three hours east to the Archbishop of Canterbury's residence,
the only man close enough to issue a special license and marry them
tonight.
    “ He's not home. He's visiting his nephew in Dover,” the
archbishop's purse-lipped butler intoned when Elijah and Amelia
arrived on his doorstep.
    Elijah graciously thanked the man and
tried his best to reassure Amelia everything would be all right as
he helped her back onto his horse.
    Blessedly, Elijah had attended school
with the bishop's nephew, Lord Templemore, and was counting on that
very old and thin connection to help him gain an audience with the
archbishop while he was visiting his relations. It might also
secure the man's approval for a special license, he thought as he
directed his horse down the lane. And if that didn't work, he'd
tell the bishop there was a possibility she was
increasing.
    Chancing the occasional glance over
his shoulder, he rode on. It would likely be nightfall before they
reached where the bishop was staying. No matter. Just as long as
they reached him before anyone found them, everything would be
fine.
    Three and a half hours and one
horrible