Kissed at Midnight Read Online Free PDF Page B

supposed.
Being relatively young in railway engineering meant many of the older men
didn’t trust him. Yet he’d proved himself time and again.
    Would there ever be a point
where he didn’t have his every move questioned? Hell, even George Stephenson
would have to bow to him once this tunnel was finished. In spite of having
worked together in the past, the man still didn’t trust August’s vision for the
future. But, damn it, he’d saved the tycoons huge amounts of money and achieved
things no other man could.
    Dread curdled in his gut. He
only hoped this tunnel didn’t prove a futile pursuit. He felt sure if he could
just complete this, he’d finally be regarded as one of the great railway engineers.
He’d show everyone who had doubted him exactly what he could do.
    With a sigh and another
grimace, he drew off his trousers and flung them on top of the pile of clothes.
Then he made his way to the armoire and dug out clothes for the day. His mouth
still felt like the desert and some tiny person with a hammer inhabited his
head, but he felt better once he’d washed with the frigid water in the washbowl
and dressed.
    He hunted for his favourite
cufflinks but was forced to use a set of garnet ones instead. He’d have to ask
Miss Davis where the other ones were. His father had given them when he’d first
apprenticed under Stephenson. He dreaded that conversation, but those cufflinks
were more important than his pride.
    Damn it, as if he dreaded a
conversation with one of his staff. He pictured her wide, expressive eyes and
vibrant glow of her skin. In truth, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to look at
her. He’d be far happier if he could lock himself in his study and forget about
her presence. She did something disturbing to him, created some kind of
uncomfortable tension inside him.
    Slipping the cufflinks
through his sleeves, he fastened them and drew on a deep red waistcoat with
gold embroidery before adding a necktie in a similar colour and pulling on his
jacket. He paused to eye himself in the floor-length mirror next to the armoire.
He didn’t look nearly as bad as he felt though there were certainly dark rings
around his eyes, and his jaw was rough.
    He scrubbed a hand across his
chin. He’d visit the barbers for a cutthroat shave tomorrow. He hoped to visit
the site of the tunnel and check on progress now he could leave Elsie with Miss
Davis.
    Finally slipping on his
shoes, he drew in a breath and smirked at his reflection. Scared of a woman.
Ridiculous. His stomach grumbled. Whether he wanted to face her or not, he
needed sustenance. Bile rose in his throat. And fast.
    He opened the door
cautiously and peered out into the hallway. He’d have to talk to her eventually
and apologise, but he was half-hopeful he might at least do it on a full
stomach.
    August hastened downstairs
to the dining room and found Jamieson laying out the final touches to the
breakfast table. Crisp linen was dotted with several plates—too much for him
normally, but this morning he felt as though he could eat an entire hog roast
to himself.
    “Morning, Jamieson,” August
greeted the aged butler and winced at how gritty his voice was.
    “Good morning, sir. You are
a little late this morning, but Mrs Cartwright kept the porridge warm for you
and sent me up with it as soon as she heard you rise.”
    August swore that woman was
half-bat or dog or something. She heard everything.
    “Thank you, Jamieson.” He
sat, flicked out the napkin and laid it on his lap before sliding closer.
“Could I get some more coffee?”
    “Certainly, sir.”
    Jamieson shuffled off at his
usual deathly slow pace and August was grateful for his own foresight in
sending the butler off now. By the time he had finished the pot of coffee on
the table, perhaps the butler would be back in time. He urgently needed
something to clear his head.
    Drawing close the bowl of
porridge, he sprinkled sugar from the sugar bowl over it and ate several
spoonfuls before