Ladies of Deception 02 - Misleading Lord Martineau Read Online Free PDF

gladly sit through any amount of torture to hear her voice beckon to him with its deep timbre and perfect pitch.
    He was pretty sure he’d fallen in love with her the first time he had ever heard her sing. The minute she had opened her succulent mouth and the words began pouring forth he was hooked. He sat there and stared at her, as mesmerized as everyone else who was within hearing distance. He’d never forget the sound of her voice as long as he lived, nor the startling effect it had on him—it had been as if she was singing to him alone, her eyes trained on him the entire performance, his own eyes unable to look away. She beckoned to him with her voice, reeling him into the tale she was singing, the slight raspiness of her voice sending chills coursing over his already alert and attentive body. She was a feast to his senses—delighting his eyes with her extraordinary beauty, treasuring his ears with her delightful and addicting voice, and if he was guessing correctly, the taste of her lips would delight his sense of taste just as splendidly.
    Shaking himself out of his reverie, he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. It was with a foreign pleasure that he sent off a response to attend the musicale that eve, knowing in his heart of hearts that would be where he’d find his love.
    His good mood wasn’t to last long however, as Percival stepped soundlessly back into the room, “My lord, you have a visitor.”
    For one unrealistically hopeful moment, Elliot dared hope it was Felicity but his hopes were dashed when Percival said, “His Grace is here to see you. He’s waiting in the drawing room.”
    Elliot rose from the table and rolled his eyes. He was in no mood to deal with a lecture from Pierce about his horrendous behavior the previous evening but figured he’d better face up to it now rather than later for he knew Pierce wasn’t likely to drop the subject anytime soon.
    Walking into the drawing room, Elliot remained silent eyeing Pierce shrewdly and waiting for the lecture that was sure to come. Pierce didn’t disappoint. Before Elliot even had a chance to sit he was pouncing, “What were you thinking slugging Lord Wadsworth in the nose like that? You can’t just go around beating up anyone who annoys you.”
    “Pity that.” Elliot responded flippantly.
    “ And the way you treated Miss Ogglesby was atrocious. You were supposed to be escorting her last night not leaving her abandoned while you run around chasing beautiful widows.”
    Elliot felt foolish, in his excitement at seeing Felicity he’d completely forgotten all about Miss Ogglesby. “You’re right, my behavior towards her was appalling. I’ll have to make my apologies and hope she accepts.”
    Pierce let his shoulders fall, looking at Elliot as if he’d suddenly sprouted two heads. “You admit that your behavior was ghastly?”
    Elliot leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Absolutely. I hope you allow me to make it up to her.” He wasn’t sure where that had come from or that he fully meant it but he figured the words had already been spit out and there was no recalling them now.
    “What did you have in mind?”
    What did he have in mind? Nothing. The last thing he wanted to do was spend any amount of time with the dreary Miss Ogglesby. “I uh, I was thinking that I could possibly, that is if you’d grant your permission, I was hoping I might escort her to the Bradford musicale this evening.” Drat, why had he gone and said that?
    Pierce looked at him with one dark brow raised skeptically, “And what makes you think I’d allow you to escort her anywhere after last night?”
    Feeling defensive Elliot snapped, “I’m not going to beg you to allow me to spend time in her presence. If you don’t recall, you were the one who had to beg me for the favor in the first place. Honestly I have no interest in the chit, but I’m man enough to admit I treated her unfairly last night and that I wish to make it up to her. I’ll