Never Seduce A Scoundrel Read Online Free PDF Page B

square, and even in the shadows of the dim chapel, his blue eyes shone like chips of aquamarine.
    “Lady Cecily,” Father Perry said, his voice rich with obvious delight. “I’d hoped we’d find you, although I would not begrudge you a day’s rest after the trying evening I’ve heard tell of.”
    “Good day, Father,” Cecily said, forcing her eyes from the handsome stranger. Funny, but she could not recall ever having taken marked notice of members of the opposite sex before. “Prayer is a balm for many things, and I have found my need of it to be far greater than rest of late.”
    “Of course, of course!” Father Perry beamed at her and then looked up at the man next to him. “Vicar John, this is Lady Cecily Foxe.” Father Perry looked to Cecily once more. “Lady Cecily, the Most Reverend John Grey, of Hallowshire Abbey.”
    Cecily’s stomach did a little flip. Hallowshire. Beyond the thick walls of the chapel, the thunder rumbled more ominously now.
    The striking man gave a bow, but his eyes never left Cecily’s face. “Lady Cecily Foxe,” he said, rising. “Just the woman I was looking for.”
     
     
    Father Perry had dismissed Cecily and John Grey with a smile and a wave, refusing each’s offer to assist the priest with the preparations for the next hour. The vicar had led the way back down the aisle to the chapel doors, but once outside, he’d extended a long arm, indicating that Cecily should precede him.
    “We could talk in the stables if you like,” Cecily offered, untying her scarf and slipping it from her head now, and noticing John Grey’s eyes flitting admiringly over her hair. She felt her cheeks tingle. “It will give us a bit of privacy, and Fallstowe does boast of an obnoxious number of fine specimens.”
    “As you wish.” The vicar inclined his head. “I must confess a love of good breeding, in the realm of animals. My father keeps a stable also of the obnoxious caliber, and I find myself pining for the old smell.”
    “This way, then.” Cecily started to walk toward the long, large structure that housed Fallstowe’s mounts. She glanced up at the sky, which seemed ready to burst at any moment. Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing was shallow.
    Why was someone—especially a man—from Hallowshire looking for Cecily? They walked through the wide doorway of the stables just as fat, cold raindrops began to splatter noisily on the packed dirt of the yard.
    “I reckon you’re wondering why I’ve come,” John Grey said, and the coincidence of it caused Cecily to frown.
    She stopped and turned toward him, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “I was unaware that Hallowshire had gained a new priest,” was her only reply.
    “Oh, I’m not a priest,” John Grey said with a slightly embarrassed grin. “Not yet, any matter.”
    “But Father Perry referred to you as a vicar.”
    “It’s more of a courtesy title than anything, really.” John Grey walked leisurely to a nearby stall and grasped the muzzle of one of Sybilla’s hunting horses. The bay snorted and blew and pushed into the man’s hand. “Hello there, big boy. I’ve been studying the last two years at Coddington. My father and the bishop are old friends, and as there seems to be a shortage of priests in the area, well, he sent me to ascertain the health of Hallowshire.”
    “That’s quite an honor,” Cecily said lightly. “How are you finding the abbey?”
    “Not well, I’m afraid.” John Grey patted the bay soundly on its neck and then turned to face Cecily once more. “Mother is in poor health, as are the abbey’s coffers. The sisters there have grown unruly, with no strong female leadership. They’ve begun taking in paying travelers for board. The ministry is suffering.”
    Cecily frowned. “That’s ... that’s terrible! Surely it cannot have changed so much since last I visited.” Cecily’s mind went briefly to the small, happy stone abbey, filled with peaceful women whose days