Royally Ever After Read Online Free PDF Page B

share of those,” he said.
    â€œYou said you’d seen drunken friends home before,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like that before in my life.”
    â€œPerhaps I bring out something special in you,” he said.
    â€œI was mortified ,” she said . “I was positive it would be years before I could look myself in the eye, let alone you.” She looked up. “I begin to understand why men do it. A duel clears the air and settles everything.”
    â€œAnd one can be friends again,” he said.
    â€œWe can’t be friends again,” she said. “We weren’t friends before . Our worlds would never have overlapped if not for Althea’s marrying Prince Louis.”
    â€œThe world changes on that if ,” he said . “We met, we had words, we had a duel. And now that we’ve cleared the air, I should like to start over.”
    The color rising in her face told him she was beginning to understand what he was about.
    â€œI beg that you won’t judge me by my actions yesterday,” he said.
    She stared down at the toes of her purple boots. “They were not, all things considered, consistently bad actions,” she said.
    â€œI improve on acquaintance, people say,” he said. “Well, Bates wouldn’t say it, but one must bear in mind that he’s lately had a severe disappointment in love, which makes him bitter and quarrelsome. However, Miss Renfrew seems well able to hold her own with him, and really, I don’t care much about them. I only care whether you will do me the honor of allowing me to take you for a drive in Hyde Park tomorrow afternoon.”
    She stared at her boots for quite a long time. She bit her lip.
    He waited, calm on the outside, while his heart attempted to break all previous speed records.
    Finally she looked up. “Are you quite sure?” she said.
    Speeches wanted to tumble out of him, wild declarations. But that was mad. They’d met only yesterday. He would take this one step at a time, if it killed him.
    â€œQuite,” he said.
    Castle de Grey, four weeks later
    L ovedon drew Chloe into the passage between the drawing room and the picture gallery.
    â€œIt was here, wasn’t it?” Lovedon said. “This was where you heard me talking rot about Prince Louis and your sister.”
    â€œYes,” she said. “But this isn’t an immense royal wedding, only a dinner party, and we’ll be missed.”
    â€œLet them miss us,” he said.
    He’d arranged the dinner party with his cousin the Duchess of Marchmont. She would have a very good idea why Lovedon had slipped out of the drawing room with Miss Sharp. Being far from conventional, Her Grace would cover up for them.
    He wrapped his arms about Chloe and kissed her, firmly, so that there would be no question about it, and lingeringly, so that she wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. And yes, certainly, he did it because he needed to and had needed to for what felt like eternity.
    â€œThere,” he said, when he was sure he’d done the job properly. She started to pull away, but she stumbled, and he caught her about the waist. Her perfect waist, that went with the rest of her perfect body.
    â€œI am not drunk,” she said.
    â€œI know that,” he said. “I shouldn’t have sneaked you in here if you were. You need to be completely in your senses.”
    â€œThat’s impossible, after what you just did,” she said.
    Her voice was a little husky, and even in the passage’s dim light, he saw the soft glow in her eyes.
    â€œSomewhat in your senses will be sufficient,” he said. “But not dead drunk. That wouldn’t be fair. And I need you to answer more or less rationally.” He went on in a rush, “I meant to take this in slow stages, but I’m so stupidly in love with you that slow and steady is only going to drive me mad.”
    â€œIn love,” she said