The Lady Who Came in from the Cold Read Online Free PDF

I’ve lived where it lands.”
    Her description triggered Marcus’ recollection of her parents. Although he’d never met the Hudsons personally, he knew them by name. They’d been good ton , a society couple who’d lived abroad as the husband had a fancy for digging up relics and old bones.
    “An unusual upbringing,” he commented. “What brings you back?”
    “My parents died. I’m alone in the world,”—shadows flitted across her fine features—“and I wanted to see where they came from. Where I came from, I suppose. In essence? I wanted to find a place where I belong.”
    That this exquisite creature should harbor any doubt about her place in the world both baffled and entranced him. She possessed a natural confidence as if she’d seen much of life despite her young age… and yet there was a hint of vulnerability in her wistful tone. A longing that held a mirror up to his own, causing the ache in his chest to grow. Her rare blend of qualities also roused all his protective instincts.
    “I’m sure you’d belong anywhere you want to,” he said firmly.
    She studied him a moment. “Is the same true for you, Lord Blackwood?”
    “For me?”
    “Well, yes. I can’t help but notice that there’s a roomful of people in there,” —her head tipped in the direction of the balcony doors—“eager to celebrate your wartime heroics. And yet here you are with me.”
    “Is my desire for escape so obvious?” he said ruefully.
    “Only to a fellow balcony refugee.”
    He laughed. “Damn, but you’re a breath of fresh air, Miss Hudson. I wish I’d met you inside. Then I wouldn’t have had to seek out this balcony in the first place.”
    “Society can be stifling. I imagine especially for a man like you.”
    “A man like me?” He quirked a brow.
    “A soldier. A man of action,” she said matter-of-factly. “Compared to life or death on the battlefield, the ton must surely seem frivolous.”
    He stared at her in astonishment. Somehow she’d plucked his thoughts straight out of his head.
    “Tell me, Miss Hudson, is mind reading a skill they teach at finishing schools for ladies abroad?”
    “I wish. Then at least I would have a ladylike accomplishment to boast of.”
    “Never say you have no accomplishments. I wouldn’t believe it.”
    “Let’s just say my talents aren’t precisely fit for the drawing room.” Mischief danced in her eyes. “I couldn’t sew a straight seam to save my life. And you’d be running for yours if you heard me on the pianoforte.”
    Grinning, he said, “It can’t be all that bad.”
    “Trust me. It is.” Her nose wrinkled, and even that was adorable. “I shan’t make an ordinary wife, that’s for certain.”
    The thought hit him with the ferocity of a cannonball.
    “Are you attached?” The words rushed from him.
    She regarded him solemnly. God, her eyes—temptation itself. “Not yet.”
    “Good.” He released a breath. “Miss Hudson, I know this may seem forward and I swear to you I’m not an impetuous chap by nature, but I’d like to call on you. With your permission, of course.”
    “You have it.” She smiled at him. Straightening from the railing, she turned.
    “Wait. You’re leaving?”
    “My reputation, remember?”
    “But when can I call? Where?” he called after her.
    She paused at the doors, her lips shaped in a knowing curve. “I have a feeling that you’ll figure it out. It was a pleasure, my lord. Adieu.”
    “Good night,” he replied.
    He watched her goddess-like form disappear through the doors and then turned back to the garden. Luckily, no one was there to see him—because he was grinning like a fool. He couldn’t help it. Because now he knew what he wanted, what his life had been missing all along.
    Placing his hands on the cool stone, he looked out into the universe and, damn, if Miss Pandora Hudson hadn’t changed it for him. The world was no longer colorless or bleak. Surrounded by the dazzling night sky and blossoming