A Gentleman's Gamble: Clean Regency Romance by Katherine Keats

Author:Katherine Keats [Keats, Katherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KatherineKeatsPublishing
Published: 2017-01-22T06:00:00+00:00

Seven

It was surprising for Ann to find how easily she grew into life as Mr. Barton's guest. It was nice to be in a home where she was attended to by servants, and by Barton himself. It was hard to find a more gracious and concerned host. Though work kept him busy often, the man always kept time aside to talk with Ann whenever he was home. On the rare days when he was free to enjoy himself, he devoted his time to ensuring Ann took time abroad in London in his company. They dined out in the company of Mr. Barton's friends and he took great pains to make Ann a positive centre of attention. Through these meetings Ann found herself beginning to gain her own invitations for trips into the country outside of the city.

On more than occasion, Ann found herself feeling very much as though she were somehow Mr. Barton's wife, or would find herself one day becoming such. They had such natural and easy as manner in each other's company that on one meal out, the friend of Mr. Barton who joined them actually asked whether they had set a date for their wedding. It was embarrassing, but a pleasant embarrassment that made both Ann's and Mr. Barton's cheeks glow as they smiled to each other. It was a notion that Ann tried to keep in check, reminding herself as often as she could that such a thing could certainly never be, but this proved harder as her time with Mr. Barton drew on.

For all this though, Ann could not shake the shadow that brooded over her. News, returned to her daily from the courts by Mr. Barton, did little to inspire confidence. Her brother's trial had been delayed for some time by the man Philip had hired to defend him. The reason given for this delay came from a mysterious illness that had seen Philip reduced to a nervous perspiring wreck in his cell. Ann knew it was the opium that would have caused this, if indeed the illness wasn't any more than a clever ploy to allow his hastily hired defence council to prepare their case for him.

The front door sounded, a loud slam that caused actual shock. Ann stood from where she was reading in the drawing room, body shuddering a little when she heard the deep boom. Such a sound cast her mind involuntarily back to days of waiting for Philip to come home raging about another loss at the tracks. She had not heard such a sound in Barton’s home before.

Mr Barton seemed to have cooled by the time he climbed the stairs, looking almost tired as he meandered into the drawing room to collapse ragged into a chair. He still held his wig in hand from a day in the docks.

“Mr. Barton can I get you anything?” Ann asked at once.

“A cup of tea would be lovely,” Barton admitted. His voice was weak and strained.

Ann wasted no time in calling for a servant, begging for tea and refreshments to be brought at once.

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