A Midsummer Night's Kiss by Stacy Reid & Lily Maxton & Nicola Davidson & Ally Broadfield

Author:Stacy Reid & Lily Maxton & Nicola Davidson & Ally Broadfield
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2015-07-02T05:00:00+00:00

Sweet heaven, she was going to fail utterly.

One glance into Caleb’s piercing blue eyes, one moment enveloped in his battle-hardened arms and the faint scent of whisky and sandalwood, and she had nearly lost her wits. It seemed no matter where things stood between them, rational thought would forever be impossible when he held her close.

Quickly Emma stepped back, firmly ignoring the pangs of regret as her husband’s warm smile faded to an impassive mask. This was for the best. He deserved more than a barren, gauche woman, and she deserved the kind of serenity found in her carefully planned future.

Caleb inclined his head, every inch the born aristocrat.

“Later, then—” he began, but before he could continue, she gasped.

“Sir Richard! What on earth…”

Desperately relieved to put some space between her and Caleb, she hurried forward to move a small side table as four footmen carried Sir Richard Freeman into the parlor on a makeshift stretcher of wooden planks.

“Afternoon, Emma,” Richard replied, attempting a genial smile, but from his hunched shoulders, pinched features, and perspiration-slicked temples, it was horribly clear what the handsome blond-haired soldier suffered was no superficial leg injury. This was a man in dreadful pain.

A shriek sounded behind her, and Lucy shoved her out of the way, face starkly pale.

“Richard! Why are you being c-carried? Cal said a minor…”

“Got into a spot of bother with some French mercenaries and took two bullets to the thigh. But it’s all right, Goose, looks worse than—”

“My name is Lucinda,” Lucy snarled, then she turned to Caleb and jabbed a finger into his chest, her whole body shaking with anguished fury. “How could you let this happen? You were in charge! You’re the worst Major in the world, and the worst friend, the worst brother…and a damned liar. I hate you.”

Emma winced at the cruelty of her sister-in-law’s words, and the way her husband stoically accepted them. Silence hung like a shroud over the parlor, then abruptly several loud voices began talking simultaneously as Lord Hugh Montclair strode forward to gently usher his daughter to a high-backed chair while Lady Hugh (her mother-in-law had never permitted the more familiar Jemima) fussed with embroidered cushions.

Hugh eventually looked up.

“Here now, Emma dear,” he said too-heartily while Lucy sobbed into his shoulder. “Why don’t you take Caleb and get him settled, I’ll wager you have much to, er, talk about! We’ll see to Richard and expect you both down for dinner at eight sharp, hmmm?”

“Certainly,” she murmured, wanting to refuse and run with every fiber of her being. Naturally today, the one person she could usually count on to wrench them apart remained silent. “Cal?”

Back ramrod straight, her husband offered his arm, and after he pressed a hand to Richard’s shoulder, they silently made their way upstairs to the large bedchamber she had used since their wedding night. It was beautiful, decorated in shades of cream trimmed in maroon, with a large Aubusson rug thick enough to sink into. An oversized, carved four poster bed

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