A Savage Beauty by Merline Lovelace

Author:Merline Lovelace [Lovelace, Merline]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781460307755
Publisher: Mira
Published: 2003-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Louise had just finished dinner with the Thibodeaux family when James was announced.

While at dinner Marie and Bertrice had chattered happily about their day, but their houseguest had contributed little to the conversation. She’d had no appetite for the chunky turtle soup or braised veal with mushrooms served at dinner, and merely picked at the lavishly creamed syllabub served in the parlor with cinnamon-sprinkled coffee.

Her meeting with Daniel’s wife earlier that day had given her much to think about. As Marie treated her family to a selection of tunes on the flute, Louise settled onto a settee next to Bertrice and plucked at the ribbons adorning her long skirt.

She felt edgy and restless, and jealous of a woman who had done nothing to stir such feelings. Henri had taught her too well, she thought ruefully. She had tasted pleasure in his arms. Not always, and not without considerable effort on her part. Now she craved more than a mere taste. She hungered for this man who could not, would not, satisfy her yearning.

It was need, raw need, that made her breath catch when the sound of the knocker thumping against the front door echoed up the stairs. Perhaps Daniel had come to see her. Perhaps he, like Louise, was driven by the need for one more touch, one more word.

She’d twisted the delicate fabric of her skirt into a tight knot by the time the Thibodeaux’s manservant came upstairs to announce the arrival of Lieutenant Wilkinson.

“He asks your pardon for the late call,” Thomas relayed to Helene Thibodeaux, “but begs the favor of a few moments of private conversation with Madame Chartier.”

Helene looked to Louise for guidance. Louise knew the merchant’s wife thought the lieutenant exceptionally well mannered, but Louise had expressed some rather unflattering opinions of the young man when she’d first arrived.

“It is rather late for a call,” the older woman commented. “I can make our excuses. Or do you wish to see him?”

“No. Yes. Oh, it matters not.”

“Well, what word shall I send down?”

Louise blew out a long breath. “Tell him to come up.”

“Escort the lieutenant to the Blue Salon and serve him a glass of port,” Helene instructed her manservant. “Madame Chartier will join him there.”

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