A Convincing Arrangement with a Brute: A Historical Regency Romance Book (Deals of Marriage 4) by Martha Barwood

Author:Martha Barwood [Barwood, Martha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Austin didn’t sleep at all last night. Honestly, after everything that had happened, he was a little grateful that he couldn’t. A part of him was a little afraid to acknowledge the possibility of the enchanting pair of brown eyes following him into his dreams.

But she trailed his thoughts constantly, hounding him. He went from attempting to sleep to pacing his bedchamber to resigning himself to his study instead. No matter what he did, he could not get her out of his head. He could still feel the phantom touch of Lavender’s lips against his.

Dawn came far too slowly. Austin was exhausted by then, his lack of sleep the night before catching up to him. Even so, he felt oddly invigorated knowing that, in a matter of hours, Lavender would be up again.

He waited. He paced. He walked through the garden, distracting himself by admiring how everything looked put together despite the storm that had raged the night before. Now there was nothing but blue skies and a blazing sun, as if nothing had happened at all. When he thought the time was appropriate, he got Mr. Francis to have breakfast ready in the drawing room. Then he sat there, staring up at the portrait of the late countess wondering how his life had turned to this.

“My, you’re up early.”

Austin turned slowly, calmly, even though his heart skipped a beat and it felt as if every raging thought in his mind had quieted to nothing.

Lavender stood at the threshold of the drawing room, a small smile on her lips. She wore something different, a pale blue morning gown that he believed had once belonged to the late countess. It fit her far better than his late mother’s had. Austin swallowed, steeling his nerves and resisting the urge to take in every inch of her appearance before finally settling on her face.

She’d brushed her hair but didn’t bother to style it. He had to admit that he liked it that way, though she would look just as lovely with her hair done up in ringlets like the other ladies of the ton. Watching her pad up to him with bare feet and her hair tumbling untethered down her back did something to him that he could not comprehend.

He cleared his throat and looked away. “Did you sleep well?”

“Not very,” she admitted, sitting in the chair across from him. “My mind was a little…preoccupied.”

“Was it?” Why couldn’t he meet her eyes? Austin had never cared to pay pieces of toast and jam so much attention before now.

“How about you? You look as if you haven’t slept at all.”

She said her words in jest but when he glanced up at her, her brows raised in surprise.

“Didn’t you?”

“I suppose my mind was a little preoccupied as well.”

Lavender just stared at him for a moment. And then her smile widened knowingly. She began pouring herself a cup of green tea. “Well, I hope you are not too tired, Austin, since there are still a lot of preparations we need to undergo for this Season.

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