Confessions of an Improper Bride by Jennifer Haymore

Author:Jennifer Haymore
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: FIC027050
Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA
Published: 2011-07-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Going somewhere?”

Serena whipped her head around. The gloom of the stable lay thick and heavy, and the man who’d spoken was only a shadowy silhouette in the doorway, but Serena would know that shape, that voice, anywhere. Jonathan. He must have seen the servants preparing for her departure.

In the past two weeks, Jonathan had been ever-present, but not in an invasive kind of way. He was simply there, and she’d given up trying to avoid him. He often rode in the park during Will and Serena’s daily rides and always engaged in pleasant conversation with them on the path. He attended nearly every evening gathering Serena did, and late at night, he filled her fantasies.

Everyone except Serena had grown accustomed to his constant presence. She’d learned not to show her discomfiture when he was near. She’d made certain to never get herself into a situation in which she’d be alone with him. In public, she kept either Phoebe or Will with her at all times. Even if he’d tried, Jonathan wouldn’t have been able to catch her alone.

She wondered if he’d tried. The wicked part of her hoped he had, but every day she was getting better at quelling that wickedness.

Nevertheless, he’d caught her now. Last week, she and Phoebe had accepted an invitation from Jane to visit her house in Bath. They were to depart this morning, but Serena had been ready to go for some time, so she’d come into the stables for a few moments of quiet. Mostly to think, to debate the idea of not going at all, and to ruminate over the problem of Phoebe.

“Yes, I am going somewhere.” Her voice sounded unnaturally loud in the enclosed space of the stable. The horse she’d been brushing shifted its feet, and its nostrils flared. She laid a calming hand over its flank. Ever since they’d lost the horses in Antigua, she’d missed having them. Even though she wasn’t a great rider, simply being near the animals calmed her. “Didn’t Lady Montgomery tell you?”

“I haven’t seen her.”

“We’re off to her house in Bath. We’ll be gone two or three weeks, I expect.”

It was meant to be a summer adventure for Jane, Phoebe, and her. A few weeks of fun before they returned to London to celebrate Meg and Will’s marriage.

Now, however, Serena wasn’t sure she should go. Her sister had upset everyone’s plans.

In the dimness, she saw Jonathan’s features tighten. “Is Langley going?”

She gazed at him, keeping her expression perfectly flat. “He had hoped to, but he was called to work at his offices.”

“Ah.”

Was that a trick of light, or was it a flicker of relief passing over his face?

She’d been excited about the trip, thrilled to get out of London for a while to enjoy herself far away from the searching, questioning, consuming blue eyes of the Earl of Stratford. Perhaps if she were away from him, she could think more clearly about her tangled feelings.

That disconcerting gaze probed her now. “Two or three weeks is a long while.

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