Effington 09 - A Visit From Sir Nicholas by Victoria Alexander

Author:Victoria Alexander
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Regency, Man-Woman Relationships, England, General, Romance, Romance/Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780060517632
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2004-08-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Nicholas helped Elizabeth out of the carriage, and they started toward the front door. All in all, the dinner to welcome Nicholas home had been lovely. Rather it would have been lovely if not for the anticipation that quivered deep inside her, fluttering in her stomach and catching at her breath. And the evening had stretched on forever.

This would be it, then. Tonight, probably within the hour, Nicholas would be in her bed. She wanted this, wanted him, more than she’d ever imagined possible. And almost as much as she wanted him, she wanted to know the why of it all.

Was it indeed the denial of a sweet long craved, or was it something more? Something ignored for a decade? Something lasting? Something forever?

She wanted to know, and at the same time, she feared the knowledge and what it said about her and the life she had led and the decisions she had made.

Elizabeth glanced up at the house before her and stopped in midstride. “Nicholas, your driver has made a mistake.”

“Are you sure?” he said coolly. “My driver never makes mistakes.”

“He has this time. This is not my house.” She stepped back and shook her head. “Mine is one door down.”

“Indeed it is, but it is no mistake.” He took her arm and led her up the steps. The door swung open at their approach. He stepped aside to allow her to enter before him. “This is my house.”

She swiveled to face him. “Your house? What do you mean, your house?”

“I mean it belongs to me.” He shrugged off his greatcoat into the waiting hands of a discreetly nondescript servant, no doubt a butler. “I purchased it.”

“What do you mean, you purchased it?” She unfastened her cloak and handed it to the butler with a nod of thanks. He accepted the garment and promptly vanished into the shadows of the foyer.

Nicholas raised a brow. “I thought I was being quite clear. I mean precisely what I just said. This house belongs to me because I purchased it.”

Elizabeth stared at him suspiciously. “Why?”

He smiled in an enigmatic manner and strolled into the parlor. The man was as annoying as he was cryptic. And this latest action of his, like virtually everything else he’d done thus far, did not bode well.

Elizabeth grit her teeth and followed. “I don’t believe you.”

“Believe as you wish, but it’s true.”

“It couldn’t possibly be true. Lord Halstrom has lived in this house forever.” She narrowed her gaze. “What have you done with him then?”

“Lord Halstrom?”

“Yes, of course, Lord Halstrom, the poor dear man.” Elizabeth pushed aside a tiny twinge of guilt.

She had lived in the house next door since Charles had purchased it shortly after their marriage, and Lord Halstrom had lived here for years before that. But admittedly, she wasn’t at all sure she’d recognize the older gentleman if she ran into him in her own parlor. He was a widower and not overly social. Indeed, it was her understanding that he spent most of his time in the country.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.