Fleet Street Scoundrel by Annabelle Anders

Author:Annabelle Anders
Language: eng
Format: epub

TRUST

Mr. Black’s praise sent heat creeping up Caroline’s neck and into her cheeks. She had no misconceptions regarding her appearance, and false compliments made her uncomfortable.

And yet, this man sounded rather genuine, really, and the warmth in his eyes belied his tough exterior.

He was a good man—a kind man.

But he most definitely wasn’t courting her. He barely tolerated her.

Caroline rolled her lips together. Why was he here?

The offending issue of today’s newspaper caught her eye—riddled with errors. The paragraphs she’d painstakingly written were out of order, missing entire words, and rife with misspellings so flagrant no one could possibly comprehend what she’d meant. The only consolation was the reading public had no way of knowing who’d authored it.

At the same time she dropped back onto the settee, the realization struck her. He’d come to terminate her employment. That would explain the compliments—not to mention his conviction that she could land a husband.

The blood in her veins turned cold and beads of sweat materialized on the back of her neck.

“Please don’t sack me!” She would talk him out of it—bribe him—blackmail him if necessary.

Because she needed… a place to be each morning. She needed to make a difference!

She needed this.

For Reed! Of course.

Mr. Black, who’d claimed the spot beside her, blinked. “Why would I do that?”

“Because… you said…” Caroline gulped. “I’m employed on approval and this…” Her gaze dropped to the jumble of words that were meant to have been a society section and she stopped herself before providing him with half a dozen reasons to let her go.

“But then why have you come?”

His forearms rested on his knees, and he stared down at his hands, which were loosely clasped.

“I’m not sure.”

Staring at his profile, his neck, and the dejected slump of his wide shoulders, a crack splintered the area around her heart. She kept her mouth shut and waited for him to work his reasoning out for himself.

“I woke up this morning, and like almost every morning for the past several months, I found that the product I’d painstakingly put together the night before is actually little better than a pile of excrement.”

“I’m so sorry about my comments in the park.” Not that they were untrue, or meant to be cruel. Furthermore, she’d had no idea at the time that she was criticizing the publisher himself.

But her words had been cruel. “I never would have…”

He waved a hand, dismissing her apology. “You cannot have known. In truth, I think hearing your insults forced me to realize something important. I’ve been too focused on the mechanics of printing of the paper, believing the content would work itself out.”

Caroline barely stopped herself from taking his hand.

“And the content will get worked out—just not on its own.” But he still hadn’t said why he’d come here… to her mother’s house—she glanced at the mantel—before ten o’clock in the morning.

“Maybe this is all a mistake. I don’t belong at the Gazette any more than I do in the House of Lords.”

When her hand reached out to his, she didn’t stop it this time.

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