Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match by Michelle Styles

Author:Michelle Styles
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Kit woke in the early hours of the morning and lay, gazing up at the ceiling. His entire body ached from the fight, but also with desire for Hattie. It unnerved him.

He kept willing himself to remember all the events. He couldn’t have asked Hattie to stay. He never did things like that. He never tried to compromise anyone else’s freedom in that way or put demands on them. Asking someone to stay would mean he had feelings for Hattie and he always made a point to end a relationship then. He refused to allow himself to be hurt.

What was worse was that he distinctly remembered speaking about his father. Kit had spent several years forgetting about him, his quick fists, the never-ending stream of perfumed women and his refusal to allow them in his life. He took pride in the fact that his fortune had not come from his inheritance, but from shrewd business decisions.

In his mind he went over the kisses in the hallway. None of them was supposed to happen. He had gone out to comfort her and to make sure that she wasn’t hurting. And he’d nearly ended up seducing her. He should give her up. But having tasted the pure honey of her mouth, he knew he wanted more. It had infected him the first time he’d kissed her at the Roman ruins. He’d thought the feeling would diminish, but it had only grown stronger.

He knew she’d only kissed him out of a need to stop thinking. But he was very glad she had.

Now he was going to have to consider how to put things to rights and conduct their summer affair.

Discretion was called for and, as much as he might not like it, he had to take the hard decisions now. When autumn came, it would end, but Hattie would need to be protected. For once he was going to do this right.

* * *

Hattie sat in the dining room, staring at her half-eaten breakfast. Moth lay under the table, waiting for crumbs.

She had gone to bed, but had lain fully dressed, waiting to hear the slightest movement from the sickroom. Mrs Hampstead had appeared about six and told her to sleep.

‘I came as soon as it was practicable, Hattie. These scrapes you do get in. I declare you are worse than the children.’ Stephanie strode in, every inch the outraged matron.

Hattie dropped her piece of toast and stared at her sister. Silently she thanked her guardian angel that Kit remained upstairs, asleep in the sickroom. She swallowed hard to get rid of the tightness in her throat. ‘Stephanie. How good of you to call and at such an early hour. It is not even ten.’

Stephanie towered over like some avenging angel from the inquisition. The ribbons on her bonnet trembled. ‘Is it true that you insisted on bringing Sir Christopher here after what happened? Have you taken leave of your senses? Never mind the village, the entire Tyne Valley and possibly all of Northumberland are speaking about the fight and the aftermath.

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