Her Officer and Gentleman (Reeves 2) by Karen Hawkins

Author:Karen Hawkins
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-04-07T13:23:43+00:00

Harry walked back and forth in front of the fireplace, his hands clasped behind his back. Every third trip or so, he'd stop, look at Beth, close his eyes as if to dispel her image, then glumly turn back to his pacing.

It was horrid. Each time he looked at her, Beth wished the ground beneath her chair would open and swallow her whole, but no such luck was to be had.

Sad as Harry's reaction was, it was not nearly as bad as Beatrice's. Upon finding Beth and Westerville locked in an embrace on the billiard table at the Devonshire Musicale, Beatrice had promptly gasped, screamed, and then fallen into a senseless heap at Lady Jersey's feet.

Nothing could have been more ruinous. Beatrice's scream drew attention and brought even more people to peek over their shoulders where Beth was frantically attempting to put herself to rights while Westerville glared at their audience with a white fury that even now sent a shiver through her.

He'd been horridly silent except when Harry had, in a rather stiff voice, requested Lady Jersey's silence. The viscount had interrupted the request with a short, derisive laugh that had quite set up Her Ladyship's hackles. It had been a very poor move for there was no hiding the malice that shone from Sally Jersey's eyes at his dismissal.

The next hour had passed in a blur. Westerville had refused to acknowledge Harry's demands for satisfaction, made a bow to Beth, told her that he would visit her soon, and then taken his leave. Slowly, the crowd had dispersed, including the horrid Lady Jersey. After taking a rather red-faced leave of their host and hostess, Beth, Beatrice, and Harry had finally returned home.

Once there, they had retired to the sitting room, and there they'd been ever since, turning the horrible event over and over, wishing for a solution. None was forthcoming. Beth must face Grandfather and tell him the truth.

As bad as the night had been, today was going to be an even longer day. Beth did not know whether to laugh or cry, but she feared at any moment she might do both.

From where she lay on the settee, Beatrice moaned loudly, her smelling salts clutched in one hand. "I cannot believe this. I simply cannot believe this."

Beth rubbed her head where it had begun to ache. She couldn't believe it, either. She'd known she had to avoid the viscount. She'd known it and yet, somehow, she'd failed to do it. If she was honest with herself, she'd admit that there was a deeply sensual connection between herself and Westerville. She didn't really know how to describe it…only that it existed.

Still, that did not explain what had happened in the billiard room. Beth rubbed her temples wearily. What had happened was a mixture of passion, attraction, and—strangely enough—anger. It had been a heady, thoroughly irresistible mix.

Beatrice moaned. "I cannot believe this. All is ruined."

"No," Harry said, pacing wildly. "There must be something that can be done. I cannot allow that all is lost.

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.