Her Beautiful Bastard: A Regency Erotic Romance (Scandalous Ballroom Encounters Book 6) by Victoria Vale

Author:Victoria Vale [Vale, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

“Have they arrived yet?”

Lydia glanced down at Henry, who tugged on her skirts for the third time. Reaching down to smooth the persistent cowlick rising up from the center of his head, she smiled.

“Not yet, but soon,” she assured him. “Your mama said they would arrive at midday, and it is nearly two in the afternoon now. Patience, Henry.”

Despite being able to see through the window of the upstairs drawing room himself, he had persisted in asking her every few minutes whether or not the guests had arrived. She supposed Henry thought her capable of seeing farther. Alas, the tree-lined lane stretching away from the front of Buckton Manor remained as empty now as it had five minutes ago.

“I’m hungry,” the boy whined. “I wish they would arrive so we might have tea.”

Lydia pressed a hand against her belly, inwardly agreeing with the boy. She was starving, though she felt certain the twisting in her gut had as much to do with the prospect of coming face to face with Sinclair again as with hunger. She had lain awake for hours after returning indoors the previous evening, thinking over their encounter several times. That moment in which he’d touched her face had been less than a minute; yet, it had seemed to last for an eternity, those strong, dexterous fingers of his tracing the lines of her face, paying tribute to every feature, pausing over her flaws as if they appeared her greatest attributes in his eyes.

Had any woman ever felt so desired, so cherished, from nothing more than the simple touch of a hand? She’d felt as if she might fall to her knees when he’d taken that hand away, leaving the places he’d just touched cold. Then, almost as soon as he’d spoken, breaking the spell, she had remembered. She had no right to feel that way when he touched her.

One would think she’d be nervous over the impending house party and her sudden position, thrust back into society in a sense. However, as she’d dressed this morning, selecting one of her best morning gowns, she had found herself looking forward to it. Most of the guests were unlikely to be those she would have encountered in London. Residents of Hertfordshire who were accustomed to country life, they would have much in common with her. Lady Clayton was likely to be the highest ranking woman in attendance, so Lydia had no reason to worry over excess scrutiny or committing some sort of faux pas.

Which left only one worry. She must conduct herself in a way that did not draw attention to her feelings for Sinclair. A task made more difficult the longer she resided at Buckton. She felt as if her longing for him radiated from her eyes, rang out in her voice every time she spoke, made itself apparent in her every movement.

Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hands over her skirts, her fingers skimming over the blue flowers embroidered on the white muslin. There was nothing to worry about.

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