How to Entice an Earl by Manda Collins

Author:Manda Collins [Collins, Manda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Romance, Regency
ISBN: 9780312549268
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2013-01-28T13:00:00+00:00

Maddie was relieved to find that no one in Essex House had realized she’d gone out. Slipping into her bedchamber, then her dressing room, she allowed her maid to help her remove her gown, then sent the obviously exhausted young woman to bed. Slipping into a night rail, she washed her face and took care of her other needs before stepping back into her bedchamber.

She was removing the pins from her hair as she moved toward her dressing table, when an arm snaked around her midsection and a hand clamped over her mouth. A jolt of fear assailed her as she twisted and tried to wrest herself from her captor’s grasp.

“Shh,” a voice whispered in her ear as she wriggled, “it’s me, Maddie. It’s me!”

She had just recognized the voice as Christian’s when she landed an elbow to his midsection. No longer intent upon screaming down the house, Maddie took advantage of his momentary distraction and whirled around. It was indeed Lord Gresham standing before her, holding one hand up in surrender while the other rubbed his wounded stomach.

“What on earth are you thinking?” she hissed, still gasping for breath as she tried to calm her nerves. “What are you doing here? How did you get in here?”

Indicating with a raised finger that he would not be able to speak for a minute, they stood there, scowling at one another until he regained his breath. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” Christian said at last. “I decided that I could not wait to hear what the note contained and I climbed the trellis outside your window.”

“You climbed the…?” Maddie was stunned. She and Linton had used the trellis to sneak friends into their bedchambers as children, but it had been years since anyone had actually used it to gain access to the house. “What were you thinking, you lunatic? You might have been killed! Not to mention that you might have chosen the wrong room!”

Thrusting a hand into his light brown hair, Monteith shrugged. “It is a perfectly sturdy trellis. And I have friends whose house is built on similar lines a few doors down. The master suites face the square. Since Linton is from town, I figured I would either find your room first or a guest room. Fortunately for me, it was yours. The light still burning helped, of course.”

Now that she was over the first shock of it, Maddie felt her heart beat faster for a different reason. Having Christian here in her own personal chamber, with her bed just steps away, was exciting. She didn’t bother denying it to herself. Even so, she still thought he was foolishness personified for taking such a risk.

“If my father found you here, he would have no choice but to call you out,” she said, shaking her head. “Is that what you want?”

“He might also demand that I marry you,” Christian said, his eyes not wavering from hers.

Maddie felt her stomach flip, as if she’d just spurred her horse over a particularly tall hedge.

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