In Need of a Duke (The Heart of a Duke Book 1) by Christi Caldwell

Author:Christi Caldwell [Caldwell, Christi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-08-16T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Thick, dark clouds blanketed the London sky, all but ready to unleash a torrent of rain upon the city.

A walk through Hyde Park at this time was the height of foolishness, yet the marquess had insisted, and Mother had concurred, so Aldora walked alongside him with bated breath, waiting for the deluge that would ruin her ridiculously thin wrap and ornamental hood.

A faint breeze rustled her cloak and set a lone lock of hair tumbling over her brow. She brushed it back.

Aldora met the marquess’s long strides, easily falling into step. Her maid’s gasping breath indicated the brisk pace was hardly fashionable and not at all appropriate. Regardless, the sooner this outing was over, the sooner Aldora could return home and try to forget that she was hopelessly besotted with the wrong brother.

The angry rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

Aldora frowned. She needed to make a match with the gentleman but she wasn’t willing to die by a bolt of lightning just to save her family.

“I know ladies possess a significantly weaker constitution. Would you care to rest a moment?”

It was the first thing he’d said since they’d entered the largely empty park. She cringed as Valera’s claims about St. James’s views on women surfaced. It shouldn’t bother her that he saw her as a fragile wisp of a thing. After all, it was the view held by most in Society. And yet it did rankle—a good deal. Aldora couldn’t imagine Michael being possessed of a like opinion.

She closed her eyes. Michael.

“My lady?” he murmured. Her gaze flew to his. He gestured to their surroundings. “I was asking if you’d like to stop a moment?”

Aldora looked around, taking in their area. The knowledge of where they were hit her like a kick to the chest. Her flesh tingled in remembrance of the touch of Michael’s hands as he circled her neck with the childhood pendant she now wore.

It hardly worked toward her ultimate goal for the marquess, but Aldora could not bite back the next words. “I don’t believe a riding trail is the best place for us to rest, my lord.”

St. James’s full lips turned upwards with amusement.

“Ahh!”

Aldora and St. James looked up in unison, in time to see her maid not even twenty paces away topple over. The older woman landed hard on her knees. A loud wind muted the agonized cry.

Propriety forgotten, Aldora raced to her maid, dropping to a knee.

St. James knelt alongside her.

“Silly thing, Lady Aldora. I stepped in a rabbit hole. A rabbit hole. What is a rabbit hole doing in Hyde Park?” The woman dashed back a stray tear.

“Are you injured, Isabella?” Aldora asked.

With effortless grace, St. James stood and helped Isabella to her feet. The maid took a tentative step and cried out. The wrinkles on her narrow face contorted with pain.

St. James turned to Aldora. “I’m going to carry her to the phaeton and instruct my driver to return her at once.”

Aldora bit the inside of her cheek to keep from suggesting that she be allowed to return home with her maid.

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.