Last Night With the Earl: Includes a Bonus Novella by Kelly Bowen

Author:Kelly Bowen [Bowen, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Regency, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9781478918585
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-09-25T07:00:00+00:00

Rose climbed the grand, familiar stairs and had no idea why she’d let Eli talk her into this. She’d allowed him to obliterate all her good intentions with his clever charm and debilitating kisses, just as she was allowing him to guide her past the entrance to the ballroom that dominated the front half of the floor and to the closed door in the far rear corner.

But for all the earl’s professions that she knew his strengths and weaknesses better than he knew himself, he seemed to know her weaknesses just as well. Titian and Michelangelo were difficult men to resist. Almost as difficult as Eli Dawes.

But after this she would go. Even though she’d broken the promise she’d made to herself that their shared carriage would end their time together, it would be only a fleeting concession. Because the world Eli had now returned to would soon descend like floodwaters released from a dam and carry the new Earl of Rivers away. And the mere idea of exposing herself and getting caught in that inevitability was enough to make her stomach churn and her heart flutter against her insides like a trapped bird.

But for now Rose would take this one last chance to simply enjoy something that they both revered. She was well aware that she might never get another. She watched as Eli reached up, his fingers sliding along the top of the door frame, and found a hidden key. He slid it into the lock and opened the door, pulling it wide to allow her to enter ahead of him.

Rose stepped into the room and stared.

The walls were the same chalk-gray color she remembered, best to provide a blank canvas for the masterpieces that graced them. The expensive Aubusson rug still dominated the center of the room, comfortable upholstered chairs placed in the same strategic spots to best view the art.

Except all the art was gone.

She whirled to find Eli standing behind her, his face pale and his eyes a little wild as he gazed at the bare walls, faint discolored marks the only evidence that canvases had ever hung. Rose’s heart lodged in her throat. A horrible feeling was crawling across her skin, even as her mind constructed rational possibilities. The paintings had been moved. Put into storage. Wrapped for safekeeping after the death of the old earl.

“Where are the paintings?” Eli asked hoarsely, turning in a circle.

“They were all here right after your father died. That was the last time I saw them. But I haven’t been here since then.” She put a hand on his arm. “I’m sure that there is a good explanation.” She didn’t dare suggest the other possibilities that were lurking beneath all those rational ones.

Possibilities like stolen. Or sold.

The earl’s gaze had fallen on the ornate mantel of the hearth against the far wall. A small object, about the size of a book, was propped up on its center, one Rose didn’t recognize. In five strides Eli had crossed the room and seized it, Rose on his heels.

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