Love in Yorkshire: Duke of Danby: Halliday Sisters by Samantha Grace

Author:Samantha Grace
Language: eng
Format: epub

Ten

Meredith’s legs shook as Lord Blackwood escorted her back to the castle to gather her belongings. Exhilaration and mortification battled for control inside of her. Her sister had warned her the earl seemed interested in more than Meredith’s teaching abilities, but she had dismissed Felicity’s worries as fanciful and attributed them to overprotectiveness.

Colin MacBride was an earl; Meredith was a physician’s daughter. Even though her sister had married above her station, it was a rare occurrence, and Meredith wasn’t naive. A kiss between a governess and her employer seldom led to an offer of marriage, but heavens above. It had been the kiss of a lifetime. And Lord Blackwood had been stealing little pieces of her heart since the beginning: the way he doted on his nieces, his interest in their education, speaking with Meredith as if she was his equal. How could she squelch the hope blossoming within her chest?

She held her breath and glanced at the earl for a hint of what her future held. He offered an easy smile.

“I detect a trace of rain on the air. Hopefully, it will hold off until evening. I have a meeting with my banker in”—he pulled his watch from his waistcoat pocket to check the time—“two hours.”

Meredith blinked. Her head was reeling from their kiss, and he was thinking about the weather and business. Their encounter didn’t appear to have affected him in the least. Her hope deflated a little.

“If you are not needed urgently at Danby Castle,” he said as he slipped his watch back into the pocket, “I will escort you home before traveling on to the village.”

“Thank you.”

She dropped her gaze to the well-traveled path beneath her boots. He was behaving as if he kissed young ladies every day. The urge to ask if theirs meant anything to him bubbled up at the back of her throat, but she swallowed against it. She didn’t want to know if she was one among many who had succumbed to his charms.

Heat rushed into her face at the thought; they walked in silence.

She loved being a governess to the little girls at Blackwood Castle. She’d never been happier in her life, but now she couldn’t imagine returning every day, pretending with their uncle that nothing had changed. That he hadn’t kissed her and unearthed a desire she’d buried halfway into her unsuccessful season.

Meredith longed to be a wife and mother, and she wanted that life to be with Colin.

She pressed her fingers against the throbbing ache building at her temple. The earl drew her to a halt in the castle yard.

“Is everything all right?”

She nodded as the backs of her eyes began to itch. She really didn’t want to cry, but if he didn’t stop looking at her with heat in his gaze, she wouldn’t be able to forget that she’d invited him to kiss her.

“You may speak freely, Meredith. What is on your mind?” He reached to cradle her face. She angled her head away, and his hand fell to his side.

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