Midnight Temptations With a Forbidden Lord by Clare Tiffany

Author:Clare, Tiffany [Clare, Tiffany]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Historical Romance, st, Fiction
ISBN: 1250008034
Publisher: St. Martin's
Published: 2013-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Someone was seen lurking about in the shadows of Lord R____’s last night and every night before that for a week. Perhaps one of his many daughters has a secret to keep? This writer will certainly uncover all the answers in due course.

—The Mayfair Chronicles, August 1846

Her father had arrived twenty minutes ago. He’d called for her to come to the small parlor. She was too nervous to remain idle and so paced the room, fingering the decorative ornaments on the mantel and on the side tables. There were only a few reasons her father might come to the Carleton estate—none of them good.

When the door opened, the sound of other guests could be heard from the corridor beyond. Charlotte turned to face her father, still surprised to see him here of all places.

Her father’s arms were outstretched so she could walk into them and hug him. “My dearest,” he said, patting her hair as he used to do when she was a child.

“What’s happened to have brought you here? Is Grandmamma well?” Her cousin had advised against leaving the old woman in Town during the hottest months. And her failing health was one of the three reasons her father might be here.

“Your grandmother fares very well. Her sister’s presence has lightened her spirits these past few weeks without you to brighten our home.”

“Has something terrible happened to bring you here?”

“I cannot lie to you, not about this, but you should hear the unpleasant details from me and not anyone else at this shameless house party.” Her father visibly took a reassuring breath—this was not like him at all. “Your chaperone is to be removed from the party for a transgression that cannot be ignored.”

“You can’t do that to Genny,” she argued.

Her father raised his hand to stop her protests. She snapped her mouth shut, knowing he was out of sorts, and she hugged him, hoping to lift his mood.

“I already have done exactly that. And I’ve done it to protect you, poppet.”

Tears prickled her eyes. She was angry and sad and felt so many conflicting emotions she couldn’t list them. How could her cousin not have been more careful? She was smitten with Lord Barrington and had been for the duration of their stay at the Carletons’, but the earl had left today …

She pulled away from her father’s comforting embrace and searched his eyes, hoping she could read the truth there. She didn’t need to hear it from him; she could guess that her cousin had been caught by another house guest. Who would dare call her father here?

“We will be leaving together tomorrow.”

“But the house party will have concluded by the weekend. Can we not stay as long as that?”

“Don’t argue with me. I’ve had to push up your engagement to cover the scandal that’s already stirring talk in London. It was too much to ask for Lady Hargrove to keep her mouth shut. She’s told anyone of worth what’s transpired.”

Her mouth dropped open with his cool announcement.

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