Miss Prestwick's Crusade by Anne Barbour

Author:Anne Barbour [Barbour, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781847826657
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2003-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Edward rode mindlessly, allowing Lion to take his own path through the home farm and on to the bordering forests. The day had dawned to a fine spring morning, with winter obviously on the wane. Nature's beneficence, however, was wasted on Edward. His mind, indeed his whole being, was concentrated on the events of last evening.

Frankly, he had always thought of himself as rather a cold fish. He liked women—he had been intimately involved with more than one member of that sex, but his appreciation lay more in the generic than in the individual. In short, he was not a man to be overwhelmed by the proximity of a beautiful woman. Yet, his embrace with Helen Prestwick, the kisses they had shared, had shaken him to the foundations of his soul. The feel of her mouth against his, her silken skin, heated by his touch, her body warm and pliant in his arms, had conspired to drive him to the point of madness.

He had wanted that moment, of course, from the instant he had beheld her in the Yellow Salon. Her and the infant William and her absurd claim on his behalf. What else did he want from the beauteous Miss Prestwick—besides the obvious, of course? Did he want marriage? He realized this was the second time he had considered the idea, and the very concept fairly caused him to break out in a rash. He had long ago seemingly accepted the fact that he was never going to meet his perfect mate. This had not caused him any great emotional upheaval. He had lived his life along lines that were perfectly acceptable to him. He had grown to enjoy his rather solitary existence.

Then along came Helen with her warm gray eyes, her lovely smile and her charm. She seemed to like him—which in and of itself was not astonishing, he supposed. Many people liked him. He was a decent enough sort, and, though he might be dull, he was not obnoxious. But, more than that . . . His mind flashed back to last night. He would swear her response had been genuine. And therein lay the miracle. Was it possible that this jewel among women returned his feelings? Could she learn to love him?

A surge of breathless exhilaration swept through him, as though he had been sent flying into the air to soar the sunlit heights of the sky above.

The discipline of a prosaic lifetime reached to snatch him from this electric fantasy, and brought him to earth with a thump. He scarcely knew Helen Prestwick. She had plummeted into his life with a preposterous assertion, and... All right. Supposing she was a complete fraud. God help him, he would probably still love her. But he hoped he would have the strength to turn away from her. He might find himself obliged to press criminal charges against her. This would, he thought with a grimace, not only break his heart but would no doubt effectively squash their burgeoning romance like a boot heel on a rosebud.

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