Much Ado About an Earl by Monica La Porta

Author:Monica La Porta [La Porta, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Monica La Porta

Chapter 14

Atop Hercules, his favorite mount, Percy looked in the distance at Cotswolds Court. The sight of his ancestral home had never failed to calm him. Until today.

It was a rainy and cold Saturday, but the weather had no influence on his mood. His dark thoughts belonged to the woman now residing inside those walls. His sanctuary was not a haven any longer, but he hadn’t been able to resist the siren call of his wife and had come back before time.

The seven days away from Hattie had been the worst time of his life.

If he combined all the time they had spent in each other’s company, he had known her for scarcely a day. The brevity of their acquaintance didn’t seem to matter because she had taken root in his heart already. How had that happened? As much as he tried to understand the strange connection he felt with her, he didn’t have an answer for that. It defied logic—and for a man who prided himself on his rational thinking, losing the anchor of reason was akin to losing his center of gravity.

And so here he was, staring at his house but thinking about his disloyal wife, who probably hadn’t spent a moment wondering where he was and what he was doing.

In the past, the longing he had experienced was centered around the bricks and land of his estate. Everything had changed during that coach ride after marrying Hattie. Talking to her, getting to know what she liked and what she disliked had triggered something in him—an emotion so powerful it made him breathless every time he thought about her large brown eyes and her pink mouth.

The memories of her soft curves, sweet lips, and scented skin assailed him once again. For years, he had taken care of his physical urges in the most expeditious way, alone. Now, he could only imagine slaking his growing hunger with her.

Percy had always despised, even ridiculed, those men who were slaves to their base needs. His father had been the most disgraceful example in that category, and Percy had solemnly vowed to never be like him. How the mighty had fallen.

He led Hercules to a gallop in a futile attempt to exercise his demons. By the time he reached the Palladian entrance of Cotswolds Court, he could only think of seeing his wife again. As soon as he climbed the marble stairs, a footman opened the door, and Carson welcomed him.

“My lord.” The butler took Percy’s outercoat and handed it to a footman. “We weren’t expecting you until Monday, at the earliest.” There was an unmistakable note of relief in his statement.

“I finished early.” It was a lie. Percy had placed the matter of managing the building of the new dam in the hands of his steward and left. He simply couldn’t stay one day longer without his wife, and that was the truth he had tried hard to deny even to himself. Finding a common ground between them was imperative—he was determined to give his marriage a chance.

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