Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady by Bronwyn Scott

Author:Bronwyn Scott [Scott, Bronwyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Historical
ISBN: 9780373294961
Google: 9ss900ZohHIC
Amazon: B0017T0CPG
Goodreads: 3031351
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Paine drove all afternoon. The idea of a reunion with his brothers, coupled with the soft rolling green hills, proved to be too potent of a temptation to resist, making it easy to indulge the memories he loved so well.

Around him, waving fields of golden summer wheat not yet knee high spread like a haphazard quilt, so similar to the landscape near his home. In his mind’s eye, he saw three boys rollicking in the fields, trousers rolled up and fishing rods slung over their shoulders. A stranger would not see much difference in them. Not much separated them in physical appearance except for their stair-step height. All had jet-black hair and blue eyes that sparked with constant mischief.

Those had been halcyon days when they’d lived as brothers and friends under the spell of an English summer. Each year upon year, it had always been that way for as long as Paine could remember. The tutors dismissed for the warm months and the boys free to roam at will. Paine was six years younger than his oldest brother. He’d thought such summers would last for ever.

But they ended when he was eight and Peyton left for school that autumn, leaving a huge chasm behind. Peyton had been the mortar that bound all three of the boys together. Without Peyton, he and Crispin were lost. Peyton had been the one to create their fantastical adventures, to lead the way on their expeditions. He’d been the one, because of his age, to act as both brother and father in the absence of a real father who lived almost exclusively in London.

Paine recognised now that, if his father had been home more often, Peyton wouldn’t have been allowed to attain the ripe age of fourteen before going off to school. Most heirs were long gone from the family estate years before then. Still, everything had started to change the day the coach pulled out of the drive, taking Peyton away.

He didn’t want to think about those dark days today, not with the sun shining on a perfect mid-morning summer. He wanted to be a boy again, innocent and fresh-come to the world. Not too young, though—not so young he couldn’t celebrate this glorious day with a maid.

Paine laughed out loud, startling the horses. If it was his fantasy, he would do it right. He’d be sixteen and only modestly experienced in the ways of the world and flesh. Yes, he’d be sixteen and in love—a pure, unadulterated love with a girl as pure and curious as he was. She’d be a country girl, of course, so they could pack a picnic and hike through the woods to a field of wildflowers. They’d lay out their picnic of brown bread, a cheese wheel and a jug of cold ale on an old faded blanket. There’d be no need for chaperons or fancy delicacies or mating games with intricate negotiations.

Paine thought of Julia, snug in the carriage. Of all the women he’d known, she’d perhaps like such a picnic best.

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