One Wicked Winter Night by Mary Jo Putney

Author:Mary Jo Putney [Putney, Mary Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2019-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Anthony was impressed at how well he could lie; he hadn’t realized he had such talent. Rationally, he knew that Athena and Will and his own common sense were correct: For all practical purposes, he and Diana were strangers to each other. Even when they’d first met, their differences were obvious. Yet so was the intense attraction.

Life under the heavy hand of the old duke was an endless struggle to stay sane and civil. Then Anthony had met Diana, who was filled with joyous light. Her appetite for life was infectious, and she brought out a lighter side of him that had been buried years before. He had needed her like the air in his lungs.

But his proposal had appalled her, and then she was gone. Within days, she sailed from England, and once more his life became a matter of endurance. His father’s death had been a great release, but joy had been only a memory. Until last night.

Yes, it was wise to be wary. He should carefully explore the possibilities. Become better acquainted slowly, making no promises.

But dammit! He didn’t want her for a friend, or, at least, only a friend. He wanted her to be his playmate, his partner, his lover. His wife. He wanted to hold her in his arms until he felt joy again.

But he daren’t frighten her off by wanting too much too soon. This was a casual drive with a friend. Conversation should be casual. Where to begin?

They’d never talked much about their families, except for occasional oblique references to his father. He remarked, “You and Lady Aurora seem very close, more like sisters than aunt and niece.”

“You’re exactly right,” Diana said. “My mother was never very fond of children. She felt ill-used at having me when she thought that she was long past babies, so I was sent to the nursery of my oldest brother, Geoffrey. He and his wife like children and ended up with eight of their own, so adding another little girl to the household was not a problem. Geoffrey and Sylvia were more my parents than my actual parents.”

“You were fortunate to have a good alternative family,” he said, wishing he’d had that.

“Very fortunate! I had three much older brothers and no sisters. Moving in with Geoffrey gave me four sisters and four brothers, all of them quite lovely in different ways. But Rory and I were close in age, and the most alike.”

“Sisters are indeed great fun, though occasionally a trial.” He chuckled. “Mine decided to turn a small family dinner party into a reading of Byron’s Corsair with each of us having to read selections. All three males present groaned at the prospect, but I admit it was rather amusing, though we wondered why the poem was so popular.”

“At the least, it provided the inspiration for your costume last night.” She frowned. “But I thought your only sister, Lady Julia, died when you were still at school?”

His hands tightened on the reins as he was reminded of his father’s worst behavior in a lifetime of bad behavior.

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