Secret Life of Scoundrels 2 - Along Came a Rogue by Harrington Anna

Author:Harrington, Anna [Harrington, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency, General
ISBN: 9781455534050
Google: s4flCQAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1455534056
Publisher: Forever
Published: 2016-02-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

You can do this,” Grey encouraged quietly as he stood beside Emily at the bottom of the front steps of Chatham House.

She stared at the massive door, her feet refusing to take another step. This was the moment she’d dreaded since leaving Snowden Hall, when she’d have to face her family, explain about the baby…and say good-bye to Grey, uncertain when she would be able to see him or be alone with him again. If ever. Now that it was happening, it was just as gut-wrenching as she imagined.

None of it was helped by Grey’s contemplative quietness today, ever since he left the room that morning. But if he was as troubled by this moment as she was, he chose not to confide in her, instead keeping to himself the heavy thoughts furrowing his brow.

“After all, what’s the worst your parents can do?” he asked wryly as he placed her arm reassuringly around his. “Marry you off to an indebted gambler in Yorkshire?”

Jittery laughter bubbled from her, and his teasing proved enough of a distraction to allow him to lead her forward and knock at the door.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered, her hand tightening on his arm.

“You’ll be fine. Thomas will be happy to see you.”

Her throat tightened. “That’s not what I—”

The door opened, and Jensen, the family’s longtime butler, scowled down his nose at them, not recognizing her. “Major Grey.” He bowed stiffly in greeting with all the arrogance of a man who ran a duke’s household and brought to his position a solemn responsibility befitting his employer’s rank. “Miss.”

Emily took a deep breath and forced a nervous smile at the old butler. “Hello, Jensen. How have you been?”

The butler swung his startled gaze from Grey to Emily, staring at her blankly for a moment. Then recognition sank in, and an old affection replaced his scowl. He was so surprised that he actually smiled. “Miss Emily…my goodness! I mean Lady Emily—I mean, Mrs. Crenshaw.” The normally imperturbable butler stammered in stunned surprise. “My apologies, miss—ma’am—my lady.”

“Quite all right.” She smiled reassuringly, surprisingly touched by his befuddlement. “The last time I saw you I was still just a miss.”

Immediately, he collected himself, and his shoulders shifted back, his chin returning to its normal, haughty position. “If I might say so, my lady, you have been missed.” His voice choked with emotion. “Greatly missed.”

“Thank you, Jensen.” She rested her hand briefly on the butler’s arm, her eyes misting. She hadn’t realized until then how much she’d missed him and the other servants. At least someone in London was happy to see her.

With a low bow, Jensen stepped back and opened the door wide to allow her to pass. Emily drew a deep breath for courage and, letting her hand slip away from Grey’s arm, entered the grand house.

She glanced nervously around the entrance hall and up the wide stairs to the first-floor landing. “Where is my family, Jensen?”

“The duke is at the Lords, and the duchess is in the drawing room,” he informed them as he took Grey’s coat and gloves from him.

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