Tempting Her Reluctant Viscount by Catherine Hemmerling

Author:Catherine Hemmerling [Hemmerling, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, General, England, Mystery, Spies, fake courtship, london, London Stock Exchange, unrequited love, Regency
ISBN: 9781622667451
Google: 4dLrAwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00LDR86SC
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2014-07-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

A smile is reward enough for any good deed that has been done for the right reasons.

~The Duke of Lancaster

Despite finding that she was again alone in a carriage with Michael, Hope wasn’t tempted to do much more than sit…and think. Having directed the driver toward their next destination, Cochrane’s house, she knew in a very short time Michael would have to begin the questioning all over again.

Frankly, Hope was stunned by everything she had seen and heard that day. She wondered briefly if Lord Cochrane was the person Cochrane-Johnstone had alluded to as “backing out”. She doubted it, as it sounded as if he planned to pin the entire crime on his nephew’s shoulders all along, as appalling as that was to Hope. However, it did provide a glimmer of hope that her father was the man to back out, but Hope did not have much enthusiasm for that idea, either.

With a long sigh, Hope decided she was tired; too tired for someone her age to be. She looked over at Michael. He was lost in his own musings, staring blankly at the carriage window. Hope knew that he was not really seeing anything, for he hadn’t even pulled back the heavy muslin curtain blocking the worst of the cold wind whipping past them.

Hope took the opportunity to examine him unobserved.

He really was a very handsome man. His hair, thick and wavy, just begged for fingers to be run through it, and his deep, unimaginably intelligent blue eyes, when turned upon her with warm desire, never failed to have Hope melting at the knees. His broad shoulders and imposing frame made her feel safe and protected as no man ever had before. And beyond all that, his innate good manners and kind heart made it impossible not to love him. Hope was rather surprised that all the women of the ton were not vying for his hand…and heart.

Of course, there were always young girls being tossed in his path by their marriage-minded mothers—he was a wealthy young viscount, after all—but the other, more seasoned debutantes gave him wide berth. Hope had heard that they were unimpressed by his desire to be involved in his land holdings and properties. He was not content to leave their care to others, but rather wanted to oversee the work and tenants himself. There were whispers that he was no better than someone working in the trades.

Hope found all of the gossip silly and ridiculous, and absolutely of no concern to her. Personally, she liked that Michael was not the frivolous sort; that he cared enough about his estates and the people living on them, that he wanted to be involved. Hope was sure his industriousness came from being born a second son and from his time in the service. It was only by chance that he became viscount. Why should he be expected to stop being a contributing member of society simply because he was given free license to be idle?

No, all the scandalous rumors just made Hope like Michael all the more.

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