The Accidental Mistress by Warren Tracy Anne

Author:Warren, Tracy Anne [Warren, Tracy Anne]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Regency, Romance/Historical, General, Romance, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 0345495403
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2007-11-27T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Three days later, Lily left the house at nine o’clock in the morning to take a stroll around the square and through the nearby neighborhood streets, her maid trailing a few steps behind her for propriety and safety’s sake.

Although the pastime might not be strictly fashionable, Lily still enjoyed taking a walk, and did so as her schedule allowed. After all, she had walked on a regular basis for nearly the whole of her life and saw no reason to stop simply because she now lived in the city.

True, there were no rugged, windblown cliffs, no rolling grassy fields or patchy, rock-strewn moors, but London provided a host of interesting sights nonetheless. In the mornings, milkmaids and orange girls called out their wares, while later in the day a variety of vendors would make their rounds, offering everything from fine inks and tea to fresh flowers and songbirds.

Lily would sometimes buy a few pence worth of flowers and had once been tempted to purchase a pair of beautiful yellow canaries. Ultimately she had decided against bringing the little birds into her home, though, for fear Mouser would take it in his head to stalk and eat them.

She could have gone to one of the parks, she supposed, and promenaded in fine style with the rest of the ladies and gentlemen. But she rather preferred being left to her own devises and musings without the need to pause every couple of minutes to engage in ten additional minutes of meaningless small talk.

This morning in particular she found herself in need of the exercise as well as the distraction. She had not slept well, her mind and body plagued by haunting, erotic dreams of Ethan that left her bleary-eyed and needy.

Last evening she had attended a rout and had seen him.

She’d been sipping a glass of sherry, waiting for her next partner to claim her for a dance, when she’d turned her head and found Ethan standing across the room. He’d been conversing with a ravishingly beautiful blond, smiling at whatever it was the other woman said.

Glancing up, his gaze had met her own, the smile falling from his countenance. For a long, almost painful moment, his eyes had lingered, his chin dipping in silent acknowledgment. Then he’d returned to his conversation and had not glanced at her again.

She’d waited for hours in a panic of anticipation, wondering how she would react when he sought her out. Would he ask her to dance? Would he try to lure her away to a private alcove or a shadowed garden to steal a few new kisses?

But as the evening wore on, he did none of those things, making no attempt to approach her. His response answered her earlier question about whether he’d forgotten her already. Apparently he had, his raw desire for her assuaged by their single night together at the inn. Her fault, she supposed, for having refused his offers.

Still …

When she’d called for her cloak, she’d vowed to be done with him, once and for all.

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