The House in Grosvenor Square: A Novel of Regency England (The Regency Trilogy Book 2) by Linore Rose Burkard

Author:Linore Rose Burkard [Burkard, Linore Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lilliput Press LLC
Published: 2018-03-07T06:00:00+00:00

Taking her hand, Mr. Mornay led Ariana from the house and into his carriage. The coachman had fallen asleep atop the board and had to be awakened. And then two maids came rushing out holding onto their caps, and with small valises. They stowed the luggage and jumped on back the board for the short drive.

Mr. Mornay gave a sigh of relief and settled back to allow his weary future bride to rest against him. He allowed his hand the liberty of running through the strands of her hair which had come free during the evening. He let the loose strands fall between his fingers, and then slipped his arm back around her shoulders. The strangest feeling came over him, the most unusual thing, and for a few seconds he did not know what to make of it. What was happening to him? He didn’t recognize the emotion welling up. It filled his throat, it almost choked him. And then, just as he realized what the feeling was, the evidence landed on his face as a single tear fell.

He’d nearly lost Ariana. Lost her! She might have been hurt, abused, possibly murdered! He thought of his new faith in God, and questions flew at him. Why had God allowed this to happen? Why had he got along just fine for nigh three decades with no need for a woman like Ariana, only now to be utterly shaken at thought of losing her? Was he growing weak as he aged? He blinked away the water in his eyes. Perhaps he was tired?

No, it was more than that. Dashed if he wasn’t a love-sick puppy! He drew Ariana closer against him. She, half-asleep, smiled weakly.

Inside the house, as he gave orders and escorted his love to the guest bedchamber, Mr. Mornay was all the time struck with a sense of vulnerability. He was almost sick with the thought of what might have happened to her. He’d been too busy to give thought to these feelings earlier, or he’d have been utterly useless! He felt as if he’d suffered a severe blow, and what was it? That just as when he was young, he was at the mercy of the love he felt for someone. For Ariana. It was a terrible feeling. Yet, she was safely beneath his roof. That was some comfort.

It was a blow to see himself for what he really was. Not the cavalier Paragon, the confident society favorite. Not the friend of the prince without a care whom he offended—no, this man was vulnerable. This man loved deeply. And it was daunting.

This was the man who had folded like a house of cards years before when he’d lost his family—father, brother, mother—within eighteen months. The man who had tried to swallow the pain and get on with life, only to find that in denying his grief and rage, he was rapidly losing his interest in all humanity. He made quick work of most people, deciding in seconds whether to give them his time or not, or whether they would bore, tire, or exasperate him.

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