The Lord Next Door (Avon Romantic Treasure) by Callen Gayle

Author:Callen, Gayle [Callen, Gayle]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

In the morning, Victoria awoke early enough to hear her husband speaking with his valet in the next room. She was finally going to have breakfast with him. As she dressed, she tried to pay attention to when he left his room. Instead, she actually heard him bathing. That seemed far too personal, but of course, all she really heard was the splash of water.

He was probably using the same hip bath she used, and the thought made her feel warm. Her bare skin touched the same places his did. She should go to the far side of her room to ignore the sounds. But she remained frozen where she was, letting scandalous images of him play in her mind. She’d seen his throat—what did his naked chest look like?

She’d forgotten to inform Anna that she was awakening extra early, so she chose a gown that buttoned up the front allowing her to dress alone. It was a simple morning gown with tiny brown and yellow stripes, and she reminded herself that her husband liked looking at her. It was a good feeling.

She soon heard him walking briskly down the hall, then let him get to the stairs before she followed him. When she reached the dining room, he was already seated at the table, his newspaper held up before his face, a cup of coffee and biscuits on the table before him.

The footmen wished her a good morning, and her husband looked up with a sharp rattle of paper.

“Good morning, Lord Thurlow.” She set her notebook on the table, then took a plate to the sideboard to choose her breakfast.

“Good morning, Victoria.”

When she turned around, he was glancing at his paper again, but this time he’d lowered it so that she could see him.

“Don’t let me disturb your reading,” she said, sitting down to his right. “I imagine one needs to know what’s going on in the world when one is a member of Parliament.”

He nodded and sipped his coffee. “Do you read the paper, Victoria?”

“Not often enough. We had stopped receiving it, of course, after my father died. And before that, it seemed so…depressing.” She did not mention that education had not come easily to her.

“Young women do not discuss the news with each other?”

“No, my lord. From what I remember, it used to be gossip and fashion. My sisters were better at keeping up on that than I was. Although Meriel could converse with any man on the news of the day. Maybe I should read the paper, because that would be something you and I could talk about.”

“There are even papers devoted to the railway, if you’d be interested.” He smiled. “So do we need planned conversation topics? I could come up with a few, if you wish.”

Ah, she liked this relaxed side of him and hoped to see it more. It made his eyes sparkle like blue diamonds. She leaned her chin on her palm and regarded him. “Then what should we talk about?”

“Not the railway?”

She smiled.

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