To Tempt a Viscount by Boom Naomi

Author:Boom, Naomi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, regency, viscount, England
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc
Published: 2017-01-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Laura entered the house after a brisk morning ride and hurried upstairs. The weather had been unsurprisingly horrid, having drizzled cold little pellets on her for the entirety of her ride. She rushed to her room, changed out of her riding habit and into her dressing gown, and sat before the fire. Her hair was a sodden mess, so she unraveled it and allowed it to dry.

The crackle of the fire was soothing, and Laura began to doze off. She forgot all sense of time until the door creaked open. “My lady.” Anna entered, and whispered hurriedly, “You must get dressed quickly. A gentleman has called.”

Laura’s eyes flew open. She was used to receiving callers, but not specifically for her. With the aid of Anna, Laura got dressed in a charming, light green day dress and pulled her hair up neatly. She hurried downstairs and entered the drawing room.

Her eyes fell on Lord Dunbar, who stood immediately as she entered. “My lady,” he greeted. “You are spring personified in that dress.”

Laura’s step faltered, and Eleanor smirked. Eleanor knew Laura did not approve of overly superfluous words. Laura ignored her cousin’s facial expression and smiled engagingly at Lord Dunbar. “Thank you, my lord. You look exceptional, as well, this morning.”

Lady Ashford rose and indicated the chair she had just vacated, which was directly next to Lord Dunbar. “Sit down, Laura.” She then crossed to Eleanor’s side and joined her on the settee. “Did you see the flowers Lord Dunbar brought?”

A large bouquet of red roses rested on a small table, and Laura could make out a small, white card nestled amongst the thorns. “Thank you, my lord. That was very thoughtful.”

“You are welcome, Lady Laura.” He sat as Laura did the same, and said, “I had hoped your father would be in residence. He thinks very highly of me, you know.”

Laura had not known that but nodded and agreed anyway. “He will be here when the Season begins, but at his townhouse.”

“Understandable, although why he prefers the country, I will never know.” The maid brought in the tea service. Laura raised her brow at his statement. She vastly preferred the countryside, but she doubted Lord Dunbar would care where she resided if they married and she provided him his heir.

He took a bite out of a biscuit and said, “Now that I think about it, I can distinctly recall your father mentioning you. I had not realized you would be so beautiful, though.”

Eleanor chirped in with a smile. “I am sure he would not have mentioned her looks. She was quite the ugly duckling growing up.”

Laura glared at her, but Lord Dunbar smiled pleasantly. “It is fortunate she turned out the way she did, then. In fact, I doubt I could imagine a lovelier swan.”

Lady Ashford set her teacup down on the oak parlor table. “Yes, we are quite pleased with her progress. You will have to dance with her, my lord, she is unwaveringly graceful.”

“I am sure she is.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.