To Wed a Wicked Earl by Olivia Parker

Author:Olivia Parker
Language: fr
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Historical
Published: 2011-06-16T12:50:38+00:00

Chapter 11

A Gentleman leaves vigorous work to the laboring classes.

There was something to be said about the allure of a man’s backside, Charlotte mused, as she watched Rothbury ram a muscled shoulder into the back of the Greenes’ carriage with manly vigor.

Though there were many discerning females who remarked upon the importance of the symmetry of facial features, a pair of fine eyes, a strong jaw, and broad shoulders, Charlotte believed that a nice, tight, athletically toned backside was equally as significant an attribute.

“Can you believe all this mud? Indeed, we don’t have nearly as much mud in Coventry.” Hyacinth sniffed from her perch atop her portmanteau, her umbrella shielding her from the misty rain. “‘Tis a good thing Lord Rothbury insisted he escort us to Aubry Park and bring three outriders or else it might have been you and I, my dear, pushing the carriage out of the mud.”

Standing under her own umbrella off to the side of the heavily rutted road next to her seated mother, Charlotte tilted her head as she continued to watch Rothbury push roughly at their carriage, his booted feet sliding as he tried, along with two other men, to release the back wheels imprisoned in the thick, sucking mud.

Their driver shouted encouraging orders to the horses while the men worked hard. Another man had been ordered to ride ahead to Aubry Park, to have a fresh conveyance sent in the chance that the Greene’s carriage should need repair, or their horses a rest.

“Oh, I doubt that would be true,” Charlotte muttered distractedly. “We would have simply sent our man along to fetch help.”

Hyacinth snorted. “And wait helplessly until some Knight of the Road came along and accosted us? I think not.”

Her mother’s words barely penetrated through Charlotte’s imaginings.

Unlike the other men, who wore their long coats, Rothbury had recently shrugged off his carrick coat and had handed it to Charlotte to hold. She clutched it now to her bosom, enjoying the delicious warmth left in the fabric from his body. The cool mid-morning air smelled damp and fresh and—she discreetly dipped her face into the collar of Rothbury’s coat—like a clean, warm man. Closing her eyes, a foreign but rather pleasant feeling vibrated through her. She caught a sigh before it escaped and changed it into a cough to disguise it.

Hyacinth clucked her tongue. “I do hope you’re not catching an ague. We are only to stay one evening. This was supposed to be a quick trip, Charlotte.”

“And indeed it will be.”

“I had no idea the roads would be so impassable with such little rain. We’ve been waiting here for at least a quarter of an hour. All this pushing, pushing, pushing, and still nothing will budge.”

“R—Lord Rothbury has assured us that another carriage is on the way.”

“Oh, I do hope he is right.” She shook her head slowly. “His fine clothes are surely ruined.”

“Indeed.”

At that moment, all action ceased as the exhausted men stepped back to take a much needed break. Taking

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