A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara

Author:Ashlyn Macnamara [Macnamara, Ashlyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Regency, Historical, Fiction, General, C429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 0345534743
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2013-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

Outside her father’s study, Julia drew in a lungful of air and let it out in a measured whoosh. She was about to enter the only wholly masculine domain in this female-dominated house.

Forbidden territory, this inner sanctum of Charles St. Claire. Not even her mother dared enter this part of the townhouse unless some dire emergency pressed. And if this room had been the site of that kiss with Benedict, well … She thrust aside the memory of his lips on hers, his tongue in her mouth, his hands mobile on her body. Papa didn’t need to know about that.

Dire emergency pressed Julia now—it had since last night’s announcement of her engagement to the Earl of Clivesden, a betrothal that, with any luck, would not endure beyond today.

After another calming breath, she scratched at the door. A faint grunt, muffled by the thick panel, acknowledged her presence, and she stepped over the threshold. Heavy walnut paneled the walls, while forest green draperies covered the windows. The room smelled of cheroot and brandy, the only space in the entire townhouse where such scents were permissible.

From behind his desk, her father frowned at a ledger. A few sparse wisps of graying hair stood on end. On Julia’s approach, he unhooked his spectacles. “What brings you in here so early? Thought you might be expecting callers.”

“I’ve given Billings instructions to inform any callers that I am not at home.”

He raised a snowy brow. “Not even that Revelstoke rogue?”

“Especially not him.”

“Just as well. Your mother’s still got her feathers ruffled over him turning up at Sophia’s engagement dinner without an invitation.” He paused to mop his forehead with a handkerchief. “Don’t know when I’ll hear the end of it.”

Julia raised her chin. “He had an invitation. From me.”

“And yet, you do not want him to wish you well.”

“I hardly think if he comes to call, he’ll offer best wishes.” No, that was the last thing he’d offer. She preferred not to imagine his reaction when the news of her betrothal reached him.

“Why would he not? It’s no surprise word has spread, and those who weren’t present last night surely want a chance to wish you happiness.” Her father gestured toward a chair opposite, as if she were his man of affairs, but he always had placed his business concerns, such as they were, before his daughters. “Sit.”

“I think I’d rather stand.” If she had to conduct this conversation in his territory, it gave her a slight sense of control to look down on him.

A line formed between his brows. “Is something amiss?”

She flung up her hands and just as immediately let them drop. “Amiss? You agree to a betrothal without consulting me and ask if anything’s amiss when I learn of it. What on earth were you thinking?”

His chest expanded and, with it, his belly below. “Now see here. Between you and your sister, I’ve put up with enough nonsense. You are two and twenty. It is high time you married.”

“At the very least, you could have done me the courtesy of allowing me to choose my suitor.

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