Francie & the Bachelor: A Caversham-Haberdasher Crossover by Sue London

Author:Sue London [London, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Graythorn Publishing
Published: 2017-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

***

Reggie couldn't stop himself from kissing her again. It was all he wanted, really, to kiss her forever. She tasted like hope for a better future. But he thought himself a good judge of a man, and what he'd seen in the ruffian’s eyes during their fight terrified him. That was a man capable of brutal retribution. If it were only his own safety, he would simply meet the man toe to toe until one of them couldn't walk away. But there was also Francie. She liked to think she could take care of herself, but he'd seen grown men slaughtered in war. He knew that there was no recovery from impossible odds. If the two ruffians decided to attack Francie she needed to run, as far and as fast as possible.

He broke their kiss. "Do you have family elsewhere?"

"I, well. Derbyshire. Or they might be in London already for the Season."

"Cousin Jack?" He couldn't keep some derision from his tone. He had little interest in meeting adored cousin Jack.

"Uncle John," she said with an odd little smile. "Cousin Jack's father."

Ugh, it was to be cousin Jack then.

"Although Jack is married now. Only Sam is still at home."

Well, at least adored cousin Jack was married. Thank the Lord for small favors. "Why are you smiling like that?"

She bit her lip in that way that drove him mad with desire. "I think you might be jealous."

He straightened and did his best to look skeptical. "What makes you say that?"

She put a finger on his chest and looked up through lowered lashes. "Can I tell you something about cousin Jack?"

By the Gods, if that young man had compromised her he would butcher the lad with his bare hands. "If you wish," he said tightly.

Her lengthy pause was playing havoc with his sanity. "She married an earl, so really we should be calling her Lady Jack instead of Cousin Jack."

His mind turned into a jumble. "Pardon?"

"She's not the sort to insist, I'm sure, but we should really call her Lady Jack."

Now it was his turn for a long pause as he sorted his mind. "So Jack is short for?"

"Jacqueline."

"Sam?"

"Samantha."

"Do they call you Frank?"

She laughed. "They tried. I didn't care for it."

"What an odd family you have, Miss Walters."

She shrugged. "I've always liked them."

He realized he was grinning down at her like an idiot. Would she like his family? If her cousin was a countess perhaps he hadn't needed to be so reticent in telling her about his father. He was considering kissing her again when they heard glass breaking in the front room.

She dashed out of his arms before he considered that he'd best hold onto her. "Francie!" he shouted, running after her. She gained the front room a moment before him, stopping short with a scream. Looking over her shoulder he saw that what had broken the glass were bottles of liquor or lamp oil, and they'd been followed by torches. The front room was quickly lighting in flame.

Reggie pushed the keys back in her hands.

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