My Scoundrel by Cheryl Holt

Author:Cheryl Holt [Holt, Cheryl]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

Stephen dawdled in the cemetery, watching as Sunday services ended. He was eager to waylay Josephine so they could sneak away and talk.

He thought she would agree to a rendezvous. She had to be as miserable as he was over their separation, and he was determined to convince her to reverse her course.

Initially, when she’d broken off their affair, he hadn’t been bothered by her decision. While he enjoyed their physical attraction, he’d never been at a loss for sexual partners, particularly now with his brother’s prominence.

Women chased after him, just as they chased after Nicholas, and he’d assumed he would select a bride from the crop of aristocratic girls as Nicholas had.

Then it had dawned on him. Why should he?

He’d met plenty of the daughters of the ton, and nary a one was mature enough to marry, let alone take on the chore of raising Annie. For that important task, he needed a person who was sensible and pragmatic, who could ignore Annie’s illegitimate status and love her anyway.

Why not ask Jo to be his bride?

She was pretty, friendly, and compassionate, and she had the character of a saint. She was living in the worst of circumstances, yet she always had a smile on her face, and if she could put up with her priggish brother, she could put up with anything.

He smugly supposed that she’d be flattered by a proposal. He would rescue her from dire straits, would give her her own home, but this time, with a husband who cherished her.

She’d have a daughter right away, and if they were lucky, they’d have more children. She claimed she was barren, and it was accepted fact that—when a marriage produced no offspring—it was the woman’s fault. But he’d seen several instances where barren women had become pregnant with new spouses after their husbands had died.

He was an optimist and believed that they’d have more children. And if they didn’t? He’d be happy with Jo and Annie.

The church doors opened, and he was almost giddy with anticipation. Vicar Blair emerged, and he stood on the steps, chatting with his parishioners as they exited.

Very quickly, the crowd emptied out, until Emeline Wilson was the last to appear. The vicar had some sharp words for her, and she stoically endured her scolding, then she sidled away. She waved toward the lane, and Stephen peered over to see his brother approaching in a carriage. Nicholas leapt down and was helping Miss Wilson into the vehicle when the vicar accosted him.

Stephen considered leaving his hiding spot among the tombstones in order to save the poor minister, but before he could, Nicholas said something that made the vicar blanch with dismay. Had Nicholas fired the pious dunce? Had he cursed at him? Had he blasphemed?

With Nicholas, there was no telling.

Nicholas spun away and climbed into the gig. He grabbed the reins, and as he did, he flashed a look at Miss Wilson that had Stephen wincing with alarm. If he hadn’t been observing so closely, he’d have missed it.

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.