Reforming Harriet by Eileen Putman

Author:Eileen Putman [Putman, Eileen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Eileen Putman
Published: 2016-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Such a thing had never happened to Harriet. Though she had known the intimacies of married life, her wildest dreams could not have imagined anything like the drive with Lord Westwood yesterday afternoon. His passion. Her boldness.

Harriet was quite aware she had breached all bounds of polite behavior. And with Lord Westwood, of all people, the very man who had sought to dictate her guest list. The very man to whom she clung so tightly as to leave no doubt about the ease of his conquest. It had seemed the most natural thing in the world when he kissed her. Then she brazenly returned that kiss, inviting so very much more.

She had not foreseen that his kiss would leave her weak in the knees. Most assuredly, she had not expected to find herself breathless and locked in an intimate embrace that eloquently revealed Lord Westwood’s burgeoning enthusiasm for the task.

“Too much cream,” Celestial declared.

Harriet stared at her blankly.

“Too much cream in the filling. It won’t hold together.” Celestial’s look said she knew exactly why Harriet’s mind was wandering. Lord Westwood had created quite a stir in the household when he had taken her off with him in such an abrupt fashion.

His return had been much less conspicuous. When Horace opened the front door, she and Lord Westwood had stood there in a strange, still silence. The earl had turned and left without a word. Harriet had walked blindly to her room, not looking back. She had not appeared for supper. Sleep had not come for many hours.

“Now, Celestial,” Harriet admonished wearily, “I know whether a filling will come together or no. It only wants beating. It is supposed to be rich.”

Celestial shrugged. “Rich is one thing. Killing a man with wretched excess is another.”

Harriet stiffened. “Is there something you wish to say, Celestial?”

“Only that it’s clear that something happened between you and Lord Westwood. I’ve never seen you concoct such a decadent thing. The man inspired you, I’m guessing.” Celestial shot her a knowing gaze.

Harriet flushed. “That is enough. It is time to work. We have dozens of these to make.”

The inspiration for the little puff pastries had come to her overnight. Her restless sleep had brought dreams filled with a churning fire that licked at her insides and sparked wild fantasies. In one of them, she had been in the kitchen, creating decadent dishes for Lord Westwood’s pleasure. As he watched her pile layer after layer of brittle pastry and soft filling, his turbulent gaze hinted of savage appetites. Harriet had awakened trembling, thinking his hands were caressing her.

And though it had only been a dream, what he aroused within her was no dream. Harriet had spent most of her waking hours since yesterday trying to understand what had happened between them. She did not have an answer, but she did have her Napoleons.

That is what she had decided to call them, for they had all the qualities of a coddled tyrant: rich and hard on the surface, pandering to greed and lust within.

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