Ruining the Rake by Leigh Michaels

Author:Leigh Michaels
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency, sweet, England, runaway bride, rake
Publisher: PBL Limited
Published: 2014-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

ONLY HALF AN HOUR INTO their drive, his companion had gone oddly quiet. Elinor hadn’t asked a single question in a dozen miles, and whenever Gus tried to draw her out, she answered almost at random. He shouldn’t be surprised, he supposed, for even a naive and inexperienced girl must have finally comprehended the enormity of what she was doing.

Of course, the situation was a great deal different this afternoon than she had planned. It had been bad enough to spend an entire day in his company. Crossing a good chunk of England in a gentleman’s curricle was a racy thing for a young lady to do, but that could be forgiven if he’d been able to deliver her into Miss Bradshaw’s care before nightfall. With her safely tucked away under her governess’s wing, the talk and the suspicions would be dismissed. With her gone from London, gossip would soon subside. Even Lady Stone’s tale of having witnessed a scandalous kiss could be discounted. The old woman was probably a bit short-sighted, after all.

But for a young lady to disappear for a few days somewhere between London and Chichester while in the company of a gentleman, and without a chaperone or even a maid to lend her countenance...

Even the most trusting and innocent of females must realize how close she was sailing to complete ruination. Even the most loyal of former governesses must be suspicious that her charge might not be as blameless as she would like to think. And if the parents of the young ladies who attended Miss Bradshaw’s school heard of her antics, then Elinor’s hopes of joining the staff in any capacity at all would be smothered before she ever reached Chichester.

A tinge of guilt feathered along his nerves. He ought not to have kissed her, and especially not where Lady Stone could see. He ought not to have carried her off alone. If he’d had any idea their trip would draw out for days, not a mere few hours...

I’d have done it anyway.

He’d been kissed much more expertly, and he’d been kissed with more enthusiasm. But none of those kisses had reached down inside him and clenched his gut in the way Elinor’s tentative response had done. What was there about this woman, anyway?

Unless she spent the rest of her life locked away like a nun in a girls’ school – a plan that seemed increasingly unlikely with each passing hour – some man would eventually teach her about passion. If she were fortunate, that man would be her husband, and he would be skillful. But if she was unlucky, the man who shared her bed would be crude and selfish, using and discarding her.

Seducing her would be a kindness.

Gus could teach her to enjoy herself in a man’s bed. He could teach her how to choose and please a lover. If she was to spend her life as a mistress – and that might well be the only option left to her, after this escapade – he could at least make life more pleasant for her.

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