What Every Lord Wants by Adele Clee

Author:Adele Clee
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-10-28T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Lord Roxbury escorted Prue out into the garden. She felt oddly nervous considering the fact she had been alone with him on numerous occasions. The hour spent in Mrs. Dempsey's company had been interesting. Helena was far too perceptive when it came to matters of the heart. Coupled with her straight talking, it had not taken much for Prue to confess all.

"I think I should begin by apologising for my frosty mood earlier," Lord Roxbury said as they descended the stone steps leading onto the gravel path. "After Mrs. Dempsey's comments in the drawing room, I assume you understand why I was, and still am, so damnably annoyed."

Prue recalled Helena's words: gentlemen did not want to hear lies or feigned titters. Above all else, a lady should always be honest, always true to herself.

"Mrs. Beecham is your mistress. That much is obvious." Indeed, while she had initially struggled with the thought, it pleased her to know the woman only roused negative feelings. Nonetheless, it still didn't explain why she had come.

"She is not my mistress, Prue," he said sharply, yet her heart raced at the sound of her given name falling so easily from his lips. "I have been acquainted with her in the past, yes. But I ended any arrangement we had, months ago."

"Has she come here hoping for a chance to warm your bed?" It was not the sort of a question a lady should ask a gentleman, but Prue spoke in a playful tone that helped mask any jealousy she felt at the prospect.

He sighed and brushed his hand through his hair. "I will not lie to you. Yes, she came hoping to become reacquainted."

"But you did not invite her here?"

"Of course not."

She could feel his assessing gaze searching her face, but she pretended to admire the rose bushes in the beds. As they came to the end of the path, Mr. Dempsey and her grandfather appeared from the entrance of the maze.

"You neglected to mention you had a maze," Mr. Dempsey said in a languid tone as they came to meet them. "I must confess, despite all my military training, I would still be wandering around in there had it not been for Mr. Hargrove."

Her grandfather chuckled. "It is purely a matter of logic, Captain. One must be systematic in their methods. Picking a path at random serves to make the task more difficult." He turned to Prue and tapped her affectionately on the arm. "It's all safe in there, dear girl. We've given the garden a thorough search. Haven't we, Captain Lawrence?"

Mr. Dempsey smiled, his handsome countenance causing her to suck in a breath. One could not help but admire perfection.

"We have," Mr. Dempsey agreed. "And now I must return to my duties."

Lord Roxbury raised a brow. "I believe you have a few duties to attend to in your chamber. As much as we are grateful for your company, one's responsibilities must take precedence."

Mr. Dempsey glanced up at a window on the first floor. A sinful smile touched his lips.

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.