Read Online A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle by Catherine Gayle - Free Book Online

afternoon.”
    Quin glared. “I could focus more on
using appropriate language if I could breathe. As if it wasn’t
enough to have a cravat cutting off my air, then we had to add a
blasted coat so tight it took two servants to put me in
it.”
    “ Complaining will get you
nowhere. Now shut it, we’re almost to the front of the line.”
Jonas’s eyes held a triumphant look.
    Quin might as well stop talking until
he found Aurora Hyatt. Fresh air seemed to be in rather short
supply. No point wasting any more of it on Jonas.
    When they finally reached the inside
of the ballroom, he really couldn’t breathe. The entire room was
awash in a sea of gardenias, roses, and daisies. The scent was
enough to block out the more expected smells of London, but whoever
decorated apparently didn’t recognize when enough was enough. He
thought he would drown in the horrid floral fragrance.
    Quin attempted to block the thought
from his mind. He had more pressing matters to think of that
evening. “Do you see her?” His eyes scoured the crush, despite the
fact that he’d never seen the bloody minx before, so he had no
earthly idea what he was looking for.
    “ Not yet. Be
patient.”
    “ Patient. That’ll be the
day,” Quin muttered beneath his breath.
    Everywhere his eyes fell, some silly
debutante smiled back at him, flouncing her fair ringlets or
fluttering her eyes from behind the cover of a fan. Blasted
innocents, all of them, with their pale gowns and blushing cheeks.
Did they not realize a man like him was dangerous? Lucky for them,
he did have at least a small amount of honor. Debauching innocents
had never held any appeal for him. Quin preferred his women willing
and experienced.
    Based on the story she wrote, Aurora
Hyatt lacked the experience part of the equation. But she was
definitely willing.
    One of his two requirements would have
to suffice.
    “ Do be a chap and try not
to look like such an ogre,” Jonas said, startling him out of his
rumination.
    Quin raised a single eyebrow in
question.
    “ You’re scaring the
chaperones.”
    “ They should be scared.”
Why should he care? There was only one lady present that mattered.
If they ever found her, at least.
    Jonas merely frowned and
sighed.
    “ Have you found her yet?”
Quin asked.
    “ Just now.” Jonas made a
slight gesture to his right. “Look across the way, coming in from
the veranda.”
    No, that was all wrong. A small,
fair-haired woman was headed their way, wearing some soft, shimmery
gown that floated about her slight figure. “I thought you said her
mother was from somewhere exotic. She looks like any ordinary
English chit to me. Pretty, yes. But”
    “ Not that one. Behind
her.”
    Good Christ in heaven. Quin nearly
stopped breathing.
    Somehow, the goddess Athena had
dropped into the middle of London. Long and lean, with curves
begging to be touched. Lady Kiss-Me-Down-There’s bosom blanched in
comparison to the ample display before him now. This was no
shrinking English rose, destined to be a wallflower all night.
Aurora Hyatt had dark, rich hair and eyes as clear as the sea,
which stood out all the more because of her darker-than-acceptable
skin and the bold shade of her gown. Her skin probably tasted
darker, too. Richer. Quin was almost salivating, just thinking
about it.
    Well. He certainly could do worse for
himself. Being leg-shackled to this temptress might not be
terrible, after all. “I’m going to ask her to dance.” Quin started
across the room, only to be hauled back by Jonas.
    “ You can’t. Not yet. We
need to find her chaperone, gain an introduction.”
    If they weren’t surrounded by half of
England, he would have planted Jonas a facer. “Bloody hell.” These
delays would land him in either Bedlam or Newgate, not at the
altar.
    “ Be patient. Go find a lady
you already know. A reputable one.” Jonas lifted an eyebrow in warning. “Dance a
set or two. I’ll locate Miss Hyatt’s chaperone.”
    Quin made a gesture that