Read Online An Indecent Proposition by Emma Wildes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Emma Wildes
Ads: Link
its pitfalls, like anything else. Mrs. Sims will show you to your room and when you are ready, please join me for some refreshment.”
The housekeeper was elderly, her soft-spoken voice carrying a hint of a Scottish brogue, and she escorted Caroline upstairs to a lovely room with a glorious view of the back gardens, with open windows that let in the sweet scent of blooming roses. For a country house the furnishings were certainly rich, if dated, and the large bed was hung with pale blue silk, the carpet luxuriant and patterned with ivory, rose, and indigo. The overall effect made her feel like an honored guest, but she could not help but wonder if the elegant suite wasn’t supposed to be that of the lady of the house. Especially when she noticed the door that obviously led to another suite of rooms.
Honored guest? Well, she supposed she was. Nicholas Manning wanted her to think he was a superb lover.
However, it would take more than a beautiful room to achieve that end. She stared at the adjoining door and felt yet another quiver of trepidation.
Chapter Seven
L ong mellow shadows fell across the grass, a scented breeze moved across the gardens, rippling the glossy leaves, and it seemed every bird in England had gathered to twitter and sing. A rabbit hopped across one of the gravel paths, nibbled at a blade of grass, and cocked one floppy ear, unconcerned with their presence on the flagstone terrace just a few paces away. It was like one of those settings he remembered from childhood books, where the world was perpetual sunshine and cloudless skies.
Or maybe his jaded soul spent far too much time in the city.
The usual fairy tale was not complete without a beautiful maiden.
Nicholas, propped in a comfortable chair, drank brandy, not tea, and observed his beautiful guest with what he hoped seemed like casual attention and not the rapacious interest he truly felt.
The night he and Derek had gotten so far into their cups was blurry, and when he realized in the light of the next day they’d made the bet public by placing it in the book at White’s, he’d uttered an inward groan. The best way to handle the resulting furor of whispers and interest seemed to be with as much of a sense of humor as possible. However, sitting now across from the ravishing Lady Wynn, he wasn’t so sure it had been such a drunken blunder after all.
Even the way she sipped her tea, with a lift of her hands, her lips just barely touching the rim of the cup, was reserved and restrained. Her gaze seemed focused on some unidentifiable distant object, as if she was directly not looking at him.
Nicholas had met her in passing once or twice, but because of first her unmarried status, then her position as a young bride who had not yet produced an heir, and then the absence from society after her husband’s death, he hadn’t really paid much attention. Yes, he’d thought she was delectable in a lush, opulent way, her rich hair and flawless skin setting off those incredible silver eyes, but she simply wasn’t anyone he would pursue. It was more like admiring a painting in a museum—it drew the eye and pleased you in an aesthetic sense, but you knew you could never possess it, so you didn’t waste time thinking about it too much.
Except all of that had changed.
He would possess her in a very carnal way and he was looking forward to it to a degree that astonished him. Maybe it was the unusual situation, maybe it was that stupid arrogant bet, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such an intense interest in a woman in such a short amount of time.
“Tell me about yourself.” He held his brandy glass and watched her sip again from the dainty porcelain teacup. The sunlight showed the glorious reddish highlights in her auburn hair. She wore a fashionable dress of dove gray that exactly matched her eyes, and on any other woman the color might have seemed dowdy, but she carried it off perfectly because it emphasized both her vibrant
The housekeeper was elderly, her soft-spoken voice carrying a hint of a Scottish brogue, and she escorted Caroline upstairs to a lovely room with a glorious view of the back gardens, with open windows that let in the sweet scent of blooming roses. For a country house the furnishings were certainly rich, if dated, and the large bed was hung with pale blue silk, the carpet luxuriant and patterned with ivory, rose, and indigo. The overall effect made her feel like an honored guest, but she could not help but wonder if the elegant suite wasn’t supposed to be that of the lady of the house. Especially when she noticed the door that obviously led to another suite of rooms.
Honored guest? Well, she supposed she was. Nicholas Manning wanted her to think he was a superb lover.
However, it would take more than a beautiful room to achieve that end. She stared at the adjoining door and felt yet another quiver of trepidation.
Chapter Seven
L ong mellow shadows fell across the grass, a scented breeze moved across the gardens, rippling the glossy leaves, and it seemed every bird in England had gathered to twitter and sing. A rabbit hopped across one of the gravel paths, nibbled at a blade of grass, and cocked one floppy ear, unconcerned with their presence on the flagstone terrace just a few paces away. It was like one of those settings he remembered from childhood books, where the world was perpetual sunshine and cloudless skies.
Or maybe his jaded soul spent far too much time in the city.
The usual fairy tale was not complete without a beautiful maiden.
Nicholas, propped in a comfortable chair, drank brandy, not tea, and observed his beautiful guest with what he hoped seemed like casual attention and not the rapacious interest he truly felt.
The night he and Derek had gotten so far into their cups was blurry, and when he realized in the light of the next day they’d made the bet public by placing it in the book at White’s, he’d uttered an inward groan. The best way to handle the resulting furor of whispers and interest seemed to be with as much of a sense of humor as possible. However, sitting now across from the ravishing Lady Wynn, he wasn’t so sure it had been such a drunken blunder after all.
Even the way she sipped her tea, with a lift of her hands, her lips just barely touching the rim of the cup, was reserved and restrained. Her gaze seemed focused on some unidentifiable distant object, as if she was directly not looking at him.
Nicholas had met her in passing once or twice, but because of first her unmarried status, then her position as a young bride who had not yet produced an heir, and then the absence from society after her husband’s death, he hadn’t really paid much attention. Yes, he’d thought she was delectable in a lush, opulent way, her rich hair and flawless skin setting off those incredible silver eyes, but she simply wasn’t anyone he would pursue. It was more like admiring a painting in a museum—it drew the eye and pleased you in an aesthetic sense, but you knew you could never possess it, so you didn’t waste time thinking about it too much.
Except all of that had changed.
He would possess her in a very carnal way and he was looking forward to it to a degree that astonished him. Maybe it was the unusual situation, maybe it was that stupid arrogant bet, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such an intense interest in a woman in such a short amount of time.
“Tell me about yourself.” He held his brandy glass and watched her sip again from the dainty porcelain teacup. The sunlight showed the glorious reddish highlights in her auburn hair. She wore a fashionable dress of dove gray that exactly matched her eyes, and on any other woman the color might have seemed dowdy, but she carried it off perfectly because it emphasized both her vibrant
Similar Books
