Read Online Beguiling the Earl by Suzanna Medeiros - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Suzanna Medeiros
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when she’d seen him tonight, it wasn’t difficult to believe that the rumors about him and Rose Hardwick were true. Only… he’d slipped out during Rose’s performance and lied about it.
She couldn’t play the coquette, pretending an indifference she didn’t feel as Charlotte had advised. Or rather, she didn’t want to. And so she’d decided she must approach him directly. She was weary of waiting to catch a few glimpses of him every evening only to be disappointed when he didn’t show. And when he did, he was still careful to avoid her.
Just that morning she never would have imagined herself brave enough to confront him in this way, but she could no longer bear the uncertainty. Her mind swam with questions that demanded answers. She risked outright rejection, but she had to know how he felt. And to learn the truth, she needed to speak to him alone when no one would interrupt them.
She’d overheard Kerrick telling Nicholas that he planned to go to his club after the musicale, and so she’d sent her maid—after giving her a very hefty bonus so she wouldn’t reveal what Catherine was doing—to keep watch over Kerrick’s house. She hadn’t been certain if the young woman would do as she’d asked or report her actions to the housekeeper. But Catherine had taken the risk, knowing Lily was sending most of her regular pay back to her family to help support them. Fortunately, her gamble had paid off.
When she arrived to take over the watch, Lily told her that Lord Kerrick had been at home when she’d arrived but had left again shortly afterward and had not yet returned. Lily was reluctant to leave her side, but Catherine had promised her another bonus. The fact that she agreed was testament to how much Kerrick was liked. If Catherine had been visiting any other man, she doubted any amount of money would have sufficed to pry her maid from her side.
An hour passed and she started to regret the impulsive decision that had led her out of the house on that warm spring night. The night was still and dark, the only sounds those of the occasional horse and carriage on a not-too-distant street.
She heard footsteps before she saw the figure of a man making his way down the street. It was too dark to tell if it was Kerrick, so she waited, pressed up against the sturdy trunk of the tree, her heartbeat an echo in her ears.
The precariousness of her situation hadn’t occurred to her until that moment. Despite the shadow of the tree and the dark cloak that obscured her, she would be seen if he continued past Kerrick’s house and glanced in her direction. She should have taken greater care in choosing a hiding spot, but it was now too late.
Her heartbeat quickened, then leapt when the man turned and started up the steps of Kerrick’s town house.
“Kerrick,” she called, stepping out from the shadow of the tree.
Her voice hadn’t been more than an exhalation, but he heard it. His head snapped around and his gaze fell on her. He shook his head in disbelief.
“Tell me I’m losing my mind and that you’re not actually standing there.”
Something in his expression told her that she hadn’t made a mistake.
She pushed back the hood of her cloak. “You’re not losing your mind.”
He looked up and down the street, then jerked his head toward the side of the house. She met him there by a side door, concealed in the shadows between his house and his neighbor’s. He didn’t speak again as he unlocked the door and led her inside. The room they entered was unlit, and it took her a few moments to realize they were in the kitchen.
He took hold of her hand and awareness swept through her when she realized that, like her, he wasn’t wearing gloves. She remained silent as she followed him up a small staircase and down a short corridor. He led her into another dark room and closed the door firmly behind them before releasing her and stepping away. She heard the sound of a match, followed by the sudden flicker of flame
She couldn’t play the coquette, pretending an indifference she didn’t feel as Charlotte had advised. Or rather, she didn’t want to. And so she’d decided she must approach him directly. She was weary of waiting to catch a few glimpses of him every evening only to be disappointed when he didn’t show. And when he did, he was still careful to avoid her.
Just that morning she never would have imagined herself brave enough to confront him in this way, but she could no longer bear the uncertainty. Her mind swam with questions that demanded answers. She risked outright rejection, but she had to know how he felt. And to learn the truth, she needed to speak to him alone when no one would interrupt them.
She’d overheard Kerrick telling Nicholas that he planned to go to his club after the musicale, and so she’d sent her maid—after giving her a very hefty bonus so she wouldn’t reveal what Catherine was doing—to keep watch over Kerrick’s house. She hadn’t been certain if the young woman would do as she’d asked or report her actions to the housekeeper. But Catherine had taken the risk, knowing Lily was sending most of her regular pay back to her family to help support them. Fortunately, her gamble had paid off.
When she arrived to take over the watch, Lily told her that Lord Kerrick had been at home when she’d arrived but had left again shortly afterward and had not yet returned. Lily was reluctant to leave her side, but Catherine had promised her another bonus. The fact that she agreed was testament to how much Kerrick was liked. If Catherine had been visiting any other man, she doubted any amount of money would have sufficed to pry her maid from her side.
An hour passed and she started to regret the impulsive decision that had led her out of the house on that warm spring night. The night was still and dark, the only sounds those of the occasional horse and carriage on a not-too-distant street.
She heard footsteps before she saw the figure of a man making his way down the street. It was too dark to tell if it was Kerrick, so she waited, pressed up against the sturdy trunk of the tree, her heartbeat an echo in her ears.
The precariousness of her situation hadn’t occurred to her until that moment. Despite the shadow of the tree and the dark cloak that obscured her, she would be seen if he continued past Kerrick’s house and glanced in her direction. She should have taken greater care in choosing a hiding spot, but it was now too late.
Her heartbeat quickened, then leapt when the man turned and started up the steps of Kerrick’s town house.
“Kerrick,” she called, stepping out from the shadow of the tree.
Her voice hadn’t been more than an exhalation, but he heard it. His head snapped around and his gaze fell on her. He shook his head in disbelief.
“Tell me I’m losing my mind and that you’re not actually standing there.”
Something in his expression told her that she hadn’t made a mistake.
She pushed back the hood of her cloak. “You’re not losing your mind.”
He looked up and down the street, then jerked his head toward the side of the house. She met him there by a side door, concealed in the shadows between his house and his neighbor’s. He didn’t speak again as he unlocked the door and led her inside. The room they entered was unlit, and it took her a few moments to realize they were in the kitchen.
He took hold of her hand and awareness swept through her when she realized that, like her, he wasn’t wearing gloves. She remained silent as she followed him up a small staircase and down a short corridor. He led her into another dark room and closed the door firmly behind them before releasing her and stepping away. She heard the sound of a match, followed by the sudden flicker of flame
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