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Authors: Dorothy McFalls
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hide his emotions? Or was he venting a spurt of anger by upbraiding a hapless servant for some minor infraction?
And her mother, what would she be doing in the midst of this crisis? Iona didn’t have to tax her imagination in order to picture her mother collapsed on the parlor’s settee, howling with tears and on the verge of a full display of histrionics.
Simply imagining the stresses she must be putting her parents through made Iona want to curl up and hide in the nearest rain barrel. But she couldn’t. She was the Duke’s daughter and had been trained to behave accordingly. After bracing herself for the worst, she turned the knob and eased the wooden back door open.
Lord Nathan gave her hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry overmuch. I’ll be by your side throughout.”
That was her biggest worry. She didn’t want him by her side. The only silver lining in this debacle was the slight chance she might so shock her family with her behavior that her father would call off her upcoming engagement with her cousin.
And not give her hand to a different gentleman.
Before Lord Nathan could push his way inside the back foyer of the townhouse, she planted a quick, grateful kiss on his lips that sparked a flock of butterflies fluttering in her stomach and gave his chest a great shove.
“I thank you for everything,” she said in a rush. “You are a dear friend to offer to stand by me but this is my problem and something I must do alone.”
She swung the door closed on his surprised expression and drove the lock’s bolt home.
Chapter Five
Nathan gaped at the door. She’d locked him out. He couldn’t believe it. Despite what most thought of him, he was capable of doing the right and honorable thing. But in order to do that, Lady Iona would have to let him inside the house.
He called her name several times and rattled the door handle. The door was indeed locked. He called her name again, louder this time. He was sure she could hear him. The wooden door didn’t appear to be that heavy.
“Please, just go away,” she whispered rather frantically through the keyhole.
Although a gentleman should abide by a lady’s wishes, this was one gentleman who had no intention of going anywhere. And it was more than simple honor that compelled him to protect her. He knew firsthand the crushing pain an ugly scandal could bring. He knew what it was like to have a mother look straight through him as if he no longer existed. A father who cursed vilely at the mere sight of him, wishing he had never been born. And an older brother who had no right to join in with the rest of his family in turning his back on him.
No matter what, he was determined to shield Iona from suffering any similar anguish from this fool’s outing. He even felt a great desire to soothe her throbbing temples.
The fact that he would win her hand in marriage in a most disgraceful manner, but nonetheless win her hand, was curiously the last thing on his mind.
He raised his fist to bang the door down if need be when the lock’s bolt clicked and the knob turned. The door opened just wide enough for Iona’s younger sister to slide through.
Lady Lillian was dressed in a high-waisted watered silk cream-colored gown with long, tapering sleeves. Her hair, a touch blonder than Lady Iona’s, was styled in a profusion of ringlets and creamy ribbons. She was unquestionably a diamond of the first water. She also had the most unpleasant disposition Nathan had ever encountered.
With a petulant pout, pursing her lips, she tossed her head and set her hands on her hips. “Lord Nathan Wynter,” she said in a withering voice. “What have you done to my sister?”
“I have done nothing to her,” he protested.
“Is that so? And you expect me to believe that my dreadfully proper sister willingly spirited herself away from this evening’s ball in order to spend time, sans chaperon, with a notorious rake like you? I would sooner believe your horse was the Prince
And her mother, what would she be doing in the midst of this crisis? Iona didn’t have to tax her imagination in order to picture her mother collapsed on the parlor’s settee, howling with tears and on the verge of a full display of histrionics.
Simply imagining the stresses she must be putting her parents through made Iona want to curl up and hide in the nearest rain barrel. But she couldn’t. She was the Duke’s daughter and had been trained to behave accordingly. After bracing herself for the worst, she turned the knob and eased the wooden back door open.
Lord Nathan gave her hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry overmuch. I’ll be by your side throughout.”
That was her biggest worry. She didn’t want him by her side. The only silver lining in this debacle was the slight chance she might so shock her family with her behavior that her father would call off her upcoming engagement with her cousin.
And not give her hand to a different gentleman.
Before Lord Nathan could push his way inside the back foyer of the townhouse, she planted a quick, grateful kiss on his lips that sparked a flock of butterflies fluttering in her stomach and gave his chest a great shove.
“I thank you for everything,” she said in a rush. “You are a dear friend to offer to stand by me but this is my problem and something I must do alone.”
She swung the door closed on his surprised expression and drove the lock’s bolt home.
Chapter Five
Nathan gaped at the door. She’d locked him out. He couldn’t believe it. Despite what most thought of him, he was capable of doing the right and honorable thing. But in order to do that, Lady Iona would have to let him inside the house.
He called her name several times and rattled the door handle. The door was indeed locked. He called her name again, louder this time. He was sure she could hear him. The wooden door didn’t appear to be that heavy.
“Please, just go away,” she whispered rather frantically through the keyhole.
Although a gentleman should abide by a lady’s wishes, this was one gentleman who had no intention of going anywhere. And it was more than simple honor that compelled him to protect her. He knew firsthand the crushing pain an ugly scandal could bring. He knew what it was like to have a mother look straight through him as if he no longer existed. A father who cursed vilely at the mere sight of him, wishing he had never been born. And an older brother who had no right to join in with the rest of his family in turning his back on him.
No matter what, he was determined to shield Iona from suffering any similar anguish from this fool’s outing. He even felt a great desire to soothe her throbbing temples.
The fact that he would win her hand in marriage in a most disgraceful manner, but nonetheless win her hand, was curiously the last thing on his mind.
He raised his fist to bang the door down if need be when the lock’s bolt clicked and the knob turned. The door opened just wide enough for Iona’s younger sister to slide through.
Lady Lillian was dressed in a high-waisted watered silk cream-colored gown with long, tapering sleeves. Her hair, a touch blonder than Lady Iona’s, was styled in a profusion of ringlets and creamy ribbons. She was unquestionably a diamond of the first water. She also had the most unpleasant disposition Nathan had ever encountered.
With a petulant pout, pursing her lips, she tossed her head and set her hands on her hips. “Lord Nathan Wynter,” she said in a withering voice. “What have you done to my sister?”
“I have done nothing to her,” he protested.
“Is that so? And you expect me to believe that my dreadfully proper sister willingly spirited herself away from this evening’s ball in order to spend time, sans chaperon, with a notorious rake like you? I would sooner believe your horse was the Prince
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