Read Online Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) by Maureen Driscoll - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Maureen Driscoll
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like.
He laughed off the fanciful notion and looked out
the window just in time to see Miss Melanie Sutton step into a hack. For a
moment, he was stunned and could only look at the lady. He regained his wits
and rose from the table, just as the proprietor brought their tarts.
“Is there an exit in the back?” Hal asked him.
“Why yes, milord. It lets out into the alley which
leads back to the street.”
Just as the hack was about to leave, Melanie Sutton
turned in his direction. Her marvelous hazel eyes widened for just a moment, then
she smiled and waved. Hal wanted to run after her, but he knew that by the
time he paid for their tarts and reached the street, she’d be long gone.
He had no idea how he’d been duped. And so easily,
too. All he knew was that Melanie Sutton was going to get kissed. Repeatedly.
CHAPTER FIVE
Mel was late and it was all Lord Henry Kellington’s
fault. She rushed up the stairs of the boarding house and hoped there were at
least a few women still remaining. Many of them were suspicious by nature and
it took a long time to gain their trust. Mel tried to never break a promise to
them and made it a point to always be punctual. She would have made it in
plenty of time today if it hadn’t been for Lord Henry’s interference. The look
of shock on his face when he saw her drive away was almost worth being late.
She just hoped he wouldn’t vent his displeasure by telling her uncle about her
activities. But she couldn’t worry about that now. She had bigger things on
her mind.
The house was a few blocks away from the Covent
Garden market. It belonged to a very wealthy widow who’d married a cloth
merchant some fifty years earlier. Rumor had it that the widow had once been
one of London’s most sought-after courtesans before stealing the heart of Mr.
Phineas Mitchell. The marriage may have started out one-sided in affection,
but it soon grew into a love match. Mrs. Mitchell was said to be heartsick to
this very day, some ten years after the death of her husband.
As a wedding gift, he’d given her the deed to the
building she’d once lived in. Mrs. Mitchell had kept the rents low – far below
the market price – and through her agent was very selective in whom she allowed
to live there. All were women. Many were actresses and opera dancers. A few
were courtesans. And all were hoping to transition to a better life.
While Mel had only met Mrs. Mitchell once, she
worked very closely with the housekeeper of the boarding house, Anne
Cartwright. Mrs. Cartwright was a former courtesan in her early twenties whose
career had been cut short when a jealous lover had taken a knife to her face.
The resulting scars had faded, but she remained extremely self-conscious of
them and only rarely ventured outside the house. But she was not only an
excellent housekeeper, she’d become Mel’s staunch ally in persuading women to
turn away from prostitution. She was, after all, the living embodiment of the
violence that so often went hand in hand with the flesh trade.
It was Mrs. Cartwright who greeted Mel as she entered
Mitchell House. Mrs. Cartwright was petite, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
It was easy to see how she’d been considered such a beauty. Despite the scar
which made part of her mouth curve downward, she had a smile filled with
warmth.
“Miss Sutton, thank goodness you’ve come” said Mrs.
Cartwright, as she took Mel’s pelisse, “we were worried something had happened
to you. You take an awful chance, you do, in coming to this part of town
alone.”
“I can hardly do my work without coming here,” said
Melanie with a smile for her friend. “And I do wish you’d call me Melanie.”
Mrs. Cartwright looked horrified by the very notion
of being so familiar. “I couldn’t do that, miss,” she demurred, then quickly got
back to the business at hand. “There’s a few girls
He laughed off the fanciful notion and looked out
the window just in time to see Miss Melanie Sutton step into a hack. For a
moment, he was stunned and could only look at the lady. He regained his wits
and rose from the table, just as the proprietor brought their tarts.
“Is there an exit in the back?” Hal asked him.
“Why yes, milord. It lets out into the alley which
leads back to the street.”
Just as the hack was about to leave, Melanie Sutton
turned in his direction. Her marvelous hazel eyes widened for just a moment, then
she smiled and waved. Hal wanted to run after her, but he knew that by the
time he paid for their tarts and reached the street, she’d be long gone.
He had no idea how he’d been duped. And so easily,
too. All he knew was that Melanie Sutton was going to get kissed. Repeatedly.
CHAPTER FIVE
Mel was late and it was all Lord Henry Kellington’s
fault. She rushed up the stairs of the boarding house and hoped there were at
least a few women still remaining. Many of them were suspicious by nature and
it took a long time to gain their trust. Mel tried to never break a promise to
them and made it a point to always be punctual. She would have made it in
plenty of time today if it hadn’t been for Lord Henry’s interference. The look
of shock on his face when he saw her drive away was almost worth being late.
She just hoped he wouldn’t vent his displeasure by telling her uncle about her
activities. But she couldn’t worry about that now. She had bigger things on
her mind.
The house was a few blocks away from the Covent
Garden market. It belonged to a very wealthy widow who’d married a cloth
merchant some fifty years earlier. Rumor had it that the widow had once been
one of London’s most sought-after courtesans before stealing the heart of Mr.
Phineas Mitchell. The marriage may have started out one-sided in affection,
but it soon grew into a love match. Mrs. Mitchell was said to be heartsick to
this very day, some ten years after the death of her husband.
As a wedding gift, he’d given her the deed to the
building she’d once lived in. Mrs. Mitchell had kept the rents low – far below
the market price – and through her agent was very selective in whom she allowed
to live there. All were women. Many were actresses and opera dancers. A few
were courtesans. And all were hoping to transition to a better life.
While Mel had only met Mrs. Mitchell once, she
worked very closely with the housekeeper of the boarding house, Anne
Cartwright. Mrs. Cartwright was a former courtesan in her early twenties whose
career had been cut short when a jealous lover had taken a knife to her face.
The resulting scars had faded, but she remained extremely self-conscious of
them and only rarely ventured outside the house. But she was not only an
excellent housekeeper, she’d become Mel’s staunch ally in persuading women to
turn away from prostitution. She was, after all, the living embodiment of the
violence that so often went hand in hand with the flesh trade.
It was Mrs. Cartwright who greeted Mel as she entered
Mitchell House. Mrs. Cartwright was petite, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
It was easy to see how she’d been considered such a beauty. Despite the scar
which made part of her mouth curve downward, she had a smile filled with
warmth.
“Miss Sutton, thank goodness you’ve come” said Mrs.
Cartwright, as she took Mel’s pelisse, “we were worried something had happened
to you. You take an awful chance, you do, in coming to this part of town
alone.”
“I can hardly do my work without coming here,” said
Melanie with a smile for her friend. “And I do wish you’d call me Melanie.”
Mrs. Cartwright looked horrified by the very notion
of being so familiar. “I couldn’t do that, miss,” she demurred, then quickly got
back to the business at hand. “There’s a few girls
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