Read Online The Seduction of Miss Amelia Bell by Paula Quinn - Free Book Online Page A

would. But now, feeling drawn
     to her like he did, he decided it was best that he kept his mouth and his hands off
     her.
    He’d been untruthful to women before in his quest for information, but he’d never
     gone out of his way to make them trust him, believe that he was someone he wasn’t.
     He was no courtly, pure-hearted warrior sent from heaven to battle giants with a sling.
     No, he used innocent women to win his war.
    But there was no time for regrets. He must carry out his and his cousins’ plan and
     save his kin, his clan, his countrymen from suppression. Nothing would stop him. Not
     even the slight flip of his heart when he saw her entering the garden in her nightdress,
     humming to the stars.
      
    Amelia glanced up at the stars strewn across the warm violet sky. She was late again—or
     early, depending on how one looked at it. She didn’t care. No one would miss her if
     she slept a few extra hours. As she made her way across the arcade, she cursed her
     ill fortune that a man like Edmund came into her life merely to remind her how dull
     her days were going to be with Walter. Edmund, who thought an obedient, ever-dutiful
     wife was tiresome. Stop it, Amelia , she chided herself. Ye’re going to be wed in a month.
    She blinked, trying to adjust her vision as she approached the statue of David . A shadowy figure of a man moved away from it, as if stepping out of the stone carving
     to become flesh.
    “Ed…Lord Essex, ye startled me.” She groped at her night robe as he stepped into her
     path. The fragrance of earth and leather flirted across her nostrils, going straight
     to her head. She stepped back. He moved closer. “Whatever are ye doing out here?”
    “I had trouble sleeping and came here to seek my dreams.”
    The smoky cadence of his voice above her head sent a warm tremor down her spine. She
     tilted her face and his breath fell upon her lips.
    “A lover?”
    “What?” She blinked slowly, enraptured by his closeness, his height, his scent enveloping
     her. Every other thought fled her mind, save one. She wanted to kiss him. Just once
     to help her remember during her marriage to Walter what something passionate felt
     like.
    “Are ye meeting a lover, Miss Bell?”
    Her head cleared instantly and she moved back, then skirted around him to head for
     the doors.
    “Amelia.” His uneven breath as she passed him stopped her.
    She didn’t look at him before she spoke. She didn’t want to see the censure in his
     eyes when she told him the truth.
    “I was meeting with someone whose friendship I treasure. She is frowned upon by my
     mother, and so our friendship is forbidden.” She didn’t want to be talking to him
     about this. Not him. She picked up her hem and left, but he followed and reached her
     in two long strides.
    “Why is it forbidden?”
    “Because she is a servant,” she blurted, not slowing her pace. “Ye may have noticed
     her in the Great Hall. Sarah is difficult to miss. She’s quite lovely; red hair, dancing
     green eyes, a kind heart.” Dear God, why was she trying to convince him that Sarah
     had no faults other than her station?
    “I did notice her.”
    Her heart faltered, as did her steps. “Ye did?” she asked, turning to look up at him.
     She loved Sarah, but the thought of Edmund taking notice of her made Amelia want to
     weep.
    “Aye, she followed ye when ye left the table and then hovered about fer most of the
     night. One of the men I traveled here with has been speaking of her all night, which
     is part of the reason I couldn’t sleep.”
    “Lord Huntley.” Amelia almost sighed aloud with relief.
    “Nae. Mr. Campbell.”
    “I see.” She slipped her gaze from his. “And did he speak kindly of her?”
    “Aye, I feel like I know her already,” he said, and the teasing lilt in his voice
     drew a smile to her lips.
    “And our being friends?” she asked apprehensively, but now she had to know. “What
     do ye think of that?”
    “If ye’re