Read Online To All the Rakes I've Loved Before (A Honeycote Novella) by Anne Barton - Free Book Online Page B

concluded, and the man and woman may remain on friendly terms.”
    The peace he’d felt as she slept in his arms was replaced with a cold uneasiness. Was that all they’d done tonight—take their pleasure? Because it had meant something rather more to him. She meant something more to him.
    He looked over at her curled on her side, her cheeks flushed with sleep, and realized she had every reason to be jaded, every reason to doubt.
    And it was up to him to change her mind.
    He was sorely tempted to rip the page from her journal and throw it into the embers. He’d enjoy seeing it shrivel, burn, turn to ash. But instead, he closed the book and tucked it under the folded quilt on the stool.
    Let her write a treatise on the advantages of the single state, if she wished.
    He would make it his mission to enlighten her about the pleasures of marriage.
    But first things first.
    He leaned over the bed and kissed her on the cheek, breathing in the scent of her so it would be imprinted in his mind. Then he left her room and skulked down the hallway to his, where he riffled through the desk until he found paper and ink.
    He had a letter to pen—to the Sherbourne sisters.

Chapter 10
    Call Lord B. what you will—a rake, a rogue, a reprobate;
    he knows how to treat a lady.
    —from the make-believe gossip papers of Miss Amelia Wimple
    Amelia blinked at Stephen. She couldn’t have possibly heard him correctly. “You did what ?”
    “I sent a note to Lady Olivia and Lady Rose.”
    “Why would you do that? You’ve never even been introduced.”
    “They don’t know the note’s from me.” He sat across the breakfast table from her, spreading jam on toast. If one ignored his lack of a jacket and cravat, he might pass for a proper gentleman. The bandage on his head was gone and his face, though still bruised, would no longer frighten children on the street. Each time Amelia saw him, he seemed to move with more ease.
    He certainly had last night.
    She hadn’t expected to see him quite so soon after their… tryst, but when he’d strolled into the dining room sporting a wicked grin her heart had begun to beat double-time. Her body was still tender from where he’d touched her… and kissed her, proof that the night hadn’t been a dream after all.
    She almost forgot she was vexed with him—and that he was being purposefully obtuse. “So, am I to understand that you sent Olivia and Rose a note that you did not sign?”
    He took a large bite of egg and swiped his napkin across his mouth. “I signed it… with your name.”
    “I beg your pardon?” She gripped the handle of her china cup so tightly that her tea trembled.
    He took a deep breath. “I’ll explain. Could we talk somewhere else?” He waved a hand at the wide table that separated them. “I feel like I’m miles away from you.”
    Amelia thought perhaps that was for the best. “I’m furious, you know.”
    “I’ll take my chances.”
    Her cup clattered on the saucer as she set it down, and every muscle in her body tensed. She’d trusted Stephen, and he’d betrayed her.
    Which only made her feel more foolish about spending the night in his arms.
    As they left the drawing room, he placed a palm on the small of her back—or tried to. She moved faster to avoid the contact. And when they reached the drawing room, she passed up the settee in favor of a chair so that he wouldn’t be able to sit beside her.
    He settled himself on the settee and she shot him an expectant, glacial look.
    “I can see that you’re upset with me, Amelia, and I don’t blame you. Unfortunately, you’re going to be even more upset with me when I tell you what I did.”
    “I can hardly wait.”
    He swallowed, leaned his elbows on his knees, and gave her an earnest half-smile. “I wrote to Lady Olivia and Lady Rose that you would go to the Norrington ball with them. Tonight.”
    The beginning of a scream rose up in her throat and she fought it down. “You. Had. No. Right.”
    “I know.