Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London by Laura Lee Guhrke Read Free Book Online Page A

girl’s life, and for her, that moment was being ruined by this ill-mannered stranger. “You speak of the conduct of gentlemen,” she said, “but as Frederick pointed out, this is a private conversation. Any gentleman who intruded upon such a circumstance would leave the moment he was asked to do so.”
    “Perhaps,” he conceded at once. “But despite my title, I fear I have never been much of a gentleman. As a man, however . . .” He paused, returning his attention to Frederick. “As a man, I would never dream of using a woman to gain my own ends.”
    “You bastard.” Frederick once again started forward, and Linnet put a hand on his arm to stop him. “No, don’t,” she pleaded. “He’s just needling you. Ignore him.”
    Frederick drew a deep breath. “You’re right, of course,” he said, and turned toward her. “Why let him ruin things? After all,” he added, once again grasping her hands in his, “we’re almost there. I’ve already told you my mind, and I believe I know yours as well—”
    “Presumes to know your mind, does he?” Featherstone interjected with amusement. “How long before he tells you what thoughts need to be in it?”
    Linnet kept her attention on the man before her. “Go on, Frederick,” she urged. “We’ll just pretend he isn’t here.”
    He nodded. “I realize this all must seem a bit sudden to you, but—”
    “A bit?” the earl echoed. “I should say so. He’s being so impetuous, isn’t he? And it’s so unlike him. Perhaps before you give him an answer, Miss Holland, you should ask him why he’s in such a hurry.”
    Even as she tried to tell herself not to listen to the interfering, impudent man in the doorway, Linnet felt a tiny glimmer of uncertainty. This behavior was uncharacteristic of Frederick. And what had Featherstone meant about Tuesday?
    “Though perhaps you don’t want to know his reasons,” the earl went on. “American girls are so romantic about marriage, inclined to rush in headlong, thinking it’s all about love, when sometimes, it’s really about—”
    “Shut your mouth!” Frederick let go of her hands, turned, and started toward the earl.
    “And if I don’t?” Featherstone unfolded his arms, straightened away from the door frame, and took a step forward as the other man approached him. “What will you do?”
    Frederick stopped, still a few feet away, and Linnet heard him take a deep, steadying breath. “As much as I’d like to take you down a notch or two, it would be unthinkable to brawl in front of a lady.”
    “My, such chivalry.” Featherstone laughed, a low, deep laugh of unmistakable mockery. “Or perhaps it’s just cowardice.”
    This taunt proved too much even for Frederick to bear. With a roar of outrage, he took the last few steps and struck out with his fist, but the earl ducked, evading the blow. In the same instant, his own fist came up, catching Frederick hard under the chin, sending him stumbling backward. Two more lightning strikes, one straight beneath his ribs and the other hard to the jaw, and Frederick hit the wall behind him. He sank to the floor beside a lavish Oriental screen.
    “Oh, no.” Linnet hurried forward as he slumped sideways to the ground. “Frederick, are you all right?”
    He didn’t answer, and when she knelt beside him, he didn’t stir. When she touched his shoulder, he didn’t open his eyes.
    The tap of footsteps had her looking up as Featherstone circled around the end of the long dining table. “He’s unconscious.”
    The earl didn’t spare more than the briefest glance at the unmoving figure on the floor. “He’ll be all right.”
    “You knocked him out!”
    “So I did.” Featherstone tugged at his cuffs and straightened his white bow tie. “A most gratifying experience.”
    Anger washed over her in a hot flood, and she rose, facing him beside Frederick’s prone body. “You did this on purpose for some despicable reason of your own. This wasn’t about protecting a