His Wayward Ward - A Regency Novella (Risque Regency) by Kate Harper Read Free Book Online Page B

disappeared when they were engaged in one of their frequent heated interchanges.
    Occasionally, she caught him looking at her with an expression on his face Eliza could not interpret, but it was always gone so quickly that she was left wondering if she had imagined it.
    After nearly three weeks in London, she was just preparing to go Covent Gardens on an outing with some friends when a maid knocked on the door.
    ‘Excuse me, Miss, a visitor has come to call.’ The girl held out a card.
    Eliza took it and her heart fluttered when she read the name engraved there. Grayson was here! A pang of guilt closely followed the flutter, for, while she had naturally written to him on a regular basis, in the past week she had barely spared him a thought.
    ‘Tell him I’ll be right down, Polly.’
    Crossing to the bed, she seized a light half cape and her gloves and then hurried downstairs. Grayson was in the green drawing room, standing before the window overlooking the street below, but he turned at the sound of the door and she paused, regarding him with a renewed sense of wonder. The light behind him turned his hair into a corona of spun gold, while his face looked as if it had been etched from alabaster. Could she have really forgotten for a moment what a fine looking man he was? Throwing her cloak and gloves onto a chair, Eliza hurried forward, hands outstretched.
    ‘Grayson! How wonderful!’
    The slightly sulky set to his mouth lifted a little at this and he took her hands in his, kissing each one in turn. ‘Eliza! I was so hoping to find you home.’
    ‘I’m supposed to be going out, but it is no matter. Oh, Grayson, this is wonderful! How long are you staying?’
    He smiled. ‘The remainder of the Season if necessary. A friend of mine in Gilbert Street has taken me in.’ He moved a little closer, arms slipping around her. ‘Are you truly happy to see me, my love? I thought, with all of the gaieties you must have been indulging in, you might have forgotten me.’
    Another pang pierced Eliza, making her return his embrace with extra fervor. ‘Of course I’ve missed you! It’s been dreadful.’ A white lie but she could almost believe it wholeheartedly while Grayson’s arms were around her. Bending his head, he kissed her with an urgency that was flattering, if just a little stifling. She and Grayson had been affectionate with each other before and she had always enjoyed his caresses, but she still felt a little uncomfortable with his ardor.
    When Grayson raised his head, his face was flushed. ‘Come away with me, sweetheart,’ he murmured, ‘I’ve missed you so much. Bath is empty without you. Let us end this torture.’
    Eliza stared up at him with wide eyes. ‘Grayson! What are you saying?’
    ‘I think you know. Please, Eliza. This waiting will be the death of me.’
    ‘Are you suggesting that we elope?’
    ‘That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.’ He held both her hands in his own, blue eyes fixed on her face imploringly. ‘Truly, we are destined to be together and we will have such a wonderful life. I will take care of you my darling, you know I will.’
    ‘Yes but… but I will be back home again in five weeks and then we can… we can post the bans and get married in the usual way.’
    ‘I do not want to wait!’ Grayson pulled her against him. ‘Please, my love. There is no guarantee that Carlton will say yes when you return. He does not like me. I know it. I can sense it. Only come away with me and we can be man and wife within the week.’
    He was talking about Gretna Green, of course. It lay a good three days ride away at the Scottish border. Despite the fact that Eliza herself had considered this option only a few short weeks before, she was strangely reluctant to agree to the suggestion now. And surely he was exaggerating? Carlton had never suggested that he might not give his consent to their marriage.
    ‘I don’t know…’
    ‘But… why?’ Grayson stepped back a little, his expression