Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page B

added silently. But perhaps she was a bit oversensitive tonight.
    “Are you certain that he did not try to take any liberties?” Hannah asked anxiously.
    “None whatsoever,” she assured her. And immediately wondered why she found that fact oddly depressing.
    “Oh.” Hannah sank back against the pillows, evidently disappointed. “I was afraid that perhaps he might expect you to kiss him.”
    “Why would he do that?” She unfastened the front hooks of her tight-waisted gown. “We are barely acquainted.”
    “Hannah suggested that Mr. Wells might play on your gratitude to make you feel that you owed him a kiss,” Phoebe explained.
    “I see.” Concordia stepped out of her gown, relieved to be free of the confining bodice and the weight of the items sewn into the skirts. “No need to concern yourself on that point, Hannah. I am quite certain that Mr. Wells is not the sort to attempt such an ungentlemanly tactic.”
    “How can you be sure of that?” Hannah queried.
    Concordia considered the question while she hung her gown on one of the hooks set into the wall. Why was she so certain that Ambrose Wells would not try to take advantage of a woman?
    “For one thing, I doubt that he would find it necessary to impose himself on a lady,” she said eventually. “I cannot imagine that there is any shortage of females who would be more than willing to kiss him quite freely of their own accord.”
    “Why would they do that?” Hannah sounded genuinely baffled. “He is not the least bit handsome. Quite fierce-looking, if you ask me. Like a lion or a wolf or some other dangerous beast.”
    “And he is old,” Phoebe pointed out, matter-of-factly.
    Concordia stared at their candlelit reflections in the mirror, momentarily bereft of speech. Were they talking about the same person? Ambrose Wells was far and away the most compelling man she had ever met in her life.
    “Mr. Wells no doubt appears to be entering his dotage to you,Phoebe, because you are only fifteen years old,” she said, striving to keep her tone light. “I assure you, he is not that much older than me.”
    Only a few years at most, she added silently. It was that air of grim, worldly experience combined with cool self-mastery that added the age to his eyes, she thought.
    Phoebe drew up her knees beneath the covers and wrapped her arms around them. “Perhaps. But I agree with Hannah. I cannot imagine ladies lining up to kiss him willingly.”
    Concordia sat down at the foot of the bed and unlaced her scuffed ankle boots. “Wait until you are a few years older yourself. I have a feeling that you will discover that men like Mr. Wells are not only quite attractive, they are also extremely rare.”
    Phoebe’s mouth opened in astonishment. Then she burst into giggles. She clapped one hand across her lips to muffle the sound.
    Concordia gave her a quelling glare. “And just what are you laughing at, young lady?”
    “You would kiss Mr. Wells if he asked you, wouldn’t you?” Phoebe was barely able to contain herself. “I’ll wager you would be one of those ladies standing in line to let him embrace you.”
    “Nonsense.” She blew out the candle. “I would not stand in a line to kiss any man, no matter how attractive he happened to be.”
    “You really do think that Mr. Wells is handsome,” Hannah said, intrigued now.
    “But what if there was no line?” Phoebe asked, methodical in her questioning, as usual. “What if you were the only lady Mr. Wells wished to kiss? Would you allow him to embrace you in that case?”
    “Enough.” Concordia used the moonlight to guide her toward the bed. “I declare this ridiculous conversation to be at an end. I refuse to discuss the subject of kissing Mr. Wells any further. Good night, ladies.”
    “Good night, Miss Glade,” Hannah whispered.
    “Good night, Miss Glade.” Phoebe settled down onto the pillow.
    Concordia reached out to pull the quilt aside and slid beneath the sheets.
    She sensed the girls