Lord Devere's Ward by Sue Swift Read Free Book Online Page A

doubtless confirmed rather than changed his perception.
    She poured water from the pitcher into the bowl on her dresser to splash her face. She grabbed the bell pull and told herself to stop refining upon such a tedious matter. She hoped he would not tease her at luncheon in regard to her choice of reading materials.
    Bettina entered to assist Kate out of her dress and boots. Kate stripped off her damp shift. She wondered why the garment felt moist, as the day was not so warm as to cause unnecessary heat. She rubbed a cloth soaked in cool water over her sticky body, then put on fresh underclothing.
    “The primrose muslin?”
    “The blue, I think.” For no reason Kate could define, she wanted to look her best at luncheon. The celestial shade flattered her eyes and complexion more than did the yellow.
    “You did not wear a hat this morning, Miss Kay,” remarked Bettina, as she braided Kate’s hair. “You will freckle and turn brown as a berry if you are not more careful, and all the town bucks will call you a bran-faced miss.”
    Kate, teased out of her megrims, laughed. “Well, there are worse fates.”
    “Your parents sent you to England to marry well.
    They will not be pleased unless you return to India with any less than a baronet, I’m sure.” Bettina coiled the braid on top of Kate’s head, pinning it. She left curls to frame Kate’s face.
    “I wonder if they have considered I may not return at all. It is possible that any husband I marry won’t wish to travel or live in India.”
    “Do you miss your home, ma’am?”
    Kate paused, unsure of her answer as an image of the frigid, moonlit attic of Badham Abbey at midnight flashed through her mind. She pushed the unwelcome memory away and thought instead of her parents. “Yes and no. I’m lonely for my family, of course, but the Penroses have made me feel so welcome that I am scarcely ever homesick. I miss the weather,” she said, recollecting the contents of one of the books she’d perused regarding India’s climate and geography. “It is much warmer, and here I find I am often chilled, though not, of course, on such a fine day as this.” She donned her hat of chip-straw and tied its blue grosgrain ribbons beneath her chin.
    The weather permitted luncheon to be served on the sunny balcony outside the dining room. The day would have been too warm but for a slight breeze, and Kate gratefully felt the air soothe her hot nape.

    * * *

    Quinn watched the soft wind lift a chestnut curl touching his ward’s cheek and envied that tender breeze. Staring at Kate from across the table, he imagined caressing her hair. Dressed in a gown which flattered her eyes, she was entirely captivating.
    She had been so delightfully flustered when caught reading the salacious passage from The Odyssey. He’d wanted to press her down into the tall grass and show her exactly what Homer had meant.
    She barely looked at him at lunch, sweet torturer. Did she know how much one look from her fine blue eyes affected him?
    His Kate. His Kate. Dear God, he was already thinking of her as his own possession. He ground his teeth, frustrated. A young woman as independent as Katherine Scoville, who climbed out of attic windows and traveled alone over half the country, would surely object to such an approach. And what of his honor?
    He avoided temptation by leaving after luncheon.
    Despite his hasty departure, he spared some time for a private tête-à-tête with his sister. They sat in the drawing room and hatched their plans while Pen dozed in his wing chair after the heavy meal. The open French doors allowed Quinn to hear the shouts of the children at croquet. Bees hummed in the fragrant rose-vine just outside.
    “I’ll open the house on Bruton Street whenever you give the word, Nan,” he said.
    “Next week, I think. But we will not be going about for a fortnight after. I must take Louisa and Kay to Madame Mirielle’s first.”
    “Bring back memories?”

    Anna smiled. “Yes. It