Lover Be Mine: A Legendary Lovers Novel by Nicole Jordan Read Free Book Online Page B

any case.
    When he had seen her safely into her carriage, Jackturned back toward his house. He had a journal to read and a course to plot.
    As he mounted his front steps, his mouth curved in an ironic, self-deprecating smile.
     Doubtless he needed to have his head examined, but he was about to don his slightly-tarnished-knight
     armor—or more pertinently, his Romeo costume.
    As mad as it seemed, he intended to pursue Sophie Fortin and explore the question
     of whether their legendary tale had a shot at coming true.

Situated in a
quiet London neighborhood, the Arundel Home for Unwed Mothers provided refuge for
     nearly three dozen indigent expectant women and their newborns. The modest accommodations
     included a dormitory and nursery as well as a large community room, where currently
     many of the residents were engaged in mending and sewing articles of clothing.
    Using the primers she’d brought with her, Sophie had spent the past hour with her
     family’s former maid, tutoring Martha in reading and elementary sums. Upon finishing,
     Sophie returned the books to her satchel, then rose and donned her spencer and bonnet
     in preparation for leaving.
    The very pregnant Martha climbed awkwardly to her feet and began weeping as she hugged
     the gown of forest green muslin Sophie had remade to accommodate her swelling figure.
    “I cannot thank you enough for your generosity, Miss Fortin,” Martha exclaimed, smiling
     through hertears. “ ’Tis a beautiful dress—the loveliest I have ever owned.”
    “At least it should be comfortable for the final month before your child is born,”
     Sophie said, embracing the girl gently. “But please don’t cry. It cannot be good for
     you or the babe.”
    Just then, the pleasant chatter among the women suddenly died and the room went quiet.
     Sophie glanced behind her to see a tall, well-dressed gentleman leaning against the
     wall near the door, watching her. With effort, she managed to hide her start of surprise
     at Lord Jack Wilde’s unexpected presence, although she couldn’t control the delicious
     quiver in her stomach or the sudden catch in her breath at the mere sight of him.
    With his broad shoulders and lean-muscled form superbly displayed in a burgundy jacket,
     snug buff pantaloons, and shiny Hessian boots, he looked strikingly out of place in
     the auditorium full of large-bellied, plainly-garbed women. And yet he seemed as much
     at ease as he had two nights ago in her aunt’s library, when he’d kissed her senseless.
    Sophie swallowed at the memory as she gazed back at him. His overlong hair was slightly
     ruffled and windblown, so that he still resembled something of a pirate. And he still
     had a devilish gleam simmering in his eyes that awakened all her feminine nerve-endings.
    “Martha,” she murmured to the girl, “do remember, I will be away from town so I won’t
     see you next week, but I shall visit you as soon as I return. Meanwhile, you can continue
     studying Mrs. Radcliffe’s novel for vocabulary. And I am leaving the primersfor you as well,” she added, handing the satchel of books over.
    “Yes, thank you, Miss Fortin … I will.”
    When Sophie turned and approached Lord Jack, he pushed away from the wall. “What did
     you do to make your maid cry?”
    Taken aback by his insinuation, she started to answer seriously. “I did not make her
     cry exactly. Women in her condition sometimes become overly emotional—” She broke
     off at seeing the glimmer dancing in his dark eyes, realizing that he was teasing
     her.
    “She was merely grateful for the refitted gown I gave her,” Sophie finished. “Her
     own gowns are much too snug now. What brings you here to the auditorium, my lord?
     You look like a fish out of water among all these mothers-to-be.”
    He flashed her a smile of heart-stopping charm; the kind of smile that made women
     go weak at the knees. “I came to see you but found you engaged with Martha.”
    Again he’d surprised