Miss Winters Proposes by Frances Fowlkes Read Free Book Online Page A

dreamed… “Forgive me. I-I had no idea.”
    Indeed, the more that was revealed about the man, the more she became aware of how very little she knew of her future husband. She had preferred being blissfully ignorant of Benjamin’s personal affairs. She was, after all, departing for Evenrood once her father’s health improved, and Artemis whelped her puppies. Knowing more about the viscount than was necessary only complicated matters.
    And yet, she found herself intrigued, drawn to the intimate details of his life like a mouse to a piece of fresh, succulent cheese. Was Amelia the reason he did not wish to wed again? Was her death still mourned? Her loss irreplaceable? A hollow ache pricked at Juliet’s chest.
    Benjamin led her toward the stairs. “Now you do.”
    “Juliet.” Frederick gripped her elbow and jerked her into the side table. Pain sliced up her side. “I am the more logical choice. It is I whom you should wed.”
    His lips lowered to hers, and for the second time in one evening, she found herself kissing a man.
    But where Benjamin’s lips had been firm yet gentle in their exploration, Frederick’s were limp, harsh, and…wet. She felt no stirrings in her nerves, no rushing of heat or pounding of her blood as she had with Benjamin’s intimate embrace. Fear, cold and stabbing, gripped her limbs and made her unable to protest her anger at his violation of her person.
    Thankfully, she didn’t have to voice anything, as Benjamin resolved the awkward situation with one swift blow to Frederick’s side.
    With a gasp, Frederick doubled over, clutching his midsection and knocking his head against the sharp corner of the side table.
    “Are you all right?” Benjamin’s gaze roved over her face before he clutched her to his chest.
    Like a cooling salve applied to a festering burn, his embrace was a balm to her frazzled nerves. “I-I’m not certain.” She had never been kissed before this evening, and in the course of ten minutes, her lips had been claimed by two different men. She had been both abused and cherished, assaulted and comforted, and the effects were…overwhelming.
    Benjamin pulled back, his gaze taking in her likely flustered appearance. He took a breath and turned his head to peer at Frederick, who had fallen to the floor in a disjointed heap.
    “Is he unconscious?” she asked, holding a hand to her chest. While she did not appreciate her cousin’s forward manners, she did not wish him harm.
    Benjamin nudged Frederick’s hand with the toe of his boot. “Presumably. He’s lucky that’s all he is at the moment. If he dares to touch you again—”
    “I shall seek out assistance.” She edged toward the stairs, her gaze capturing his.
    The smooth skin of Benjamin’s brow puckered, his eyes glinting their displeasure. “I would not usually request something so forward, but with the circumstances being what they are, and your cousin acting…unlike himself, I think it would be best if I slept in your chambers this evening.”
    Juliet’s foot stumbled over the first stair, her slipper catching on the wooden planks and propelling her forward.
    His comforting arms wrapped around her, holding her upright for the second time this evening.
    “I beg your pardon?” Her breath wheezed through her gaping mouth.
    “Are you injured?”
    She didn’t feel injured. At least not physically. Her sanity, however, might have taken a blow.
    “No.” She lifted his arm from its tight enclosure around her rib cage. “Addled, perhaps, but not injured.”
    She placed a trembling hand on the balustrade and stepped down onto the blissfully level and solid floor of the landing.
    Benjamin followed her, glancing once more at Frederick, who had tipped to the side, his snores rattling the half-filled vase on the side table. “Yes, well, I think it best if I stay close to you this evening. For your protection, of course. Your cousin is, after all…inebriated.”
    Juliet followed Benjamin’s gaze. “He is also