Once Upon a Rake by Samantha Holt Read Free Book Online

thinking him a codger too.
    “Do you spend much time in
Caldton?” she asked, forcing him to drop his sombre train of thought.
    “Yes, I have a house not far
from the mill. It means I can spend as much time there as I like.”
    “Your housekeeper said you
were known to stay for weeks.”
    “Did she indeed?” He would
have to have a word with Grace about keeping her trap shut. “Well as you
pointed out the other day, these are trying times. The mill takes all my
attention.” Her lips curved slightly—a mere hint of a smile—and her eyes
crinkled. “What amuses you so?” he asked, unable to stop himself.
    “The Lucian I knew would do
all he could to avoid work and now it seems you eat, sleep and breathe cotton.”
    “Much has changed these past
years. You certainly have.”
    Ellie appeared to want to
respond to this. Her lips parted and moved into a tiny ‘o’ shape and he braced
himself for some haughty response but none came. Instead, she twisted in her
seat and fixed her gaze upon the passing scenery. That she had silently declared
the conversation over vexed him. He should have been the one putting an end to
it. Who was she to be speaking to him as if nothing had changed? As if he was
still a well-respected—no, maybe not respected, but liked—member of society.
Did she not realise a beast like himself had no need for idle conversation?
Perhaps she had grown tired of looking at his marked face and preferred the
pleasing scenery. He wouldn’t blame her.
    The rest of the journey
passed mostly in silence. Lucian occupied himself with snapping open his pocket
watch every few minutes and grunting with annoyance before trying to keep his
gaze from straying to Ellie. He counted the buttons on the plush red seats, he
studied the wooden frame of the door with its gilded letters above it declaring
it to be a first class carriage, he eyed the luggage rack and the brass
mouldings. And yet by the time they neared the town, the image of her head
turned just so was imprinted in his mind. Surely a bit of polished wood was
more exciting than little Ellie Browning, but apparently his brain thought
otherwise?
    Ellie stood as the train
pulled into the station and he followed suit. Air compressed in his lungs and
he found himself desperate to escape the confines of the carriage. A flash of
excited delight lit her features and Lucian had to take two looks. For the
briefest moment, she had appeared incredibly beautiful, and yet so like the old
scarecrow Ellie. How was it possible for her to appear at all beautiful? And
after travelling all over the world, why did a dirty, smoky town like Caldton
excite her?
    As the train came to a halt
in a screech of wheels against metal, he gripped the railing above but it was
too late for her. She stumbled and he thought she might teeter backwards onto
the cushions, but she righted herself only to tumble into him. He had a
mouthful of bonnet and a handful of silk before he had realised what had
happened.
    His hands pressed to her
waist as he righted her. The silk was warm and soft. Even though he felt the
boning of her corset, his mind had skipped along several steps and had pictured
the contours of her waist. When she lifted her gaze to his, his heart came into
his mouth and sucked away any remaining air.
    He was drowning. Or
suffocating. Either way he felt like a fish flapping on the beach. Lucian
needed to tug at his necktie but his hands were apparently glued to her waist.
Those grey eyes widened so that they were impossibly big and the dark spots at
the centre grew darker. If he was being uncharitable, he might have compared those
eyes to the smog that hung over the town, pumped into the air by all the
factories and homes, but for the life of him, he could not be uncharitable. A
damn inconvenience as he really didn’t wish to be admiring them. When had grey
eyes ever been anything to admire?
    He fought to tear his gaze
away, and nearly succeeded, but those blasted lips captured it