Tempting a Proper Lady by Debra Mullins Read Free Book Online

something since last night. Where exactly was the ship when the captain quit his post?” Cilla asked.
    Raventhorpe glanced at her in surprise, as if astonished by her audacity in addressing him. After a long moment of silence—which conveyed his disapproval in the most unmistakable way—he gave her a barely polite smile. One that did not take the chill from his eyes. “Why do you ask?”
    â€œCuriosity.” Though she kept her voice respectful, she did not cower. The earl’s haughty, deliberate demeanor had always struck her as rather cold, but she had always dismissed it as a result of being full of his own consequence.
    Now she wondered if it hid something deeper.
    â€œYes, I would like to know that, too,” Virgil said. He signaled the maid to bring more coffee. “How did all this happen?”
    â€œSince you ask, Virgil, we were in the Caribbean. The captain had gone ashore for…private reasons.” The earl met Virgil’s eyes for a significant moment.
    Virgil’s mouth tightened. “Go on.”
    Annabelle glanced down at her hands.
    â€œHe came back late for his watch. We argued about his dereliction of duty. He resigned his post and left the ship immediately.”
    Cilla glanced at Dolly and could see the same puzzlement she was feeling at the unspoken secrets between the others. “And where did you say that was, my lord?” Cilla asked.
    â€œThe Caribbean. Near Cuba perhaps. I don’t recall precisely.” Raventhorpe picked up Annabelle’s hand and kissed it. “I was quite upset at the time.”
    â€œOf course you were,” she breathed, a delicate flush creeping into her cheeks.
    Lord Raventhorpe turned away from Annabelle and focused on Virgil and Dolly. “When we got back to America, I tried to find Breedlove to settle matters.”
    â€œOf course,” Virgil said with a nod. “Any man would do the same.”
    â€œYou can imagine my shock when you told me the blackguard had not returned home. That he had deserted his fiancée.”
    â€œShameful,” Dolly murmured.
    Virgil shook his head and drank his coffee.
    â€œAnd then when he did come back, after nearly two years , he tried to excuse himself with that ridiculous story.” Annabelle set down her chocolate with a click. “I am hardly a fool. Even if he had changed his mind about the marriage, he still should have told me.”
    â€œClearly he is a disrespectful rogue, my dear,” the earl said. “You are better off without him.”
    â€œI agree.” Annabelle curved her lips in a flirtatious smile.
    Had Cilla not been watching the earl, she might have missed the momentary glint of triumph in his eyes. Perhaps he was simply pleased to have won the lady, but she could not ignore the dislike that swept her when she witnessed that look. Did he seem overly pleased at such a small thing, or was she jumping at shadows?
    â€œYou do not feel you dismissed the captain somewhat hastily, Mr. Bailey?” Cilla asked. “From what I understand, he was a longtime friend of the family.”
    â€œNo,” Virgil answered in a tone that brooked no argument.
    Raventhorpe whipped his head around to pin her with a sharp look. “Why would you ask such a thing, Mrs. Burke?”
    Due to the angle, no one but she could see the threat in his eyes. She exhaled slowly and lifted her teacupas if nothing were amiss. “Only because he seemed so determined to be heard. One would think that a friendship that had endured for so many years would at least merit a longer discussion.” Calling on years of deportment lessons to keep her hand steady and her expression serene, she sipped the hot beverage.
    â€œHe hurt my daughter,” Virgil said. “And maybe you don’t know all the facts. Either way, this is none of your business.”
    â€œI apologize.” Cilla dropped her eyes to her lap. “It is just that he did not seem