The Earl of Her Dreams by Anne Mallory Read Free Book Online Page A

my mind.”
    A muffled bang came from the connecting wall. Freewater was obviously doing something in there. Christian wished the irritating man would grow discouraged with whatever it was and fetch something to eat.
    “Maid!”
    Or maybe not.
    Kate gave the wall a disgusted glance. “He’s been calling for things all night. Refuses to get up and fetch them for himself.”
    “Yes, most annoying,” Christian muttered. At least next door to the man he would be able to hear if Freewater moved.
    “Let’s get back to you being here. You can’t just change your mind. We had an agreement.”
    “Too true. Our agreement was to share a room.”
    “You said you would stay in the taproom all night.”
    “You are repeating yourself, Kate.”
    “Don’t call me that,” she huffed, while obviously waiting for him to leave. “Fine. I will go then.”
    The first rule in handling skittish women was to keep them on their toes about whether you were really trying to seduce them.
    He shrugged negligently. “More room for me.” He plopped on the bed and watched as a delicate pink fanned her cheeks and then burst into a beautiful rose. His trousers tightened at the sight. “You are starting to resemble an overly ripe tomato, Kate. An out-of-season one, of course.”
    His body disagreed vehemently.
    Her eyes narrowed and she stomped over, tugged on a large jacket, and gathered the mending. “Good evening, Mr. Black.”
    “You mean Christian,” he reminded her breezily as she slammed the door.
    He smiled and reclined on the bed, then lifted his legs to scoot toward the wall. She’d be back soon and as feisty as ever.
    He might as well make use of his time until she did. What would it take to get the journal if he couldn’t steal it back from Freewater? Blackmail? Extortion? He hadn’t had time to hire someone to check into Freewater’s background. He had instead jumped right into following the man. After all, how hard could getting the journal back be?
    He snorted at his initial assumption. After chasing the man for over a week he was reasonably sure that nothing short of an Act of Parliament was likely to make Freewater relinquish his grip.The journal had hooks into nearly everyone in the ton. Webs and relationships. Too many prominent people connected to one another in lewd or ill-advised arrangements. Husbands would be calling for blood, women would be forced into seclusion. Anthony had acknowledged that anyone who had frequented illicit house parties, taverns, and brothels where he was present was mentioned.
    Unless Anthony had deliberately left him out, Christian was likely mentioned in a number of those entries. He had committed many a debauchery alongside his friend. Not that it mattered if he was named. It wasn’t as if he had the respect of his family to lose. He had made his own way in society, and it would withstand scrutiny. Hell, the “good” ton that would be implicated would overshadow any of Christian’s exploits.
    No doubt Freewater had already read Anthony’s journal, so the entries were already compromised, but the damage would be much greater if the actual document was released to the public in all its glory. Anthony would either be strung from society’s rafters or be the most notorious man to survive a hundred duels.
    That was if he survived his ladylove leaving him over the exposure.
    No, Christian would take the journal back. And he didn’t much care how he had to do it.
    Christian pressed his ear to the wall, listening as Freewater again started yelling for a maid.
     
    As she exited the room, Kate ran into Sally. The maid was on her way to answer Mr. Freewater’s summons.
    “Pardon me, Sally, I wasn’t watching where I was stepping.”
    The maid’s eyes remained downcast. “It was my fault, sir.”
    “No it wasn’t. Do you need help with Mr. Freewater?”
    Sally shook her head and looked at the poker in her hand. “I was just on my way to stoke the fire in the common room.”
    Kate