The Seduction of Miss Amelia Bell by Paula Quinn Read Free Book Online Page A

permanent gaze
     of the greatest warrior who’d ever lived. Asleep again at the foot of her father’s
     chair, at her own celebration. He’d expected the duke’s niece to be more elegant and
     proper; what he got was a peculiar soul arrayed in mystery and mischief. Getting her
     to trust him tonight shouldn’t be difficult, but it would be pleasant.
    “An honor to meet ye, Lady Selkirk.” Edmund bowed to Amelia’s mother first, then to
     her. “Miss Bell, yer beauty is honored in song by traveling troubadours, but the splendor
     of yer countenance was grossly underexaggerated.” His eyes smoldered beneath their
     glacial veneer as she raised her eyes to his. “Ye are lovelier than anything I have
     ever dreamed.”
    Miss Amelia Bell could make a man happy, Edmund thought, basking in the delicate smile
     she cast upon him, in the sensual sway of her hooded gaze—like horses racing on the
     moors. Seafield, traitor to Scotland that he was, did not deserve her. Edmund knew
     seducing her out of Queensberry House would be an easy task when her lips parted on
     a suspended breath before she addressed him.
    He vowed that before the night was over, he would kiss that mouth.
    “Do ye speak such painted words to all the ladies ye meet, my lord?”
    He smiled, delighted by her boldness and the glint of humor in her eyes. “None have
     heard me speak so.”
    She graced him with another, more genuine smile that brought a soft groan to Malcolm’s
     throat. Edmund shared the sentiment but remained silent about it.
    “Well then,” she continued, oblivious to her mother’s horror above her, “as far as
     dreaming goes, I share yer sentiment.”
    “Amelia!” Clutching one hand to her chest and the other to her chair, the Baroness
     of Selkirk gaped, appalled at her daughter. Her husband downed his wine and glanced
     heavenward before he stepped to his wife’s side and held her upright. But it was Amelia
     who needed rescuing, Edmund thought as a flurry of whispers arose from the crowd behind
     him. Her smile vanished and she looked away from him.
    “My lord.” Lady Selkirk pulled his attention away from her daughter. “You must excuse
     her. She is…”
    “Delightful,” Edmund finished for her, and caught the slight inhalation of breath
     that lifted Amelia’s bosom beneath her chin.
    “If ye would excuse me,” she said in a low voice to her parents. “I need to use the…”
     She darted another mortified look to Edmund, then to her mother’s scandalized expression.
     “I would like to freshen up.”
    “Go,” her father allowed, sounding as disparaged as his daughter.
    Edmund’s gaze followed her lithe figure as she made her way from the table and disappeared
     through a doorway to his right. A moment later, a serving lass with hair the color
     of sunset followed her. She was the same lass Malcolm had eyed earlier. He moved after
     her now, sharing a nod with Edmund and no words to the baron.
    “Lord Essex.” Selkirk’s gravelly voice pulled Edmund’s attention away from the exit.
     He turned to find the baron had also left his seat and had come to stand at his side.
    “I will have our finest chamber prepared for ye and yer men. With so many guests attending,
     I’m afraid we have no rooms to spare for yer privacy. In the meanwhile”—he reached
     up and rested his hand on Edmund’s shoulder—“please share in our feast, if not yet
     a celebration, and tell me some news of England.” He motioned for a server to bring
     him two cups of fresh wine. “We are all delighted about the treaty. ’Twill help us
     recover from financial disaster.”
    “Ah, ye stand on the English side then,” Edmund replied vaguely. No revelation there.
     Scottish barons kissed the same English arse as the dukes and earls did. They sold
     their country and their daughters for the highest offer.
    Traitors to so much.
    “Do yer daughter and the chancellor share affection?”
    “Pardon me?”
    Edmund spared him an