To Love a Wicked Lord by Edith Layton Read Free Book Online Page B

bored nobleman had to share and whichever attitude he chose to display while doing so, Pippa promised herself she’d deal with it. And yet when she and her grandmother entered the private dining room, Pippa was startled by the sight of Lord Montrose’s unexpected, warm, welcoming, and glad smile.

Chapter 4
    T he flickering candles on the dining table’s top, the glow of the wall sconces, and the gleaming light from the lamps made the private dining room at the inn look snug and inviting, as did Lord Montrose’s welcoming smile. He was casually and yet very well dressed, in hues of gold and brown. The fashionably tightly fitted clothes showed he had a lean muscled frame as well as excellent taste in clothing. In all, Pippa thought darkly, tonight he looked almost unspeakably handsome, and she was sure he knew it. For once, she didn’t know quite what to say. She ducked a bow and used the moment to try to interpret the sudden, unusual warmth she’d seen on his face when she’d appeared in the doorway.
    â€œGood evening, ladies,” he said, bowing to them in return. “Please have a seat. I’ve taken the libertyof ordering dinner. The desert is said to be delicious, but I’ve even tastier news for you.”
    Pippa straightened instantly. “You found him!” she cried.
    â€œNot quite, not yet,” he said as he pulled out a chair for her grandmother. “But soon. I’m on the trail.”
    â€œTell us, please,” Pippa said, taking her own seat and gazing up at him with delight.
    He hesitated.
    â€œOh, please don’t make us wait until after dinner,” she pleaded. “I won’t be able to eat a bite until I know.”
    â€œI didn’t mean to make you giddy with my success,” he said as he too sat. “Because it isn’t quite that. But I’ve heard news of him and will follow that trail. In short,” he went on before she could ask more, “I heard that a fellow resembling him was here, and left. I hear he’s gone to Brighton. I don’t know if that was your man, but there’s no trace of him left here so that’s where I’m bound next.”
    â€œBrighton?” Lady Carstairs asked eagerly. “You mean the old village of Brighthelmstone? Oh, but wonderful. That was what they used to call it. It was a charming fishing village. The waters there were said to be quite as good for you as they arehere. The king used to go there for his health. And then, in eighty-seven, our prince finally transformed it with the completion of his monstrous erection.”
    Pippa stared.
    Montrose pursed his lips.
    Lady Carstairs giggled. “Well, that’s what one observer wrote about his new Pavilion, and we were all so tickled, we couldn’t stop quoting it. I’m sure the architect, Mr. Holland, wasn’t so amused. But we were. Ah me. Those days seem so long ago. Just the place I’d wish to go now.”
    Pippa frowned. Her grandmother had never talked so warm before. Was it the freedom of travel that made her do it? Or was it something more sinister?
    â€œThis place is short of amusing company,” her grandmother went on. “No wonder we can’t find Mr. Nicholson here. I vow the gentlemen here make me feel young again! Not in the best way, but anyone compared to them would feel youthful. And won’t you be pleased to leave here, Pippa? She hates Bath,” she confided to their host. “No, child, you hide it well, but I know,” she said, shaking a gnarled finger at her granddaughter.
    Then she smiled. “Imagine, she complains that all the streets in Bath are uphill! She says it’s actually changed the people who live here and that’s why the sedan chair porters who carry the chair in back are shorter than the ones in front. Their legs have become shorter because of their jobs, she says. So it seems, though I can’t believe it’s true. And I won’t even