Utterly Devoted by Regina Scott Read Free Book Online

swept her a bow in the glow of the lantern. “Ah, Titania, Queen of the Fairies, well met.”
    She stood a little taller, but some of the tension seemed to fade from her. She cocked a brow. “This morning I was an angel and now I’m a fairy. Have you seen fit to demote me, sir?”
    “Never,” he assured her fervently. He laid a hand on his chest. “Queen of the angels or queen of the fairies, you remain queen of my heart.”
    Her regal air vanished as her eyes widened again. “Really?”
    The surprise vested in that single word should have been another clue, this time of her youth and inexperience. Then, he had been too intent on making her his to question anything she said or did. He had hurried to assure her of his utter devotion.
    They had met most every night like that for nearly a month, sometimes at the tree, sometimes elsewhere in the wood. At first, she had allowed him no more than a few chaste kisses that merely left him hungry for more. Occasionally he’d consider giving up, but something in the way she’d look at him in parting, green eyes flickering beneath dark lashes, would encourage him to keep returning. That and the way her laughter tickled more than his ears. And the way her smile made him feel taller, more clever, and infinitely more handsome than his older brothers. In fact, she’d made him feel as if he could do no wrong.
    Until that fateful night in the stables.
    He shook himself. What was he doing reveling in the past when his future was in jeopardy? He and Eloise had chosen to go separate ways. Time to earn her forgiveness and get on with it. Jareth began to whistle.
    When nothing happened, he started a hymn. When Shepherds Watched Their Flocks gave way to a rousing chorus of Oh God, Our Hope in Ages Past . It wasn’t until he exhausted his meager knowledge of proper songs and moved on tavern ballads like The Busty Barmaid of Berkeley that the door opened again.
    “Miss Watkin will see you now,” the butler intoned as if nothing untoward had happened.
    Jareth rose and followed him into the townhouse.
    He had always considered the butler to be too high in the instep to belong to someone as winsome as Eloise, but the interior of her home suited her no better. The colors were pale and lifeless, the furnishings bare of ornamentation. Even the stiff-backed woman in the portrait over the stairs looked uncomfortable. He straightened his cravat self-consciously as the butler led him up the stairs to a withdrawing room at the front of the house.
    The room was just as bad, with its cool colors and uncushioned wood chairs, but the sight of Eloise in one of them did much to raise his spirits. However, as he moved closer he could see that she held herself so stiffly her back failed to touch the lyre pattern of the wood behind her. Her hands, sheathed in lace gloves in the pattern of roses, clenched so tightly in her lap that he thought she might pop a seam. He bowed, and she nodded her permission for him to sit. The butler stationed himself beside the door.
    “I apologize for the inconvenience,” Jareth said by way of preamble. “But I must speak with you.”
    “No, you must not,” she replied firmly. “We have nothing to say to each other, Mr. Darby. I granted this interview to make sure you understood that.”
    He spread his hands, offering her his most charming smile. “But Miss Watkin, I am a changed man. I am determined to overcome my past and restore myself to the bosom of my family.”
    She stared at him. “You have reformed?”
    “Completely,” he assured her with what he hoped was sufficient fervor. “I seek to gain forgiveness from all those I have wronged.”
    “All of them?” She raised a brow. “I should think that would take some time, Mr. Darby.”
    He refused to flinch. “Actually, it has been mercifully quick. The others whom I have approached have been eager to see me walk the path of righteousness. Indeed, my brother is so convinced of my change of heart that he