Wicked Wager by Beverley Eikli Read Free Book Online Page A

well occupied with their own gossiping, and half obscured by the rose bushes.
    â€˜A very pretty blush for a maiden who must be accustomed to having praise lavished upon her. So you are a friend of Lady Cowdril? Or your aunt is?’
    â€˜I’ve known Lady Cowdril since I was a child. I did not know who you were, my lord. I don’t know what you must think of my—’
    He stayed her rush to lay bare her shame with a finger upon her lips. His lips quirked and his dark eyes seemed to smoulder with everything that swirled between them. Again she felt the sharp rush of sensation spear her belly; the sensation that was familiar to her only in the presence of this gentleman.
    â€˜Your behaviour came from the heart, Miss Rosington, for if you did not know who I was, then I can only be delighted that you found my attentions so pleasing based purely on your honest reaction to me as an ordinary man. You have no idea how delightful that is to a gentleman such as myself, who is constantly fielding off advances.’
    His smile, warmer now, more sincere, made Celeste’s heart hammer even harder. So he didn’t condemn her? Nor, it seemed, had he drawn any association between her and his sister.
    Thank the good Lord.
    He also seemed to misconstrue the extent of her relief for something else, together with her apparent willingness to pursue that which began by a hanging lantern on a plane tree in Vauxhall. For now he had taken her hand, a gesture concealed by the lush greenery, and one that was doing extraordinary things to Celeste’s equilibrium.
    He put his head close to hers and she closed her eyes and inhaled with excitement the fragrant breeze bearing the scent of roses. ‘I can’t tell you how much I anticipate the following two days,’ he murmured, ‘now that we have been thrown together in this singular way.’
    Celeste opened her eyes to see him straighten, a regretful smile tugging at the corner of his oh so kissable mouth. ‘Now, your aunt is signalling to you, but before you go to her …’ He hesitated, bending slightly to take her hands. ‘I’d like you to know that I shall be admiring the daffodils beneath the mulberry tree by the lake just before dinner. Ten minutes before we are due into the dining room, in fact.’ He straightened, dropping her hands, and for one thrilling moment Celeste imagined he was about to brush her cheek with his fingertips.
    â€˜Until later, Miss Rosington …’
    Celeste blinked stupidly as he offered her an elegant bow before turning on his heel as Lady Branwell came to claim her.
    She was still in a daze when her aunt began describing the details of some titillating on-dit to which she’d just been made privy, no doubt intended as a salutary warning on the need for becoming chasteness in her niece.
    Celeste was not in the mood to heed any kind of moral guidance right now. Clearly, there could be no misinterpreting the viscount’s single-minded interest. If she had half a brain, or at least any consideration for her reputation, she knew she should nip this in the bud. She should certainly not for a moment consider meeting Lord Peregrine alone, anywhere, under any circumstances.
    But her heart hammered nevertheless at the interest this handsome, raven-haired scion of elegance and refinement showed in her; and she felt the tug of something deeper than superficial desire, although that on its own was compelling enough to throw caution to the winds.
    â€˜Celeste, are you chasing after fairies or are you coming indoors with us?’
    Celeste raised her head to attend to her aunt. Was she chasing fairies, she wondered as she trailed after the two older women?
    Or was Celeste chasing after the first very real prospect of something that might flourish from her barren heart and offer her a happiness she would never know with Raphael?

Chapter Four
    Celeste paced her bedchamber in an agony of indecision. There was