An Unexpected Countess. Laurie Benson

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СКАЧАТЬ slipper while pretending to adjust the ribbon around her ankle. She prayed the bracelet wouldn’t jingle as she walked.

      ‘Forgive me for the hour,’ Hartwick called as he entered the drawing room. His finely cut black tailcoat accentuated his lean muscular frame. The crisp white cravat he wore was tied neatly and that lazy lock of shiny black hair was close to falling into his sharp blue eyes.

      The Dowager surveyed him as if she, too, was assuming she’d find evidence of time spent in a woman’s bed. ‘We were about to begin without you. What you need, my lord, is a wife to manage you.’

      ‘What I need is a watch. There will be no wife for me.’

      ‘Do go to the back of the line, Hartwick,’ she instructed, ‘I’ll chastise you later for your tardiness.’

      ‘I look forward to it, Your Grace,’ he replied, passing Julian and Katrina with a smile.

      His friend gave him a slight, disapproving shake of his head.

      Hartwick responded with a carefree shrug before his watchful gaze landed on Sarah as she walked carefully towards the guests.

      ‘Do come along, Miss Forrester,’ the Dowager said. ‘I assure you Lord Hartwick does not bite.’

      A devilish twinkle sparkled in his eyes as he tipped his head to her in greeting. ‘At least, not in polite company,’ he said low enough that only Sarah could hear.

      ‘Then I count myself lucky we are among the Dowager’s guests. But be advised, should you bite me, I will bite back.’

      He placed his head closer to her ear. The warmth of his breath danced along her neck, sending a tingling sensation down her spine. ‘If that is meant as a deterrent, you’ve missed your mark. I now have the unnatural desire to pull you away and find the most delicious places on your body to sink my teeth into.’

      No man had ever been that forward in their speech with her. The bold suggestion brought an odd quiver below her stomach. Thank heavens the cad would never know.

      ‘Shall we wait a moment for you to steady yourself, or did that hesitation stem from your desire to steal away with me?’

      Did he have to be so observant? ‘Not every woman falls for your charms, Hartwick. There is a rare breed of us that finds it quite easy to see through your false flattery.’

      ‘I never lie. Not to you. I’ll prove it.’ He looked deep into her eyes. The intense effect made her entire body still. ‘Miss Forrester, I find your beauty incomparable, your intelligence stimulating. Your body tempts the very core of me—’

      ‘Oh, do hush, Hartwick. If I could push you over right now, I would.’

      The teasing grin on his face made it difficult to hold back her smile.

      As they resumed walking, his attention dropped to the hem of her skirt and his brow wrinkled. ‘Have you injured your foot? Has Boreham finally done permanent damage to one of his dancing partners?’

      If only she could use the clumsy lord as her excuse for the way she was walking. She attempted to adjust her gait, trying not to step directly onto the bracelet lodged in her shoe. Deflection was her best option. ‘What do you know of Lord Boreham’s knack for harming his dance partners?’

      ‘Since we were at Cambridge, I’ve witnessed many a woman leave the dance floors of England with a limp. So what is causing yours?’

      ‘I do not have a limp.’

      ‘Forgive me, your hobble.’

      ‘I tied my slipper too tight.’

      ‘Then we should stop so you can adjust it.’

      ‘It will loosen as we walk.’

      ‘Or it will loosen faster if we don’t stop and you retie it.’ He tugged her arm, bringing them to a halt.

      She could retie it twenty times and it would not make one bit of difference. ‘It is best not to keep the others waiting. I assure you, it’s no inconvenience on my part. It will loosen on its own.’

      Those sharp eyes narrowed on her, making her palms sweat.

      A curious smile spread across his lips. ‘You are an unusual creature, Miss Forrester.’

      As they finally reached the doorway of the library, Sarah was relieved she hadn’t jingled once during their short walk. However, she could not have the bracelet remain in her slipper the entire night. Eventually her hobble would give her away.

      She noted Hartwick’s attention was drawn to the far end of the room where Sarah’s mother was speaking with Lady Everill.

      ‘Are you acquainted with her ladyship?’ Sarah asked, taking note of his furrowed brow.

      ‘We’ve met once or twice.’ He looked over at Sarah. ‘We don’t generally move in the same circles.’

      ‘I imagine conversing with chaperons is not your preference.’

      ‘I avoid it at all costs, if I’m honest. I don’t want them assuming that I’ve decided to find a bride.’

      The Dowager cleared her throat, bringing everyone’s attention towards where she stood on the opposite end of the room near the massive fireplace. ‘I have invited you all here tonight to share with you the wonders of electricity.’

      Sarah glanced at Hartwick, who eyed her sideways. All Sarah knew of electricity was the experiment she heard Mr Franklin had conducted with a kite over thirty years ago and Signor Galvani’s experiments on the reactions of muscles to electricity.

      ‘I’ve purchased an electrifying machine,’ she continued, stepping to the side and revealing a small cylinder on legs that came up to the petite Dowager’s knees. ‘It is ingenious really. If we crank this handle, it will create friction, which will carry an electrical shock from the machine through this string. If someone holds the string and you touch that person, the electricity will flow through them and into you.’ She looked around eagerly at her guests. ‘If one person would like to crank the machine, the rest of us can hold hands and receive a spark. Doesn’t that sound exciting?’

      It did actually. How many people could say they knew what it was like to feel electricity move through their body?

      ‘Is it safe?’ Sarah’s father asked sceptically.

      ‘They would not sell them if they were not.’

      He bobbed his head from side to side. ‘I don’t believe that’s entirely true.’

      ‘You may be our cranker, if you like, Mr Forrester,’ she said, apparently not wanting to miss the electrical shock herself.

      Sarah’s father approached her side. ‘Do not hold that string,’ he quietly warned her.

      Since Alexander died, he had become very protective of her. As a child, he had encouraged her adventurous nature. He had found it amusing. But now he feared he would lose her, too, and she was all he had left of his children. Yet how could he expect her to miss all the fun? Who knew if she would ever have the СКАЧАТЬ