CHAPTERONE
A few months earlier…
Rain fell in earnest atop Miss Felicity Harrington’s bonnet as she hurried along the cobbled streets of Grosvenor Square. She was terribly sorry she had refused Lady Perdita’s offer to take her brother’s, the Duke of Hartford, town carriage to the bookstore. Felicity had been painfully aware of her position of only acting as a lady’s companion to the powerful duke’s sister and had not wanted to accept too much charity from the household.
Felicity and her mother had to rely on the duke’s kindness for every comfort. He and his mother, the dowager duchess, had done enough in providing a roof over Felicity’s and her mother’s heads without ever letting them feel inferior because of their reduced circumstances. The dowager duchess did not treat her mother as a mere companion but as a genuine friend. And it was quite fortunate indeed that she had found a smiling friendship with Lady Perdita. Felicity knew the truth of the matter was more than luck. The family was simply a kind and honorable one, and she never wanted to repay that kindness by being too much of a burden.
The sky chose that moment to open more, and the rain sleeted down with more force. “Bah,” she muttered, quite out of good humor with herself. “I should have swallowed my silly pride and taken the carriage.”
Now one of her best day gowns was soaked through, and she would likely catch a cold. Showing that measure of independence from their charity had done her no favors. A few carriages rattled past her, and she hunched her shoulders against the rain, protecting her precious purchase from the bookstore. A copy ofEmmaby Jane Austen. It wasn’t often Felicity could afford to buy something to call her own, but Lady Perdie had lost a friendly bet, and Felicity had gained five pounds for her efforts. A fortune for a lady of her circumstances. She had offered the money to her mother, who had stared at Felicity with a sad but proud smile. However, her mother had gently maintained that she should use the money to treat herself. She suspected her gentle mother had even been embarrassed about the entire affair.
Felicity had not quibbled or insisted, knowing that would have mortified her mother even more. A large puddle loomed ahead, and she slowed her hurried steps. Glancing down the street, three carriages raced ahead, one behind the other, as the coachmen deftly drove their vehicles no doubt eager to rid themselves of the unexpected deluge and find warmth.
Shivering badly, she forged ahead, impatient to wait for the carriages to pass to continue her journey. With a smile, she ran forward slightly and jumped over the puddle. Felicity gasped, careening as her legs folded underneath her.
A strong hand caught her from behind, hauling her up so that she was caught securely against a powerful figure. She snapped her head up and met eyes of startling cobalt blue, a firm yet sensually slanted mouth, and a sharp blade of a nose. He seemed too handsome with his savagely high cheekbones and thick raven-black hair. The body that held her so firmly also seemed to be sculpted of steel.
With a dazed sense of relief, she noted the rain no longer fell on her because this stranger had a large black umbrella held over their bodies. As his warmth invaded her chilled bones, Felicity realized how intimately pressed she was against him. She tried to jerk back and to her astonishment, found she could not move. Odd and frightening sensations prickled along her skin and sent her heart into a frantic gallop. She glanced around, grateful there was no one else about the street and that the sun was already lowering in the sky. They should be obscure enough. “Sir, please!”
A decidedly arrogant brow arched at her alarmed tone. Still, he released her, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“I believe some gratitude is in order,” he said mildly, his eyes too assessing and piercing as he stared down at her. “Had I not caught you, you would have experienced a nasty spill.”
Something in his bearing reminded her of Perdie’s brother, the duke, a man she found cold, arrogant, and too commanding. Taking a few steps back, she stopped when he followed, ensuring her head was covered with the umbrella. Bemused, she stared up at him. “I am grateful you prevented my fall, sir. Thank you.”
“Should I escort you to your place of employment?”
Her cheeks burned. Of course, he had not assumed her to be a lady but a servant. It burned her tongue to say she was the niece of a baron, then she felt extraordinarily silly to even have been pricked by an assessment that was not far from the truth.
“Thank you; however, I do not have far to go, my lord,” she said, truly smiling, for it was a rare thing to see a man of consequences show such kindness.
“Do you know me?”
“I…no, my lord.” Her smile widened. “It is your nose.”
“My nose?” he repeated slowly, clearly unsure what to make of her, and when she was nervous or out of sorts, Felicity tended to chatter, even to her detriment.
“Yes, your nose. It has a decidedly arrogant elegance about it that screams of your consequences and the manner in which you look at me. Surely youmustbe a lord. An earl perhaps or a duke?”
He stared at her as if she were a creature, then unexpectedly, his mouth twitched into a lopsided grin. The smile about Felicity’s mouth dimmed, and she wiped away the rain that ran across her vision. That small smile transformed him into a most charming and far too handsome gentleman. Quickly she looked away from him, surprised to find her cheeks heating and a confusing flutter settling low in her belly. Not even Sir Anthony Newcombe had inspired her belly to quiver, and she had thought them the perfect match until he admitted she was simply too poor and unconnected to be his wife, despite his great love for her.
“Forgive me for speaking in such an unrefined manner, my lord. Should we ever meet again, I shall be more mindful of my manners.” With this said, she dipped into a deep, respectful curtsy before straightening.
“I see.”
“If you will excuse me, I—”
“Please allow me the honor of escorting you in the rain.”
“You do know I am a servant…of a sort.”
“Servants do not catch death of cold and fever if they are exposed to the elements?”
“I…yes, of course,” she said, blushing. “I simply did not expect the kindness to be any honor of sort.”
“Honor and kindness are of the same coin, are they not?”
“Forgive me. I am not qualified to cross wits with you.”