Page 7 of How to Wed a Courtesan

She had spent a considerable amount of time hoping to see Lord Murray again, wishing that somehow they might once more be drawn together. But as the months had gone by she’d given up, assuming the whole of England was far too large an area for fate to place them in one another’s company once more.

Yet now here he was—and she looking no better than a drowned mouse.

‘Thank you.’ She lifted her focus from the sprigged pattern on her gown to Lord Murray, who openly stared at her.

‘By God, Miss Rossington, you are truly the most beautiful woman in the world.’ His cheeks coloured with a flush and he gave a self-deprecating laugh. ‘Forgive me. I ought to have asked where you should like to go.’

His compliment took her aback, robbing her of all thought. All breath. All everything. She didn’t want a destination. No, she wanted to spend the entirety of that rainy afternoon in his company, opposite him in the carriage. Their proximity was such that the clean sandalwood notes of his shaving soap prickled at her awareness.

‘I... I was going home,’ she replied, offering him the direction, which he relayed to the driver through a small sliding hatch.

The carriage lurched forward as rain popped along the top of the cabin.

‘I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,’ she admitted, studying him now as openly as he had her.

His thick auburn hair, his high cheekbones and regal nose were all the more apparent in the shadowed interior of the carriage. He smiled at her, and her heart did that strange thing where it seemed to stumble over itself.

He was even more handsome than she remembered.

‘I was hoping to find you.’ He put his elbows to his knees as he leaned closer.

Heaven help her.

‘You came here looking for me?’ Only when the words were out of her mouth did she realise how foolish she sounded. Of course a baron did not go out of his way to seek out the daughter of a parish vicar.

‘If I was a clever man, I’d have done exactly that.’ His forefinger reached out and tentatively stroked the damp fabric against her knee. ‘But my father has kept me running around England and I haven’t had an excuse to come here. Until now.’

That spot went immediately hot. Indeed, the rest of her did too. It was a delicate touch—a brush more than anything. It might have been an accident. But she knew it was not. And that was why it affected her so viscerally.

Especially as she wanted him to do it again.

‘I’m here to claim some items from the Duke of Somersville,’ he said.

‘I believe he is in London now,’ she replied. ‘And Lord Folton is unreachable, as he is off exploring the world on his Grand Tour.’

‘So it would appear.’

There was a hardness to his tone that took her aback. He must have noticed her surprise, as his expression immediately softened.

‘Forgive me. There have been some unpleasant issues that have arisen between our families since our fathers’ return from their last expedition. It would appear there were some duplicitous dealings.’

Lottie frowned as she tried to puzzle over what the Duke of Somersville might possibly have done. ‘I’m sorry to hear it.’

He shook his head. ‘It’s nothing I wish to lament over—not when I’m in such fine company.’

A pleasant rush of giddiness replaced her concern for the Duke. ‘Will you be in Oxfordshire long?’ she asked, trying not to sound as hopeful as she felt.

‘Now that I’ve found what I was truly hoping to find, I believe I may stay a little longer than intended.’

This time the understanding that he was indeed referring to her pushed all thoughts of the Earl of Westix and the Duke of Somersville from her mind. Surely it wasn’t anything a letter between friends couldn’t mend. Not when their fathers had been so close for so long.

The carriage pulled to a stop before the small rectory Lottie shared with her father. It was a lovely cottage, whitewashed with a thatched roof, and flowers grew beneath the windows, vegetables in a small garden beyond. Trees surrounded it on all sides, lending the home a modicum of privacy.

But, while she enjoyed the cottage, never had she been more disappointed to see it so quickly.

If this carriage ride opposite Lord Murray went on for the whole of her life she would not have cause for complaint.

‘I should like to see you again,’ Lord Murray said.