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538c381
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I can't help thinking," she confided when he finished answering her questions about women in India who covered their faces and hair in public, "that it is grossly unfair that I was born a female and so must never know such adventures, or see but a few of those places. Even if I were to journey there, I'd only be allowed to go where everything was as civilized as-as London!" "There does seem to be a case of extreme disparity between the priv..
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Judith McNaught |
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620e0d8
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I trust you had a pleasant walk, Ian," he said when her door closed upstairs. Ian stiffened slightly in the act of pouring some leftover coffee into a mug and glanced over his shoulder. One look at his uncle's expression told him that the older man was well aware that desire, not a need for fresh air, had caused Ian to take Elizabeth for a walk. "What do you think?" he asked irritably. "I think you've upset her repeatedly and deliberately, ..
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Judith McNaught |
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592fbf8
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For a man who's just inherited a small empire, Ian, you have a remarkably sour expression on your face. Would you care to join me for a drink and a few hands of cards, my lord?" An ironic smile twisted Ian's lips as he turned to acknowledge one of the few aristocrats he respected and regarded as a friend. "Certainly," he mocked. " " Jordan Townsende laughed. "It gets a little tedious, does it not?"
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Judith McNaught |
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1a79702
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When at last he finally hooked one, despite Elizabeth's best efforts to prevent it, she scrambled to her feet and backed up a step. "You-you're hurting it!" she cried as he pulled the hook from its mouth. "Hurting what? The fish?" he asked in disbelief. "Yes!" "Nonsense," said he, looking at her as if she was daft, then he tossed the fish on the bank. "It can't breathe, I tell you!" she wailed, her eyes fixed on the flapping fish. "It doesn..
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Judith McNaught |
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5921b48
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Normally, Bentner would have beamed approvingly at the pretty portrait the girls made, but this morning, as he put out butter and jam, he had grim news to impart and a confession to make. As he swept the cover off the scones he gave his news and made his confession. "We had a guest last night," he told Elizabeth. "I slammed the door on him." "Who was it?" "A Mr. Ian Thornton." Elizabeth stifled a horrified chuckle at the image that called t..
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Judith McNaught |
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8cfb92c
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Well, now, if we'd known we were going to have such...ah...gra...that is, illustrious company, we'd have-" "Swept off the chairs?" Lucinda suggested acidly. "Shoveled off the floor?" "Lucinda!" Elizabeth whispered desperately. "They didn't know we were coming." "No respectable person would dwell in such a place even for a night," she snapped, and Elizabeth watched in mingled distress and admiration as the redoubtable woman turned around and..
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Judith McNaught |
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c67a356
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I would like to see you cheat," Elizabeth said impulsively, smiling at him. His hands stilled, his eyes intent on her face. "I beg your pardon?" "What I meant," she hastily explained as he continued to idly shuffle the cards, watching her, "is that night in the card room at Charise's there was mention of someone being able to deal a card from the bottom of the deck, and I've always wondered if you could, if could..." She trailed off, bela..
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Judith McNaught |
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c670f60
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May I inquire what the point?" he snapped impatiently. "Indeed you may," Lucinda said, thinking madly for some way to prod him into remembering his long-ago desire for Elizabeth and to prick his conscience. "The point is that I am well apprised of all that transpired between Elizabeth and yourself when you were last together. I, however," she decreed grandly, "am inclined to place the blame for your behavior not on a lack of character, bu..
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Judith McNaught |
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5c6fb80
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Elizabeth," he said with reassuring calm, "I gave you my word you'd be safe if you came today." Elizabeth briefly closed her eyes and nodded, "I know. I also know I shouldn't be here. I really ought to leave. I should, shouldn't I?" Opening her eyes again, she looked beseechingly into his-the seduced asking the seducer for advice. "Under the circumstances, I don't think I'm the one you ought to ask." "I'll stay," she said after a moment and..
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Judith McNaught |
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f0fb949
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Lady Cameron," he said, playing his role with elan as he nodded toward Ian. "You recall our friend Lord Thornton, Marquess of Kensington, I hope?" The radiant smile Elizabeth bestowed on Ian was not at all what the dowager had insisted ought to be "polite but impartial." It wasn't quite like any smile she'd ever given him. "Of course I remember you, my lord," Elizabeth said to Ian, graciously offering him her hand. "I believe this waltz is ..
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Judith McNaught |
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fe4e2d9
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In some ways it seemed wrong that he lived here now, in this solitary place. At least part of the time he ought to be walking into ballrooms and strolling into gardens in his superbly tailored black evening clothes, making feminine heartbeats triple. With a wan inner smile at her attempted impartiality, Elizabeth told herself men like Ian Thornton probably performed a great service to society-he gave them something to stare at and admire an..
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Judith McNaught |
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0599bf4
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What I cannot understand is how your uncle could consider these two men suitable when they aren't. Not one whit!" " know that," Elizabeth said wryly, bending down to pull a blade of grass from between the flagstones beneath the bench, "but evidently my 'suitors' do not, and that's the problem." As she said the words a thought began to form in her mind; her fingers touched the blade, and she went perfectly still. Beside her on the bench Ale..
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Judith McNaught |
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3d5d1f8
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I thought you were angry with me for interfering," she said to his shoulder. There was a smile in his voice as he answered, "Not angry. Stunned." "Well, I couldn't let them call you a cheat when I knew perfectly well you weren't." "I imagine I've been called worse," he said mildly. "Particularly by your hotheaded young friend Everly." Elizabeth wondered what could be worse than being called a cheat, but good manners forbade her asking. Lift..
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Judith McNaught |
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046a369
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My dear, dear ladies," Sir Francis effused as he hastened forward, "what a long-awaited delight this is!" Courtesy demanded that he acknowledge the older lady first, and so he turned to her. Picking up Berta's limp hand from her side, he presed his lips to it and said, "Permit me to introduce myself. I am Sir Francis Belhaven." Lady Berta curtsied, her fear-widened eyes fastened on his face, and continued to press her handkerchief to her li..
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Judith McNaught |
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27b27c4
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Your butler informed me you were here. I thought-that is, I wondered how things were going." "And since my butler didn't know," Ian concluded with amused irritation, "you decided to call on Elizabeth and see if you could discover for yourself?" "Something like that," the vicar said calmly. "Elizabeth regards me as a friend, I think. And so I planned to call on her and, if you weren't here, to put in a good word for you." "Only one?" Ian sai..
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Judith McNaught |
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884c1ba
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Miss Lucinda Throckmorton-Jones, former paid companion to several of the most successful debutantes of prior seasons, came to Havenhurst to fill the position of Elizabeth's duenna. A woman of fifty with wiry gray hair she scraped back into a bun and the posture of a ramrod, she had a permanently pinched face, as if she smelled something disagreeable but was too well-bred to remark upon it. In addition to the duenna's daunting physical app..
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Judith McNaught |
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5f33ec7
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I wonder where they'll go," Jake continued, frowning a little. "There's wolves out there, and all sorts of beasts." "No self-respecting wolf would dare to confront that duenna of hers, not with that umbrella she wields," Ian snapped, but he felt a little uneasy. "Oho!" said Jake with a hearty laugh. "So that's what she was? I thought they'd come to court you together. Personally, I'd be afraid to close my eyes with that gray-haired hag in b..
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Judith McNaught |
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0f8ae5f
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What the-" he began, already heading toward the house, with Elizabeth walking quickly behind him. Ian opened the front door just as Jake came hurrying in from the back of the cottage. "I got some milk-" Jake began, then he stopped abruptly as the stench hit him. His gaze snapped from Ian and Elizabeth, who were just rushing inside, to Lucinda, who was sitting exactly where she had been, serenely indifferent to the smell of burning bacon and..
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Judith McNaught |
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34b7a1e
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Nick Sinclair will not be present today," he informed the thunderous-looking group. "He asked me to express his regrets and to explain that he was called away on an urgent matter." In unison, six outraged faces turned to glare with impotent hostility at the vacant chair of their missing member. "Last time it was a labor relations problem. What the hell is Sinclair's problem this time?" a jowly man demanded unsympathetically. "A merger," the..
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Judith McNaught |
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1e4699d
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Ne tuhaf degil mi?" diye devam etti."Biz kibarlar, uygar davranislarimizla ovunuruz ama birbirimizi yemeyi en guzel yemeklere tercih ederiz."
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ian-thornton
judith-mcnaught
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Judith McNaught |
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b87725a
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In the house Jake shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he stood at the window watching the women, his expression a mixture of stupefaction and ire. "Gawdamighty," he breathed, glancing at Ian, who was scowling at the unopened, note in his hand. "The women are chasin' you clear into Scotland! That'll stop soon as the news is out that yer betrothed." Reaching up, he idly scratched his bushy red hair and turned back to the window, peering d..
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Judith McNaught |
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1a9f588
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Either give me your hand, or end it now, and put us both out of our misery.
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Judith McNaught |
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a8d34fd
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How am I doing so far?" she asked, forcing a cheerful lightness into her voice. "You're doing very well," Nick's lazy voice mocked. "I'm half convinced that I'm invisible."
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Judith McNaught |
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5bfba58
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Don't worry," he said flippantly, taking her arm and starting to walk back toward the house. "I'm not going to make the ritualistic proposal that followed our last encounters. Marriage is out of the question. Among other things, I'm fresh out of large rubies and expensive furs this season." Despite his joking tone, Elizabeth felt ill at how ugly those words sounded now, even though her reasons for saying them at the time had nothing to do w..
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Judith McNaught |
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d1a7435
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If you're suddenly as curious as I am to find out if it was as good between us as it now seems in retrospect, then say so." His own suggestion startled Ian, although having made it, he saw no great harm in exchanging a few kisses if that was what she wanted. To Elizabeth, his statement that it had been "good between us" defused her ire and confused her at the same time. She stared at him in dazed wonder while his hands tightened imperceptib..
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Judith McNaught |
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23ca81e
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At the moment, however, she had an ever larger problem: what to do now, when two defenseless women were completely lost in the wilds of Scotland, at night, in the rain and cold. Shuffling footsteps sounded on the gravel path, and both women straightened, both suppressing the hope soaring in their breasts and keeping their faces carefully expressionless. "Well, well, well," Jake boomed. "Glad I caught up with you and-" He lost his thought as..
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Judith McNaught |
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ee6437e
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It was the same as I remembered it," she whispered, sounding defeated and puzzled and shattered. It was better than he remembered. Stronger, wilder...And the only reason she didn't know it was because he hadn't succumbed to temptation yet and kissed her once more. He had just rejected that idea as complete insanity when a male voice suddenly erupted behind them: "Good God! What's going on here!" Elizabeth jerked free in mindless panic, her ..
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Judith McNaught |
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64e1355
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Well?" demanded the vicar at last, looking at Ian. "What do you have to say to me?" "Good afternoon?" Ian suggested drolly. And then he added, "I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow, Uncle." "Obviously," retorted the vicar with unconcealed irony. " " blurted Elizabeth, gaping incredulously at Ian Thornton, who'd been flagrantly defying rules of morality with his passionate kisses and seeking hands from the first night she met him. As i..
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Judith McNaught |
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c173d92
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That evil-tempered horse she was riding has a tendency to kick, Jake tells me." "Was Lucinda badly hurt?" Elizabeth asked, already trying to think of a way to go to her. "The horse kicked Mr. Wiley," the vicar corrected, "and the only thing that was hurt was Mr. Wiley's pride and his...ah...nether region. However, Miss Throckmorton-Jones, rightly feeling that some form of discipline was due the horse, retaliated with the only means at her d..
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Judith McNaught |
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c3b5d69
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If you're hoping for a good meal, you've come to the wrong place. Miss Cameron has already attempted to sacrifice herself on the altar of domesticity this morning, and we both narrowly escaped death from her efforts. I'm cooking supper," he finished, "and it may not be much better." "I'll try my hand at breakfast," the vicar volunteered good-naturedly. When Elizabeth was out of earshot, Ian said quietly, "How badly is the woman hurt?" "It's..
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Judith McNaught |
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f5a5b7c
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Until that moment Elizabeth wouldn't have believed she could feel more humiliated than she already did. Robbed of even the defense of righteous indignation, she faced the fact that she was the unwanted gest of someone who'd made a fool of her not once but twice. "How did you get here? I didn't hear any horses, and a carriage sure as well can't make the climb." "A wheeled conveyance brought us most of the way," she prevaricated, seizing on L..
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Judith McNaught |
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7ef32a8
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Do you mind?" Elizabeth glanced at the cigar, smiled, and started to shake her head, then she stopped, assailed by a memory of him standing in a garden nearly two years ago. He'd been about to light one of those cheroots when he saw her standing there, watching him. She remembered it so clearly, she could still see the golden flame illuminating his chiseled features as he cupped his hands around it, lighting the cigar. Her smile wobbled a l..
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Judith McNaught |
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0faacff
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Speaking of debutantes," Jake continued cautiously when Ian remained silent, "what about the one upstairs? Do you dislike her especially, or just on general principle?" Ian walked over to the table and poured some Scotch into a glass. He took a swallow, shrugged, and said, "Miss Cameron was more inventive than some of her vapid little friends. She accosted me in a garden at a party." "I can see how bothersome that musta been," Jake joked, "..
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Judith McNaught |
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b127cb4
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Ian, about Elizabeth Cameron. Her duenna said some things-" That alarmingly pleasant yet distant smile returned to Ian's face. "I'll spare you further conversation, Duncan. It's over." "The discussion or-" " of it." "It didn't look over to me!" Duncan snapped, nudged to the edge by Ian's infuriating calm. "That scene I witnessed-" "You witnessed the end." He said that, Duncan noted, with the same deadly finality, the same amused calm with ..
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Judith McNaught |
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ae73afe
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A few minutes later Elizabeth watched Lucinda emerge from the cottage with Ian, but there was no way to guess from their closed expressions what they'd discussed. In fact, the only person betraying any emotion at all was Jake Wiley as he led two horses into the yard. And face, Elizabeth noted with confusion-which had been stormy when he went off to saddle the horses-was now wreathed in a smile of unrestrained glee. With a sweep of his arm..
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Judith McNaught |
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5fdf99b
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Every time Ian's amber gaze flickered to her, her heart began to pound. Whenever he wasn't looking she found her gaze straying to his mouth, remembering the way those lips had felt locked to hers yesterday. He raised a wineglass to his lips, and she looked at the long, strong fingers that had slid with such aching tenderness over her cheek and twined in her hair. Two years ago she'd fallen under his spell; she was wiser now. She he was a ..
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Judith McNaught |
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0c44bbc
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We must not let her uncle send her into the gloom, which is what he always does." "Is there a means to stop him?" Alex asked, smiling. Bentner straightened, nodded, and said with dignified force, "I, for one, am in favor of shoving him off London Bridge. Aaron favors poison." There was anger and frustration in his words, but no real menace, and Alex responded with a conspiratorial smile. "I think I prefer your method, Bentner-it's tidier." ..
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Judith McNaught |
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63c3146
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Why did you come here-that is, why did you agree to reconsider my proposal?" The question alarmed and startled her. Now that she'd seen him she had only the dimmest, possibly even erroneous recollection of having spoken to him at a ball. Moreover, she couldn't tell him she was in danger of being cut off by her uncle, for that whole explanation was to humiliating to bear mentioning. "Did I do or say something during our brief meetings the y..
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Judith McNaught |
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6741ebb
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Is Belhaven the other man?" he asked gently. The color drained from Elizabeth's face, and it was answer enough. "Damnation!" expostulated the earl, grimacing in revulsion. "The very thought of an innocent like yourself being offered to that old-" "I've dissuaded him," Elizabeth hastily assured him, but she was profoundly touched that the earl, who knew her so slightly, was angered on her behalf. "You're certain?" "I think so." After a momen..
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Judith McNaught |
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6f500f9
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He stared at her in insolent silence, unable to believe the alluring, impulsive girl he remembered had become this coolly aloof, self-possessed young woman. Even with her dusty clothes and the smear of dirt on her cheek, Elizabeth Cameron was strikingly beautiful, but she'd changed so much that-except for the eyes-he scarcely recognized her. One thing hadn't changed: She was still a schemer and a liar. Straightening abruptly from his stance..
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Judith McNaught |
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a36e509
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You have insulted me and degraded me every time I've been in your presence. If my brother were here, he'd call you out! Since he is not here," she continued almost mindlessly, "I shall demand my own satisfaction. If I were a man, I'd have the right to satisfaction on the field of honor, and as a woman I refuse to be denied that right." "You're ridiculous." "Perhaps," Elizabeth said softly, "but I also happen to be an excellent shot. I'm a f..
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Judith McNaught |
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96083c4
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I suppose we ought to go back," she said when several minutes had passed, and his silence became unsettling. In answer Ian tipped his head back and closed his eyes, looking like a man in the throes of some deep, internal battle. "Why?" he said, still in that odd posture. "Because there's nowhere else to walk," she answered, stating the obvious. "We did not come out tonight to walk," he said flatly. Elizabeth's sense of security began to dis..
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Judith McNaught |
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5bb9f94
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A rueful smile touched Lauren's lips as she turned her head toward the window. Everyone always said she was so intelligent, so sensible, yet here she was, already planning to make Nick Sinclair fall in love with her...because she knew she was already falling in love with him. "Lauren,this trip is getting a little lonely on my side of the car. What are you thinking about?" Filled with thoughts of their destiny, Lauren turned to him and, smil..
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Judith McNaught |
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a7b3562
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He'd promised she would be "safe," which she now realized left a great deal of room for personal interpretation. "If I'm going to remain," she said uneasily, "I think we ought to agree to observe all the proprieties and conventions." "Such as?" "Well, for a beginning, you really shouldn't be calling me by my given name." "Considering the kiss we exchanged in the arbor last night, it seems a little absurd to call you Miss Cameron." It was th..
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Judith McNaught |