Page 34 of The Tempting of a Devilish Lord

“Lucy appears to think so.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, she was often worrying for her reputation in my company.”

“Well, if one mere kiss is having such an impact on your work, I suggest you do a better job of trying to speak with her, instead of writing half-finished letters about cows.”

“I already tried.”

“Write a letter to her then,” Adam suggested. “It’s got to be more interesting than writing about cows. Act like a true gentleman.”

Alex glanced at the many half-finished letters before him. Adam had a point. He didn’t know why he even wished to speak with Lucy so badly. Perhaps to reassure, perhaps because…well, damn it, because he just needed to see her again. Either way, the woman was going to listen to him whether she liked it or not.

If he was going to persuade her he had no desire to ruin her, he needed to do something he’d never done before…

Correspond with a woman. Like a gentleman.

He shoved a hand through his hair and eyed his brother. He was never going to let him forget this. “Adam, how the devil does one write a gentlemanly letter to a woman?”

∞∞∞

WHEN HER MOTHER entered the room, Lucinda shoved the letter behind her back, pushing it under the cushion of the sofa. It was all very odd. Why would Alex take such a formal tone? It was almost as though he had been kidnapped and replaced with another man. Admittedly, she had never read a letter written by him before, but it did not seem Alex-like at all.

She rolled her eyes at herself. Listen to her.Alex-like.She did not know the man, not really. They had barely spent time with each other and hardly in the best of circumstances.

So why did it hurt to deny herself the option of seeing him?

“What is wrong, Lucinda?” her mother demanded, sinking onto the singular chair by the window of Mrs. Barker’s parlor room.

Their host kept a cozy house not far from the lakeside and Lucinda appreciated the little touches of history in the building, like the huge fireplace large enough for one to almost stand in and the stained-glass family crests in the upper windows with dates inscribed reaching as far back as the sixteenth century.

Her mother leaned forward and narrowed her gaze at her when she did not manage to come up with a response quickly enough. “Are you ailing? Should I fetch the doctor?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I am perfectly well, Mama.”

“I have a tincture—”

“I am fine, I promise.”

Her mother settled back on the chair and retrieved the sample she had been stitching since their arrival. “Is it because of that Lord Kirbeck? Mrs. Barker said he called for you yesterday.”

His name made her heart leap and she had to take a breath before responding so she did not sound all breathy and ridiculous. “He was simply inquiring after my health, Mama. I sent him on his way.”

“Good. You know they call him a Lord of Scandal Row?”

“I know, Mama.”

She frowned and paused mid-stitch then set down her sampler. “But why would he inquire after your health?” Her mother rose and swiftly strode over to press the back of a hand to her forehead. “You seem a little warm.”

“I am well, I promise, Mama.” Lucinda ducked back from the touch and batted her mother’s hand away.

She could explain that the heat existed because she was thinking about that kiss. A kiss that had been about the most foolish thing she had ever done. Good Lord, how wanton she must have sounded, practically begging for it. Now all she could do was sit and wait and see if the housekeeper revealed her.

A man like Alex would never marry her so she would be left completely ruined—and after such a long time of being so careful. Her parents would be so ashamed.

“I do not like that man visiting, marquis or not. I refuse to be like Mrs. Lonsdale, so desperate for a title for her daughters, regardless of the man’s character or quality.”

Lucinda bit back a response that her mother would certainly not appreciate. The man was a flirt and charming, but he was also brave and caring. Without him, she surely would have drowned in the well, having given up long before they were rescued. She would never forget the strength of his reassurance and the way he held her, giving up any idea of comfort to ensure her safety.

“I heard he is here because he utterly ruined a woman,” her mother continued.

Sucking in a sharp, painful breath, Lucinda forced her expression to remain blank. “Oh?”

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