Page 2 of The Miracle of Love
He groped for the candle always kept on the small night table beside the bed and lit it to search for the trousers he’d tossed on the floor. He then whipped them on and buttoned the falls. This left him five seconds to get a good look at her beyond what he could make out under the silvery rays of moonlight slanting in through the window.
It took him much less time.
Holy Mother.
He held the candle up so that it shone over the bed.
He’d never seen a prettier girl in his life.
Someone pounded on the door. “Grace! Grace! Are you all right?”
She opened her eyes and rolled to her knees. Her dark blonde curls swirled about her shoulders, cascading in soft waves down her back. Her big eyes, laden with fear, were as green as the Irish hills. “What shall I say, Mr. Quinton?” she whispered. “You cannot be found in here!”
He sank to her side.
The mattress dipped from his weight, causing her to slide closer. She had to catch his shoulder to steady herself, but not before that luscious body of hers fell against him and left him feeling as though he had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. “Tell them all is well, you were simply frightened by a mouse.”
“Oh, that is very good.” She cleared her throat and released him now that she had regained her balance. “I’m fine, Lady Miranda. Just a mouse. He startled me. He’s gone now.”
“He?” his aunt intoned.
The girl’s eyes widened once again.
She looked at him in panic.
Deklan grinned, liking that she was not a practiced liar. “It.Refer to the mouse as anit, not ahe,” he whispered.
“Oh.” The little apple in her throat bobbed. “Um…er…perhapsitwas a rat. A big, dark, furry thing. As I said,itis all gone now. Yes, I must have chaseditaway. I’m so sorry I disturbed you. Please, go back to bed. Crisis has passed. All is well.”
Miranda rattled the door.
The girl looked about to faint.
But the door held as Deklan knew it would.
He heard another female voice now calling out to this angelic vision and knocking at the door. “Grace, open up and let us make sure. My dear, you sounded dreadfully overset.”
Bloody hell.
His mother.
Could this get any worse?
He was still holding the candle and now glanced at the book the girl had been hitting him with. He waited for Grace to finish babbling some more assurances about the mouse that no one was ever going to believe had come into her room.
A moment later, she let out a breath and groaned. “Do you think we fooled them?”
Was she serious?
This girl could not lie her way out of a sack of grain.
But he nodded. “I’m sure we did.”
When the footsteps receded down the hall, Deklan picked up the book to read the title.The Book of Love.“What in blazes are you reading?”
“I don’t know. It simply appeared atop the bureau earlier today. Is it yours?”
“Hell, no. Why would I want to read that book? I don’t need anyone telling me how to seduce women.”
