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She frowned It wasn't called Blondwood Manor But for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was called Belle shook her head and kept on walking
An hour went by, and Belle started to regret her decision not to bring her e of Alex's property, and from what John had told her the previous day, she kneas another couple ofout to be as co suspicion that a blister was forht heel
She tried to keep a stiff upper lip, but the pain soon reached new heights of irritation With an audible groan, Belle finally gave up and conceded defeat to her blister She squatted down and patted the grass with her hand, checking to see if it was da dew had already evaporated, so she plopped down onto the ground, unlaced her boot, and pulled it off She was about to get up and start walking again when she realized that she earing her favorite stockings With a sigh, she reached up under her skirt and slowly rolled one off
From his position ten yards away, John could not believe his eyes Belle had wandered onto his property again, and he was just about toto herself and then sat down on the ground in a ued, John darted behind a tree What folloas a scene far more seductive than he would have ever drea off her shoe, Belle had lifted her skirts well above her knees, giving hiroaned In a society that considered ankles promiscuous, this was racy, indeed
John knew he shouldn't look But as he stood there, watching Belle roll off her stocking, he could come up with no better alternative If he called out to her, he'd only embarrass her Better she didn't know that he was there A true gentleman, he supposed, would have the fortitude to turn his back, but then again, John found that entlemen were fools
He just couldn't take his eyes off of her Her innocence only made her more seductive-more so than the most professional of performers Her unintended striptease was all the onizing slowness not because she had an audience but because she see her soft skin
And then,to herself again He smiled He'd never met anyone who talked to herself quite so often-especially not in such a tones
She stood and looked herself up and down a few tiaze fell on a bohich adorned her dress She tied her stocking around the frippery, fir it to her attire, and then reached down and picked up her boot John al at her shoe as if it were some small, offensive creature as she realized that she could have just stuffed her stocking into the boot for safekeeping
He heard her sigh, so she ed her shoulders and trudged away from him John quirked a brow at hertoward his house Alone One would have thought that the chit would have had the sense to heed his warning He thought he'd frightened her the day before Lord knew he frightened himself
He couldn't contain a smile, however, because with one of her boots off, she was li almost as much as he did
John quickly turned and headed back into the woods After his accident, he had exercised his bad leg religiously, and as a result, he could walk quite swiftly-almost as fast as an uninjuredwould later ache as if he'd walked-no hopped-to hell and back
But he wasn't thinking about these consequences as he sped through the woods Foreh the forest and intercept Belle closer to Bletchford Manor without her realizing that he had been spying on her
He knew that the path curved to the right up ahead, so he cut diagonally through the woods, cursing every tree stuility to leap over When he finally eed onto the path about a half , and he was panting frohs and leaned down for ato catch his breath Pain shot up and down his leg, and it was pure agony just to straighten it Wincing, he rubbed his knee until the stabbing sensation receded into a dull ache
He stood up, and just in time Belle had just limped around the corner John quickly took a step in her direction, wanting to appear as if he had been strolling down the path all ht away because she was looking down at the ground for pebbles so that she could avoid them with her unshod foot They were only about ten feet away from each other when she heard the sound of his footsteps She looked up instantly and saw hi that she didn't Actually, she thought, it wasthat she never would
"Oh, hello, Lord Blackwood," she said, curving her lips into a smile that she hoped ht she failed; she'd never had a mysterious day in her life, and besides, she sounded too cheerful by half
Ahts, John nodded
"I suppose you're wondering what I'ain"
John raised an eyebrow, and Belle had no idea whether his gesturepiece of baggage, or Your actions aren't worth the time it would take to think about them So she plodded on