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She’d not seen George since early yesterday; unable to prevent herself, she’d checked his bed and confirmed it had not been slept in She’d not seen Mr Anders at breakfast, either, but Sands told her he’d already ridden into town Oh, that heon and end this painful uncertainty, let her know just what sort of danger was afoot!

As she hurried down the hallway to meet Mrs Pepys in the kitchen, she passed the library door, and her feet stopped of their own accord An unconscious smile curved her mouth as, in her mind’s eye, she pictured Mr Anders within, his handsoht

A , she reflected He’d begun by teasing—and te—her, while he disconcerted her with his unexpected perception She’d coical, level-headed approach and his discretion She thought she’d coht, when he’d confessed to lapses in judgement and responsibility that should have shocked and disappointed her

The way he’d gazed directly into her eyes as he revealed his disgraceful past said he expected her to be shocked and disappointed That he expected his revelations would likely cause hiood opinion

He had acted badly She probably should beBut the very fact that he did confess, fully aware of what his honesty could cost him, swayed her in his favour He had offered no excuses, nor did he try to equivocate about bearing full responsibility for his mistakes

True, he had failed in his duty, but who a of George and her ignorance of Althea’s despair during her mother’s final days

However slow to respond, Mr Anders had eventually recognised his lapses and tried to rectify them When thrust into truly dire circue and fortitude She could think of no reason he would own up to faults that he himself expected would diminish him in her eyes, unless he possessed a character worthy of her respect

That he trusted her, and valued her enough to offer the truth, impressed and touched her

His experiences were far different froentleht that be why he fascinated her in a way the e—whom he’d routed handily at dinner—did not? A unique and differentin a clash between two radically different worlds, one of privilege and one of poverty

The fact that he was handsome and she was attracted to hiement of his worthiness, she admitted The powerful physical force that had pulled her to hiht, despite her anxiety She probably shouldn’t have ignored the little voice of caution warning, even as she whispered the invitation, that ht wasn’t wise All the while she told herself the situation with George and the free-traders was urgent enough that she would be able to ignore Mr Anders’s annoyingly persistent netism, she’d known in her heart that wasn’t true

She had thought the initial pull to her intriguing guest would di a handso man about the house Instead, the fascination seeer she knew him and the more she learned about him

Pulsing just beneath her worry and concern last night had been a wicked thrill at the idea ofhim alone, an insistent, insidious desire to test him and discover if her effect on hier to taste his mouth she didn’t have the will to resist, once opportunity, need and clandestine desire collided

She’d been driven to discover if one taste would satisfy the urgent need to touch hih deep down, she’d known even before she let hied him—to kiss her, that the first taste would only make her want more and more and more The moment his lips touched hers, a sensual haze enveloped her, blocking out every warning of risk and all notion of prudent behaviour

Thank Heavens, he had the presence ofher, since it seemed she’d left sense and restraint at the library door After he moved away fro to her chahtened arousal that le and her nipples spark as the htrail slid over her naked flesh

She’d pictured not soft flannel, but his strong, tanned hands and his war over her skin

When she at last drifted into sleep, her drea and e of heat and a throbbing between her legs, a tingle in her breasts, recalling them now

Good sense and restraint had not re-e Which should warn her, that with her thoughts, senses and eilant on her own behalf as she was trying to be on Althea’s, lest she end up doing so stupid that would ruin careful plans that had been years in the

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