tended the horses himself.
He’d been brushing down the bay mare for a fulltwenty minutes before he realized he hadn’t stammered when he answered Miss Smythe. What to make of that, he had no idea.
“You may choose whichever empty chamber you wish for your own,” the captain said expansively.
He led them down a whitewashed corridor. Alternating windows and lantern recesses were buried in the outer wall, which appeared to be several feet deep. On the other side of the hall, highly polished doors opened onto the interior rooms. Eve had to admit Whispering Hill was beautifully and exotically appointed. Captain Scott even had a table whose base was fashioned from an Indian elephant’s foot, but she saw no need to fawn over him about it.
A cage might be silk-draped and gilded, but it was still a cage.
“There seem to be quite a lot of available rooms,” Sally said, clearly overawed.
“I like to entertain,” Captain Scott said with a shrug. “And frequently my guests come great distances and need to stay for a long visit. It happens when you live on an island.”
“England is an island, but I’ve never been in a house with so many rooms,” Penelope said.
“Then you’ve obviously not visited the right sort of houses back home.” Puzzlement made his eyes narrow.
Eve needed to warn Penny and Sally to be more careful with their words or the captain would never believe they were ladies.
He led them into the second to last room off the long hall and opened the double doors of the large wardrobe.
“You may each have your own room, but at present I have only these garments available for you to divideamong yourselves.” He waved a hand toward the impressively large number of gowns. “Of course, if you need something else—and since you are female, I suspect you will—we can send for a modiste to come take measurements and arrange for whatever is required.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Penelope said.
“Oh, yes, thank you ever so.” Sally started pawing through the dresses.
“Am I right in assuming these gowns, gaudies and gewgaws once belonged to Magdalen Frith, your ‘regular lady’?” Eve asked.
“Ah, Miss Upshall.” He turned to face her with an unabashed grin. “Just when I had despaired of ever hearing your sweet voice again.”
So, he had noticed she’d remained silent throughout his self-congratulatory tour. That pleased her so much, she didn’t protest when he took her elbow and guided her through the open French doors leading out to a small private garden. Sally and Penny were too engrossed in the contents of the wardrobe to notice their departure. Eve could still hear them in the room behind her, exclaiming over their new treasures.
“Aye, the garments once belonged to Miss Frith. Aye, she was my mistress, which means the gowns are of the highest quality.” He raised a quizzical brow at her. “And in case you’re wondering, aye, the post as my mistress has been vacated. Would you be interested in applying for the position?”
“Captain Scott!” She raised a hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist and held it fast.
“Miss Upshall, you are far too highly wrought,” he said silkily. He brought her wrist to his lips and brushed them across her pulse point, never taking his gaze from hers.
She tried to pull away, but his grip was firm andpersistent. Like a bird charmed by a snake, she lost the will to resist and allowed him to continue to hold her hand.
He stroked the back of it with his thumb. Tendrils of pleasure followed his touch, ebbing and flowing like a rising tide. She knew she shouldn’t allow it, but it felt amazingly good.
“In my experience,” he said softly, his voice a low rumble, like a lion’s purr, “when a woman protests this much, it means she hasn’t had the attention of a man recently and is in desperate need of it.”
That broke the spell.
“You conceited swine! Perhaps if you consorted with women other than barmaids and trollops, you’d
He’d been brushing down the bay mare for a fulltwenty minutes before he realized he hadn’t stammered when he answered Miss Smythe. What to make of that, he had no idea.
“You may choose whichever empty chamber you wish for your own,” the captain said expansively.
He led them down a whitewashed corridor. Alternating windows and lantern recesses were buried in the outer wall, which appeared to be several feet deep. On the other side of the hall, highly polished doors opened onto the interior rooms. Eve had to admit Whispering Hill was beautifully and exotically appointed. Captain Scott even had a table whose base was fashioned from an Indian elephant’s foot, but she saw no need to fawn over him about it.
A cage might be silk-draped and gilded, but it was still a cage.
“There seem to be quite a lot of available rooms,” Sally said, clearly overawed.
“I like to entertain,” Captain Scott said with a shrug. “And frequently my guests come great distances and need to stay for a long visit. It happens when you live on an island.”
“England is an island, but I’ve never been in a house with so many rooms,” Penelope said.
“Then you’ve obviously not visited the right sort of houses back home.” Puzzlement made his eyes narrow.
Eve needed to warn Penny and Sally to be more careful with their words or the captain would never believe they were ladies.
He led them into the second to last room off the long hall and opened the double doors of the large wardrobe.
“You may each have your own room, but at present I have only these garments available for you to divideamong yourselves.” He waved a hand toward the impressively large number of gowns. “Of course, if you need something else—and since you are female, I suspect you will—we can send for a modiste to come take measurements and arrange for whatever is required.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Penelope said.
“Oh, yes, thank you ever so.” Sally started pawing through the dresses.
“Am I right in assuming these gowns, gaudies and gewgaws once belonged to Magdalen Frith, your ‘regular lady’?” Eve asked.
“Ah, Miss Upshall.” He turned to face her with an unabashed grin. “Just when I had despaired of ever hearing your sweet voice again.”
So, he had noticed she’d remained silent throughout his self-congratulatory tour. That pleased her so much, she didn’t protest when he took her elbow and guided her through the open French doors leading out to a small private garden. Sally and Penny were too engrossed in the contents of the wardrobe to notice their departure. Eve could still hear them in the room behind her, exclaiming over their new treasures.
“Aye, the garments once belonged to Miss Frith. Aye, she was my mistress, which means the gowns are of the highest quality.” He raised a quizzical brow at her. “And in case you’re wondering, aye, the post as my mistress has been vacated. Would you be interested in applying for the position?”
“Captain Scott!” She raised a hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist and held it fast.
“Miss Upshall, you are far too highly wrought,” he said silkily. He brought her wrist to his lips and brushed them across her pulse point, never taking his gaze from hers.
She tried to pull away, but his grip was firm andpersistent. Like a bird charmed by a snake, she lost the will to resist and allowed him to continue to hold her hand.
He stroked the back of it with his thumb. Tendrils of pleasure followed his touch, ebbing and flowing like a rising tide. She knew she shouldn’t allow it, but it felt amazingly good.
“In my experience,” he said softly, his voice a low rumble, like a lion’s purr, “when a woman protests this much, it means she hasn’t had the attention of a man recently and is in desperate need of it.”
That broke the spell.
“You conceited swine! Perhaps if you consorted with women other than barmaids and trollops, you’d
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