The Love List (41 page)

“Happy indeed,” Callie said, her chin high.  “And content to leave well enough alone.” With a general nod, she swept away, avoiding the crowd and heading instead for the parlor where the ceremony had been held.

Aldmere stifled a sigh as his brother rounded on him.  “Are you, then?” Tru demanded.  “Content to leave well enough alone?”

He raised a brow and pulled Brynne closer.  “For the moment, we are.”

Tru flushed.  “Oh, well.  Yes.  Of course.”  With a short bow, he fled as well.

Aldmere shook his head and moved so that he stood between Brynne and the crowd of guests.  He took her hand and pressed a kiss to it.  “Do you think they would notice, should we leave
them
well enough alone?”

Her grip tightened and her gaze grew warm.  “I’m afraid they would.”

A shout went up behind them.  They turned to see Billings holding up a very large, very
complicated
silver epergne.  The footman pulled out a matching serving platter and reached in for more.  Aldmere stared, frowning, until he suddenly understood. 

He glanced down at Brynne.  “I told the Regent everything—including your threat to order silver, were we forced to stop the day we drove down to Clapham.”

She laughed.  “I recall I did threaten to order the largest and ugliest service they had.”  Her eyes widened.  “Look at Billings.  He’s in alt.  I believe he’s tearing up.”

“Let him enjoy.  He can dust off the new silver, while I dust off a couple of more techniques in my repertoire.”  He bent and pressed a hot, urgent kiss to her lips.  “You were interested in seeing the rest of them, were you not?” he whispered.

Her skin flushed.  “Extremely interested.”

“Well, then, damn the guests.  Let’s go, just you and I.  We can be in Wiltshire by evening.”

She clutched his arms.  “Let’s go to Hartfield.  We can be alone there.  Just the two of us.”

“Alone,” he breathed.  “For a week.”

That’s just what they did. 

And while they were gone the scandal raged, the servants whispered and society gossiped endlessly. 

But when they returned—the Duke of Aldmere was smiling.

And that started the whispering up again. 

But it silenced everyone who mattered.

Watch for the next installment of the Half Moon House Series:

The Leading Lady

Coming Soon

And don't miss the first glimpse into the Half Moon House Series

An Unexpected Encounter

A short novel in the collection:

An Encounter at the Museum

About the Author

Deb Marlowe adores History, England and Men in Boots.  Clearly she was destined to write Historical Romance.

A Golden Heart winner and Rita nominee, Deb grew up in Pennsylvania with her nose in a book.  Luckily, she'd read enough Romances to recognize the true modern hero she met at a college Halloween party—even though he wasn't wearing breeches and boots.  They married, settled in North Carolina and produced two handsome, intelligent and genuinely amusing sons.  Though she spends most of her time with her nose in her laptop, for the sake of her family she does occasionally abandon her inner world for the domestic adventures of laundry, dinner and carpool.  Despite her sacrifice, none of the men in her family is yet willing to don breeches or tall boots.  She's working on it.

Connect with Deb Marlowe

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http://www.DebMarlowe.com

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