Enticing the Earl Read Free Page B

would never become involved with a man again. Besides, if Hart ever learned that she had stolen from his lands, he would be furious with her. She knew how these lords watched every farthing that passed through their lands.
    “My lord, I am quite tired this evening. Thank you for checking on me. As soon as I’m able, I will get back to my mother’s cottage.”
    “Miss Featherstone, there is no need for haste. I have thirty bedchambers in this old place.”
    “But...”
    He nodded and raised a brown eyebrow at her. “No more about this. Even your mother agreed that you are to stay here until you are fully healed. The duchess will stay the night with you. Good night, Miss Featherstone.”
    “Good night, my lord.”
    “If you are going to be here for some time, please call me Hart or Simon. I get dreadfully tired of all the ‘my lords.’” He rose and walked to the door.
    “Yes, my lord.”
    He stopped and turned back to her with a smile. Deep dimples lined both cheeks and suddenly her heart lurched again. What was wrong with her?
    “As you wish, Hart,” she corrected.
    “Much better.” He retreated from the room, leaving her in silent thought.
    Why would she suddenly see Hart in a different light? They had known each other since they were children. There was no doubt that he was a very handsome man. Light brown hair cut short and stylish. Broad shoulders and strong arms born from working this estate like a tenant more often than a lord.
    She had seen him do everything from putting in a landscaped garden to fixing a spout on a waterfall. No task was too small or too big for him. And all that work had put hard muscle on his body. She shouldn’t have such intimate knowledge of his body, but she had been called to stitch him up after an accident had left his chest with a deep wound. If she hadn’t been affected by him then, why was she now?
    Because he’d saved her. That was all there was to it.
    That was why she had never noticed how perfectly molded his lips were. And why had she never wondered what those lips would feel like against her own? Or imagine his fingers tracing a path down her breast.
    “What a kind man.”
    Mia blinked both eyes at the sound of Selina’s voice and then instantly regretted the action. Her right eye ached with the movement. “Who are you talking about?”
    “Hart, of course. He told me that he would have a tray sent up for me and some broth for you. Then he said that he would have the room next door made up so I can stay the night.”
    At least with Selina’s prattling, Mia could get her mind off the man downstairs. “Hart has always been a gentleman.”
    “Yes, and your rescuer.”
    Maybe if she downplayed the part Hart had in her rescue, she could rid herself of this sudden, foolish attraction. “He didn’t actually rescue me. He found me and brought me here.”
    Selina cocked her head at Mia. “Indeed? That sounds like a rescue to me. If he hadn’t seen you there, it might have been days before anyone found you. The area Hart said he found you is not a populated section. He just happened to be out there walking.”
    No, she couldn’t think of him as her hero. “Well then, I guess I was very lucky.”
    “Mia,” Selina asked slowly. “Are you afraid of Hart?”
    “Of course not,” she replied with a shaky laugh. “We have known each other since I was born. I helped my mother with him when he was sick as a lad.”
    Selina tilted her head and stared at her. “He is a gentleman, Mia. He would never hurt you.”
    “Oh? Just as Northrop didn’t evict you from his lands just for being a wise woman?”
    “He was still hurting from the death of his wife and son. Besides, it’s not like he was in...” Her voice trailed off and she glanced away from Mia.
    “Was in what?”
    “Nothing.” Selina stood and went to the door. “Now where is that tray?”
    What exactly was her friend hiding from her? “Selina?”
    “I will just check on that tray,” Selina said and