Just One Kiss Read Free

put aside.
    "Nathaniel. Oh, Nathaniel, I want to… you don't know how much! But this day has brought us nothing but heartache! You know that terrible cough that has so troubled Papa these many weeks? Nathaniel, he is gravely ill…"
    She was caught squarely between heaven and hell. As the only daughter of the Earl of Chester, how could she leave? Never had she seen Papa so sick—so weak! It frightened her. True, he was not alone. He had Clarissa, his wife of the past two years. But she, Elizabeth, was his only child, and she could not desert her father! At such a time, her place was at his side.
    "When Papa is well, I will come to you in Boston. I promise, Nathaniel, as soon as I am able."
    "I'll be waiting, Elizabeth. That,
I
promise."
    When Papa is well
... Faith, but she had come to regret those words!
    For Papa had remained ill for nearly a month. But his health was even more delicate than she had feared.
    They'd buried him nearly six weeks ago.
    The soft line of Elizabeth's lips tightened. Yet another memory returned unbidden, but this one was like a burr beneath her skin.
    Elizabeth's mother had died of a lung infection when Elizabeth was a very young girl. For many years it was just the two of them, Elizabeth and her father. But as she grew to womanhood, she began to understand all of which her father never spoke. His loneliness. His yearning for a woman's companionship. For those reasons, she hadn't been surprised when the earl eventually married Clarissa Kenton, a widowed baroness from the neighboring shire.
    Unfortunately, she and Clarissa had never come to be close, though the Earl of Chester was not aware of it. Though it was not in Elizabeth's nature to be mean-spirited, she found the new countess rather dour, ever practical, and occasionally condescending.
    And never more so than on the day the earl's will was read.
    Elizabeth was still half-numb with grief. Although it had pained her to say farewell to Nathaniel—indeed she had clung to him almost shamelessly—'twas with the certainty that they would soon be united. But she would never again see Papa, feel the comfort of his nearness, the warmth of his voice and laughter…'Twas that very thought that refused to be extinguished as she watched his coffin sink beneath the earth.
    So it was that her mood was somber and she remained quiet as she and Clarissa sat in Papa's study, listening to the droning voice of Papa's solicitor, James Rowland. Her thoughts were vague and dull.
    "Elizabeth!" Clarissa's voice rang out sharply. "Are you listening? I believe this next pertains to you."
    Behind his spectacles, Mr. Rowland glanced between the two women. Had Elizabeth been more herself, she might have caught his unease. "Shall I continue?" he queried.
    "Please do," Clarissa snapped.
    Mr. Rowland cleared his throat and began to read. "Some of my most precious memories of my life are of my daughter, Elizabeth, and the time we spent together at Hayden Park, my country estate in Kent. For this reason I wish Hayden Park to pass to Elizabeth on the joyous occasion of her marriage, in the hopes that she and her new husband will continue to keep residence there."
    Elizabeth was not surprised. She had expected that Papa would leave the bulk of his holdings to Clarissa, and so he had. But Hayden Park had always been special to her. She smiled in wistful remembrance, for she, too, carried many fond memories of happy days there.
    Rowland continued. "In these, my last days, I have but one regret—that I will never see Elizabeth wed, for indeed, seeing her wed and provided for are my last remaining concerns. For this reason, I have charged the task of finding a husband for Elizabeth to my dear wife, Clarissa, for I know that she will see my wishes carried out."
    Her slender hands folded neatly in her lap, Elizabeth had gone very still. When she spoke, her tone was very quiet. "Please explain, if you will, Mr. Rowland. Precisely what does this mean?"
    Rowland's ruddy cheeks grew