Only Marriage Will Do Read Free Page A

for the past few years. Whenever the regiment returned to Virginia. Don’t say I told you this but she’s better than some of the men in her father’s regiment.” Perhaps all was well, despite the misgivings her letter had given him. “Then I have no hope of seeing her?”
    “Not until almost Christmas I believe, Captain. Kat will be all right. I think she and Duncan are starting to get along better.”
    “Better?” His question came out sharper than he’d intended.
    “Than when they first married, yes. But come.” Juliet stood abruptly. “I will explain more in the carriage.”
    “The carriage?”
    “Yes, Captain Dawson. I will press you into the role of knight in shining armor once more and beg you to escort my maid, Glynis, and me to my friend Lady Honoria Claypool’s home. I am to stay with her for several days until my Aunt Phoebe arrives in town. Then I will remove to her townhouse until Duncan returns.” Juliet wrinkled her nose. “My aunt is so difficult. Although I do suppose everyone has some such relative, don’t you think? Glynis,” she called to a girl standing unobtrusively in a corner.
    “Glynis, please get my light shawl.” Juliet rescued her cap then stuffed her hair underneath it helter-skelter. “Get your things, too. This gentleman will take us to Lady Honoria’s.”
    “Yes, my lady.” The girl curtsied then rushed out of the room. Juliet looked expectantly at Amiable.
    Although taken aback by her unexpected request, Amiable summoned his manners and bowed to the young woman. “Nothing would give me more pleasure than to escort you, Lady Juliet.”
    The girl returned and draped a golden silk shawl around her mistress’s shoulders. “The carriage is ready, Captain Dawson,” Juliet said, raising her chin.
    “Of course, my lady.” He offered his arm and, when Juliet took it, pressed her hand into the crook of his elbow. A thrill chased down his arm and he shook off the strange sensation as they moved down the hallway and out the front door, the maid following behind.
    Juliet disappeared into the ornate carriage with the team of matched grays. Her dark pink gown flared over her beautifully rounded hips. A flash of white stockings, clocked with tiny rosebuds above her ankles, made him swallow hard.
    He had held that loveliness in his arms for a considerable amount of time this morning. He willed the image away and assisted Glynis to sit beside her mistress. Ten years in the army had taught him caution, so he surveyed the surroundings before he joined them. Danger lurked somewhere. Whether inside or outside the carriage, however, had yet to be determined.
     
     

Chapter 3
     
    Love at first sight. Juliet believed it did occur. That had to be the explanation for this sudden breathless feeling, didn’t it? Simple gratitude for his help in getting rid of Philippe would not cause this peculiar sensation deep in the pit of her stomach, this overwhelming desire to remain in his company, would it?
    A knight in shining armor indeed. So protective. That might be the most compelling reason for her tender feelings toward the captain. He made her feel safe—even safer than Duncan did, since he had married. She loved Katarina without question, but her brother’s first allegiance now lay with his wife. The woman Captain Dawson had come to Dunham House to see.
    Her heart flip-flopped painfully in her chest. He’d sounded so wistful when he’d realized he had missed her sister-in-law. That tone had boded more than simple acquaintance could account for, she would stake her life on it. Katarina, thank goodness, was beyond him now. So perhaps she could help him forget her.
    Such a handsome man, and so well made. Almost as tall as Duncan but more slender than her brother, though not to the point of thinness. The captain’s taut bearing, obviously a product of his military training, spoke candidly of his decisive nature and explained his powerful physique. When she’d leaned against him, his