The Earl's New Bride (Entangled Scandalous) Read Free

linen handkerchief.
    He handed her the pressed square, the pale skin of her face further darkening to the shade of a perfect, ripe summer berry.
Her lips parted, full, rosy things that made his chest tighten.
    “Thank you.”
    Her gloved fingers took his gift, brushing against his, her eyes flicking upward through a fringe of lashes the same shade of black as the ink standing in his well.
    His blood hummed at the simple action, a flirtation that appeared unpracticed, and yet, was as sensual as if delivered by a courtesan.
    Lady Henrietta pressed the linen to her nose, another sneeze raking her body.
    “I am afraid my sister is not feeling well. Please excuse us.” The girl to Lady Henrietta’s right took her elbow, the tension in the room tangible as the two girls strode toward the exit.
    Clasping his hands behind his back, he did his best to remove Lady Henrietta and her ochre-colored eyes from his addled mind, and set about the arduous task of selecting a wife.

Chapter Two
    A warm breeze tickled the lace curtains of her mother’s intimate drawing room, prompting Henrietta to pull out her fan to aid the late afternoon air in its paltry efforts in cooling her heated flesh. Despite the room’s advantageous location on the north side of the estate, where the shadows were their longest, the room was stifling.
    Though that could in part be due to her mother’s scorching glare. “Ladies do not sneeze.”
    Henrietta stared at her mother, not certain if the elder woman was stating a fact or attempting her hand at humor, because neither tactic was proving successful.
    “They do not snort either,” Sarah interjected.
    “You heard it, too?” Albina snickered. Her shoulders hunched with mirth.
    Their mother shot them both a quelling look, the lines around her pursed lips whitening with rage. “I don’t give a fig what sound the countess may or may not have been emitting this morning.” She pushed herself off the small drawing room’s velvet chaise and pointed toward Henrietta. “The only actions that have me incensed are the ones you displayed this afternoon. In front of your father’s successor.”
As if Henrietta needed to be reminded of the horrific incident. Her stomach still roiled with embarrassment, her cheeks still burned from the flush of humiliation, and her mind would not cease replaying the look of casual indifference the earl had cast her way.
    Plumburn had been lost to her forever. By a sneeze.
    She lifted the white linen the earl had so generously offered to her nose. A subtle blend of peppermint, sage, and leather wafted from the square. Such an unusual combination suggested a man familiar with herbs…or at least of one requiring their effects.
    The earl was definitely afflicted with an injury, but sage was more commonly used for digestive ailments, unless he suffered from an excitement of the nerves, in which case—
    “Henrietta,” her mother asked. “Are you listening to me at all?”
    Henrietta lifted her gaze to her mother’s agitated glare. “What do you wish for me to say, Mother? I did not intend to sneeze.”
    “No. Nor, do I suppose, you meant for the vase to topple its contents all over your gown. But it did.”
    “At least the earl knows her name. One cannot deny she made a lasting impression.” Sarah set the book she had been reading atop her chest and spread her hands over the worn cover.
    “Yes, she did that. But of what sort?” their mother asked. “She appeared…appeared…”
    “French?” Albina offered.
    “Immodest.” Their mother snatched a fan off the nearest side table and waved it in front of her face. “Indecent. Tawdry. And entirely inappropriate for an earl’s daughter.”
    Sarah adjusted herself, settling deeper into the plump cushions of the chair. “You wanted at least one of us to gain the earl’s attention, and one of us did.”
    “Yes, but not in such a—”
    “Were you aware of his injury?” Henrietta asked, interrupting what was certain to be an