The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl Read Free

trauma.”
    “I’m sorry.” Jamie threw the covers off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Where the hell did this robe come from? “I need to get home.” Her knees wobbled as she took two steps toward the bureau. Her head swam and her stomach roiled, but she paid them no attention. She needed to wake up fast. This was too damn weird for words.
    “You cannot go, miss. His lordship…”
    “Is here and would like an explanation for your presence in his home.”
    Jamie turned on her heel at the deep, masculine voice and was completely gobsmacked at the sight of the man in the doorway.
    He looked like Colin Firth from that A&E miniseries Leah had forced her to watch over and over again when they were twelve. He was tall, dark-haired, and his chocolate-brown eyes pierced Jamie from beneath low brows. He wore an old-fashioned kind of outfit, the ones with sinfully tight pants, a waistcoat, a jacket, and that kind of frothy looking lace beneath his dimpled chin. His face wasn’t perfect, but it was stunningly handsome, and the sight of him sucker-punched Jamie in her already-churning guts.
    “Holy crap,” she whispered, staggering backward and sitting on the bed.
    “Your lordship, she seems to have lost her wits.” Mrs. Knightsbridge wrung her hands. “She has no recollection of entering your chamber.”
    “Is that so?” Colin’s twin drew himself up even taller, that imperious look fitting his masculine face so well. His clean-shaven jaw tightened as he looked down his nose at Jamie. “Perhaps the watch will be able to assist her in remembering how she came to be lying in front of my new bureau.”
    “Bureau,” Jamie said, echoing the unfamiliarly accented pronunciation. “Bureau! That’s it! The bureau!”
    “Completely queer in the attic.” Mrs. Knightsbridge shook her head, the corners of her mouth drawn down. A strange twinkle in her eye made Jamie wonder if the older lady honestly thought she was crazy.
    “No, the bureau! That’s how I got in. I was in the storage unit, and it was a billion degrees, and the dust cover fell on my head, and I touched the mirror on the door and I got eaten by that damn bureau!” Jamie stood and pointed at the offending furniture, wishing she could hack it to pieces for the weirdness of this dream. Of course, if it were only her and Mr. Firth, then that would have been okay. But he’d have to get over the proud grumpiness. Not sexy.
    “Saints preserve us,” Mrs. Knightsbridge said. Did she sound excited, or was that just Jamie’s screwed up brain?
    The earl addressed the housekeeper, ignoring Jamie completely. “Leave us, Mrs. Knightsbridge. I have some questions to ask of this…person.”
    Jamie wanted to be offended at his pointed pause, but she was too busy swallowing convulsively. Damn smelling salts.
    “My lord.” The rotund woman drew herself up to her full height, which wasn’t especially impressive next to the towering earl. “It is not at all proper. Are you sure you wish to be alone with her, especially after…”
    He waved a hand to stop her. “I am quite capable of guarding my own virtue, and I doubt she is in a position to have any virtues of her own.”
    “Hey!” Jamie’s ire rose at the thinly veiled put down. “I’m very virtuous!”
    Mrs. Knightsbridge curtsied and left the room. Jamie could have sworn that the little round lady winked at her before the door clicked shut.
    When he turned his attention back to Jamie, she clutched the neck of the robe closed at her throat, suddenly feeling vulnerable. The earl was tall and handsome, and really, really pissed. He stepped toward her, his shiny boots thunking solidly on the patterned carpet.
    When he was only two feet from her, his brows lowered, a nervous thrill went through Jamie as his deep voice rang out. “Who are you?”
    She sucked in a breath. “Who are you?” she countered, rankling a little at his tone.
    He tapped his fingers lightly against the side of his thigh, the