by Regina Scott
Like now.
She gave him back what she hoped was a charming smile. It would never match his for beauty. She was not her stepsister, after all. He’d have to make do with her plainer features, darker hair, and thinner body. But it did her heart good to see that he didn’t seem to mind. His smile deepened along with hers.
“I fear my stepsister is indisposed just now,” she replied. “If you would leave your card, I am certain she would be delighted to make your acquaintance another time.”
The thumps behind her told her Constance would shortly be making a rather unflattering appearance, if she was capable of doing anything in an unflattering manner. Still, Katherine could not take the chance. One of the things they had learned about Lord Borin was that he didn’t seem to like things to become too difficult. Constance must be a challenge but never a trial. Katherine held out her hand expectantly.
“Perhaps I might speak with Lord Templeman,” her paragon said with remarkable stubbornness. She’d have to add that to the wall. None of the data they’d gathered so far had indicated he was stubborn. Quite the contrary. Eric and Bix had been following him for several weeks and had made any number of inquiries. They had talked with his friends, his relations, even his old nurse. Katherine had carefully arranged all the data on the wall of a little-used room in the attic. According to that information, everyone thought him even tempered and complacent, quite the polished London gentleman. That was one of the reasons she’d chosen him over the other fellows they had considered. That and the fact that he was one of the few men for whom Constance had actually shown a fancy.
And he was so terribly adorable.
There was another thump and a squeal that sounded suspiciously like Eric. Her Adonis attempted to peer around her, and she stood on tiptoe to block his view, afraid that he still could look over her head. She knew her smile was strained.
“Lord Templeman does not live here,” she explained. “My stepfather, the former Lord Templeman, died several years ago. My uncle, Sir Richard Collins, is our guardian.”
“Sir Richard then,” he said agreeably, but she heard the determination in his voice. She also heard the stair door bump open and the murmur of sympathetic voices.
“Indisposed,” she snapped. “Your card, sir?”
He also stood on tiptoe, ducking to the left. “Will he be available tomorrow?”
She pulled the door farther closed against her to prevent him from seeing more than the top of the stair. Behind her, she heard Bixby call a caution and her uncle’s voice answer sharply.
“Yes, fine,” she barked out. “Three o’clock. Good-day, Lord Borin.”
And she snapped shut the door before he could argue.
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About the Author
Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first novel until she learned a bit more about writing. Since her first book was published in 1998, her stories have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages including Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese. She now has more than thirty published works of warm, witty romance.
She and her husband of more than twenty-five years reside in the Puget Sound area of Washington State with their overactive Irish terrier. Regina Scott has dressed as a Regency dandy, driven four-in-hand, learned to fence, and sailed on a tall ship, all in the name of research, of course. Learn more about her at her website.