Read Her Officer and Gentleman for Free Online Page B

such a sight must have sent Mr. Beltson’s hair on end. Did he not think perhaps ’twas the devil himself he was welcoming?
    The butler didn’t answer, for the housekeeper had a horrid habit of repeating every word he uttered, though there had been a moment when he’d first opened the door that had given him pause. The expression on the gentleman’s face had been one of such unrelenting and grim anger that Mr. Beltson had actually taken a step back.
    The look had been quickly replaced with a more urbane one, and the gentleman soon identified as a member of the ton, but a strong sense of unease remained with Mr. Beltson. He was inordinately glad that the newly minted Viscount Westerville had not intended the look for him.
    Christian would have found the butler’s thoughts rather appropriate. He was here for one thing and one thing only—to locate the Duke of Massingale’s granddaughter. He would find this Lady Elizabeth, gain an introduction, and through her win entry into his enemy’s house.
    It was a simple plan, and in Christian’s experience as a highwayman, the simple plans deliveredthe best prizes. It took him less than two minutes after entering the ball to find his quarry.
    It was well known that Lady Elizabeth was long of tooth; there had been much speculation about her before her arrival in London. However, whatever the lady’s age, her appearance must not be as spinsterish as he’d hoped; rumor had it that she was taking the town by storm.
    He knew a little of her appearance already. The groom he’d hired to watch her every move had become almost poetic in his description of her face and form, which was to be expected. The man was posturing for the gold coin he was supposed to be earning. It was a damned pity Lady Elizabeth was attractive, because now not only was every gazetted fortune hunter panting over her dowry, but every romantic fool in town would be following her about, writing the most horrid poetry in her name.
    It was annoying to have to court such a public figure, and it would have suited his purposes far more had she been plump, short, and sadly freckled.
    Christian smoothed his cuffs as he made his way into the ballroom, pausing to ask the first male he encountered as to Lady Elizabeth’s whereabouts. As Christian anticipated, the fool knew exactly where she was to be found.
    Lady Elizabeth stood halfway between the refreshment table and the terrace doors, surprisingly unfettered by suitors. Christian’s gaze narrowed on her as he drew closer. From behind, her form hinted at the loveliness Christian’s bloodygroom had suggested; a vision of golden hair and sensual curves gowned in blue silk and cream lace. Her figure was delicate and well-rounded; her hair piled upon her head in delicious thick, golden curls.
    It was a pity such a beauty was so closely related to his enemy, as she would have been worth a chase on her own merits. But life was never fair.
    As he neared, Lady Elizabeth laughed at something her companion said. He slowed a bit, his gaze narrowing as he attempted to read her gestures, her movements. From his years estimating who would be a good mark and who would not, Christian had developed the ability to ascertain a few things from the way people moved, the way they spoke, how they gestured.
    Lady Elizabeth was not as demure as one might expect. There was something very sensual about her posture, the way she threw back her head when she laughed, the manner in which she flicked her hand as if impatient with life.
    She was a woman who craved something more. He recognized that aspect of her character at once, and to his chagrin, something deep within him responded in kind.
    Christian’s gaze narrowed. She was not what he had expected at all. His spies had informed him that she was bookish, not given to any sort of lively pursuits other than riding about the estates and being her grandfather’s sole companion. He’d originally thought she would be a shy, retiring sort of