Read In the Arms of the Heiress (A LADIES UNLACED NOVEL) for Free Online Page A

Tom for some childhood infraction he couldn’t recall. “Won’t your aunt think I’m a savage?”
    “Oh, no. Her son Hugh fancies himself quite a pugilist. He made a name for himself at Oxford. But if he challenges you, you must decline. I have a horror of the sport.” Louisa wrinkled her nose. “You gave up all that violence for me when we married.”
    “No fighting. What else is forbidden?” Charles wished he was taking notes. He had a feeling the list was going to be a long one.
    “You may not smoke. You
don’t
smoke, do you?”
    “Filthy habit.”
    “I’m so glad you agree. I understand it’s very difficult to give up once one’s begun. No drinking to excess, but I believe Mrs. Evensong covered that with you already. You must keep your wits about you at all times. My family is . . . difficult, and though they may test a saint’s sobriety, it is vital you don’t let them send you over the edge.”
    What had Mrs. Evensong told Louisa? Not too much, he hoped. He’d enjoyed his pint in the past, but no more so than any other bloke. It wasn’t until he’d come home from the war that he’d let his demons loose and tried to drink himself into welcome oblivion.
    “You are to ignore Cousin Isobel if she seems a bit too . . . friendly. Isobel still thinks there’s a chance for her to make a good match and will pump you about your bachelor friends. Make up something amusing but vague. She and Mama came to England from New York to marry titled gentlemen, though neither one succeeded.”
    “That’s why you are not Lady Louisa.”
    “Correct. Mama fell in love with Papa, and that was that. Of course, he had a fortune and didn’t need hers, so my American grandparents were somewhat mollified.”
    “Are they still alive?”
    Louisa shook her head. “They died when I was fourteen—a boating accident, like my parents. My relatives are very unlucky on water. I’m almost afraid to take a bath.”
    Dear God. The thought of Louisa Stratton wet and naked in a porcelain tub was almost too much to contemplate. Charles took a deep breath.
    “So, no fighting, drinking, smoking, and no flirting with Cousin Isobel. Have I got it all right?”
    “It’s a start. We’ll have to be nimble as we go—the sands are always shifting at Rosemont.”
    “Well, it is on the coast.”
    “Why, Captain Cooper! I believe you’ve made a joke.”
    So he had. A faint ray of sunshine seemed to be piercing his gloom. How could he fail to appreciate the improvement in his circumstances? Once the month was over, he’d have a substantial nest egg for his brothers and a harmless adventure with a very pretty girl to remember while he spent eternity in hell.
    The train meandered through chocolate-box villages and gentle hills, Louisa talking all the way. Charles was getting used to her nervous energy. She seemed to have an opinion on everything and was not shy about expressing it. Poor Maximillian Norwich would never have a moment’s peace.
    The real Maximillian would have strategies to quiet his voluble wife. He might give her a smoldering look across a room, inveigle a way to get her alone and kiss her until she was witless. Finger that intriguing mole at the corner of her mouth that her pink tongue always touched when she was thinking. Capture one of her demonstrative hands and place his lips on her palm. Nip a jeweled earlobe, breathe the scent of crushed violets from her long white neck.
    “Captain Cooper—Maximillian—have you heard a word I’ve said?”
    “Of course. I shall endeavor to do everything you say.” That was easy enough, wasn’t it? He had nothing better to do. But he had a nagging feeling he’d missed something important.
    “Now, tell me about
your
family. I’ve told you all about mine.”
    Had she? He couldn’t very well tell her he’d stopped paying attention some miles back.
    “There’s not much to say.”
    “Come now, don’t be shy. Just because
you
were not brought up in a château doesn’t