Read Regina Scott for Free Online Page B

Phoebe persisted. “I was the one in need of rescue.”
    “Ah,” her brother said, looking over her head, “there’s Beagan again. Dinner is apparently ready. Shall we, ladies?” He offered his arm to Meredee. Her surprise must have shown on her face, for he smiled. “You are the guest of honor, are you not? The savior of Scarborough Bay, I believe I heard.”
    “Nothing of the sort,” Meredee said, wishing Mrs. Murdock had never coined the phrase. But she set her hand on his arm nonetheless and was surprisedto feel a tension matching her own. What could possibly have discomposed the earl? Had he come to the inn for some other purpose?
    “And I am the lucky one,” Sir Trevor said, offering one arm to Lady Phoebe and the other to Mrs. Price. “I have the pleasure of escorting two beauties to dinner.”
    Phoebe’s giggle was nearly eclipsed by Mrs. Price’s.
    The dining room was long and high, with the same pale blue walls edged in white and the ceiling painted with puffy clouds and pink-cheeked cherubs. Lord Allyndale led her to a gilded chair on his left, while Lady Phoebe took up the chair at his right and Mrs. Price sat beside the girl, leaving Sir Trevor to sit on Meredee’s other side.
    Meredee was spared conversation as footmen brought in a tureen of steaming onion soup, platters of roast beef and salmon, and plates of buttered prawns, fresh asparagus and broccoli. She was a little surprised when Lord Allyndale did not ask her or his sister which dishes they preferred but filled their plates with what must have appealed to him.
    “Is the beef not to your liking?” he asked her when she had stared down at the loaded gold-rimmed china for a few moments.
    Meredee glanced up at him. “I’m sure it’s delicious, my lord. I would love to try the salmon, too.”
    He blinked as if it had never dawned on him shemight have a specific preference. “Certainly. Trevor, be a good man and find room on Miss Price’s place for the fish.”
    Meredee turned to the baronet before he could reach for the plate. “If you’d be so good as to pass the plate my way, Sir Trevor, I’m certain I can serve myself.”
    “Your servant, Miss Price,” he assured her.
    She was thankful when Lady Phoebe monopolized the conversation for most of the first course. She had to find a way to ask the earl why he’d come to Scarborough. But every gambit seemed too obvious, too calculated. She glanced his way several times, and each time he smiled as if in encouragement. Yet she couldn’t seem to bring the words to her lips.
    “Miss Price was telling me her theories on the earth’s magnetic fields,” the earl put in at one point.
    Lady Phoebe blinked as if, for once, she could find nothing to say on the topic. Sir Trevor dug more deeply into his asparagus as if searching for hidden treasure.
    “I’m certain you would know far more, my lord,” Mrs. Price said with a warning look to Meredee. “No one in my household could lay claim to being a bluestocking.” She laughed as if the very notion was absurd.
    “Interesting,” he replied with a smile. “I’ve always found the study of scientific topics to be commendable, in either sex.”
    “Well, well, certainly,” Mrs. Price stammered. “Might I have some more of that delightful salmon, my lord? I must have the recipe for my cook.”
    Chase passed her the plate. As he returned to his meal, his left eyelid drifted closed for a second. Heavens, had he just winked at her?
    The second course was even more elaborate, with herbed pheasant, sole smothered in mushrooms, a ragout of celery, tart apple pie, sweet trifle and strawberry ice cream in a silver bucket. This time, she noticed, Lord Allyndale made certain to pass each dish to her for her choice, his hands firm on the fine china. Yet she couldn’t help wondering whether they would hold a pistol so steadily if it were aimed at her stepbrother’s heart.
    “Still not to your liking?” he murmured. “You have the most determined