Read To Love a Scoundrel (Zebra Historical Romance) for Free Online Page A

study.
Eleanor met her friend's questioning gaze but a moment
before averting her own to the marble-topped mantel
crowded with decorative cherubs of all shapes and sizes.
    Selina's eyes narrowed a fraction. "There's something
you're not telling me, Eleanor. I can sense it."
    Her friend knew her far too well. Almost as well as
Henry did. Of course, Selina was privy to the one secret
that Eleanor dared not share with her brother, close as
they were. Heaven forbid that Henry know what had
happened between Eleanor and Frederick so many years
ago-he'd likely call the man out and get himself shot
in the process. No, he must never know.
    "Eleanor?" Selina asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"You're woolgathering. You must tell me what it is
you're keeping from me. I cannot bear not to know."
    Eleanor sighed, dropping her hands to her lap. Very
well, she might as well confess it all. Selina would eventually root it out of her, anyway. "Just now, out in the
park. Frederick, he ... he kissed me"
    "Kissed you? Surely you jest"
    "I'm afraid I'm entirely serious. I've no idea why,
considering he finds me as attractive as a horse, but he
did. A small kiss, nearly chaste, but a kiss nonetheless."
    "Please tell me you did not allow it."
    "Of course not! Once I regained my wits, that is."
    Selina bit her lower lip, looking toward the door. Returning her gaze to Eleanor, her curiosity was unmistakable. "You must tell me, what of his looks?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Have they diminished at
all? Is he still as terribly handsome as before?"

    "Selina!" Eleanor cried, feigning shock. "Weren't
you just chastising me for kissing him?"
    "Oh, Eleanor, I will be the first to admit that Frederick Stoneham is precisely the kind of man one can't
help but daydream about. But he's certainly not the sort
of man a gently bred lady like yourself marries. Still,
you must describe his appearance. I'll see for myself
soon enough, but I'd best be prepared."
    Eleanor sighed heavily. "If you must know, his looks
have only improved with age. He's far too handsome for
his own good, and well aware of it, I'll wager."
    "His hair? Still as black as midnight?" Selina laid a
hand on Eleanor's wrist.
    "Yes, and far too long to be fashionable, though he no
longer wears it in a queue. His skin is tanned, his shoulders broad, and he has a wild, near-dangerous look about
him now." Eleanor nodded to herself. "More so than
before, though I wouldn't have believed it possible."
    "No. Oh, no, Eleanor, this is far worse than I'd imagined." Selina rose and hurried to her side, clasping
Eleanor's trembling hands in her own. "Even now, after
all this time, after everything wicked you've heard of
him ... you still fancy him, don't you?"
    "Of course I do not fancy him. Don't be silly. Why, I
have not spared the man a single thought in all these
years," she said, amazed that the lie slipped so easily off
her tongue.
    "But ... but you kissed him," Selina pressed.
    "Not on purpose, I vow."
    "You cannot say it was an accident, Eleanor. Am Ito
believe that you inadvertently fell upon his lips, then?"
    Eleanor sighed in exasperation. She should never
have told her about the kiss. However would she explain it? "Nothing as foolish as that. Truly, I cannot explain it
except to say that he somehow caught me unaware.
Almost as if he'd ... he'd. . " Eleanor cast her gaze
wildly about the room, searching for the right word to
describe the indescribable. "He'd transfixed me, somehow. Hypnotized me, like a viper does its prey. I'd taken
off my bonnet and boots, you see, and-"

    "Taken off your boots?" Selina interrupted, releasing
Eleanor's hands. "Whatever for?"
    Eleanor raised her gaze heavenward. "It's far too embarrassing to discuss."
    Selina clasped her hands to her breast, her eyes shining with gathering tears. "We must find you someone
right away. A suitable man. Someone honorable and
kind, someone to divert your thoughts from Frederick