2
" She had a lovely singing voice. Most well-bred young ladies could play, but few could sing, and Miss Cross could.
Eliza, he reminded himself. Perhaps his future wife, the mother of his children, the woman would share his bed and his house. She loved her dog, she sang beautifully, and she liked the theater. Other than that, he knew nothing about her.Could he do this?
She wasn't a typical beauty. Her face was round and her hair was an ordinary shade of light brown. A string of pearls circled her neck, and Hugh was sure her pale green silk gown had cost as much as Edith's court gown, but it suited her. Some women had no sense of style and bought the latest fashion whether it made them ugly or exquisite. With two sisters and a mother in his house, Hugh knew enough of ladies' clothing to see that this lady chose well. When she reached to turn the page, he got up and went to stand beside her to turn the next one. Her voice wobbled a bit as he did so, but she played on.
Her skin was lovely. He spied a few freckles on her nose, but her shoulders and bosom were as pale as cream. Her bosom... Hugh reached for the next page and stole a quick glance downward. Plump and tempting, now that he looked at it. Her hands were graceful on the keys, and his mind wandered involuntarily into thoughts of what they would feel like on him. What it would be like to kiss her. What she would be like in bed. Would she be shy? Frightened? He found himself hoping not, even though he hadn't even decided to court her yet. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
4
" I did not actually accuse you of being beautiful. I said you looked beautiful tonight. A subtle but significant difference."
"Yes, the gown," she started to say.
He stepped closer. "Is my eyesight failing? Let me take a closer study." He took another step, until she had to tilt back her head to look at him. "Hold still," he said, amusement softening his tone. He touched her chin.
Eliza froze.
Gently the earl tipped her face from side to side, his dark eyes intent upon her. "A few freckles," he said thoughtfully. "But I find those charming." His thumb brushed along her cheekbone and Eliza's hands fisted in the folds of her skirt. "Your lashes are very long," he murmured. "And your eyes... Your eyes are lovely. Like the fields of Rosemere under a summer sky, when the grasses are tall and verdant, and golden finches swoop in and out. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
5
" Her hands went still. Hugh stared at the nape of her neck, at the honey-colored wisps curling against her pale skin. Could he chance it? Did he have a choice?
"Bravo," called Cross from his seat. "What did you think, Hastings?"
He had to clear his throat. "Lovely. You've a splendid voice, Miss Cross."
She twisted to look up at him, her eyes shining with delight. "Thank you, sir."
Hugh smiled on instinct. That look... She wasn't a beauty, nor even very pretty. London society would call her plain. But when she gazed at a man that way, with her heart in her eyes, she was not ordinary. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
8
" She wondered when Papa would accept that she wasn't the sort of girl gentlemen flocked to. In his eyes she was lovely, but Eliza knew he was the only one who saw her that way. Plain girls had made splashes in society, but usually by virtue of being vivacious and witty. Eliza tended to grow mute and hesitant in the presence of elegant strangers, and any wit she had vanished from her brain if one of them actually spoke to her. Undoubtedly Papa hoped her enormous dowry would outweigh her shyness, but Eliza would rather be that eccentric old lady with a house full of dogs than marry a husband who only wanted her money.
So Papa could dream, but Eliza was far less certain. Perhaps some day she would meet an affable country squire who didn't need a beautiful, charming wife, but preferred a quiet girl content to play with her dog and tend her garden. And if not, she would just remain where she was. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
10
" It was a relief to believe that she was as she seemed, but the more he liked her, the less fair it seemed that she was being fooled. And Hugh wasn't such an ogre that he didn't care for her feelings.
On the contrary, he was coming to like her very much. Unlike many society girls, Eliza didn't act as if any gentleman nearby was obliged to amuse her. She expressed such delight in a simple posy, he couldn't help wondering what she would say if he presented her with a real gift. She seemed utterly content to spend time in her garden with her dog, and didn't even evince the slightest boredom at living in Greenwich away from the whirl of society. He told himself it must be easy, with Cross's vast fortune at her disposal; she needn't fret about a dark and drab drawing room, as Edith did, or moan about her lack of new gowns, as Henrietta did. But somehow he knew it wasn't just the money. Eliza wasn't the type to complain. Instead she gave every appearance of being content with her life and taking joy in small pleasures. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
12
" Ladies and their shopping!" Papa shook his head. "I'll never see the fascination with silk and lace."
"Fortunately that age of fashion is over for gentlemen," Eliza said pertly. "Although you would look very handsome, Papa, in a long wig, with a velvet coat dripping in gold lace, and of course the heels worthy of Charles II."
Lord Hastings made a faint sound that might have been a smothered laugh. Papa raised one brow at her, his mouth twitching. "Fortunate indeed. Keep your laces and ribbons and all those other fripperies."
"I will, thank you."
"They are far more suited to ladies," said Lord Hastings. He raised his glass to her. "Every lady of my acquaintance does far better justice to lace and silk than any man ever could. Particularly you, Miss Cross. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
13
" Eliza reached for the basket, but it was heavier than expected, and she almost dropped it. With a quick motion Lord Hastings righted it before the flowers could spill out, and in the process stepped very close to her.
"Sorry," she said breathlessly as she hefted the basket in both hands.
He didn't let go. Eliza looked up and her breath caught in her throat. He was looking at her, and his expression made her heart start to pound and her hands start to shake.
"Miss Cross," he began. "I hope you don't think me presumptuous, but...I am rather glad your father was delayed today."
She couldn't blink. She couldn't move. He reached out and drew her shawl lightly over her shoulder from where it had drooped.
"Do you?" he asked softly.
"What?" Her voice sounded faint and dazed.
Hastings's mouth curved, and his eyes crinkled, almost teasingly. "Think me presumptuous," he whispered. "You can tell me."
"No!" It burst out of her like a shout, but she had only enough breath for a whisper.
Something shifted in his eyes before he lowered his lashes. He took her hand in his and raised it. Eliza quaked inside as his lips brushed slowly, softly, over her knuckles. His hands, still gloved, were so large and strong around her limp fingers. His eyes flashed up for a moment, as if gauging her reaction, and then he turned her hand over and touched his lips to her wrist.
Eliza thought she might have whimpered out loud. She must have dozed off in the sun and was having another dream about him, one in which he looked at her with those obsidian-dark eyes and gave her the slow smile that made her stomach jump and leap, but no- this felt real. The handle of the flower basket was digging into her palm, her heart was pounding so hard she could almost hear it, and he was so close she could see the beginnings of stubble on his jaw, right near his beautiful mouth- "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
14
" I plant what I like to see when I look out the windows. There's no art to it, only my personal whim."
He stopped. Eliza looked up in surprise. "Never say there's no art to it," he told her. Goodness, his eyes were dark and mesmerizing. "I know peace and beauty when I see it, and there is more in this garden than anywhere else I've ever seen."
She knew it was flattery, she knew it wasn't true, but she still felt a small explosion of joy in her chest that he would say it. "That's because the irises are in bloom," she tried to say, but he shook his head.
"I don't mean the irises. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
15
" Have you ever been kissed before?"
She flushed scarlet and had to wet her lips before she could speak. "Not well kissed..."
His shoulders shook. "Miss Cross, you leave me speechless." He cupped her jaw in his hand as his other hand came to the small of her back and pulled her against him. "I'll try to do better," he whispered against her mouth, and then he kissed her again.
If she had expected another soft touch of his lips against her, she was quickly proven wrong. This time, his mouth settled on hers with intent, firm and insistent. When she gasped at the difference, his tongue slid between her parted lips and teased her until she moaned. He kissed as if he meant to conquer her, and Eliza was all too happy to surrender. His hands moved over her, gripping her waist, sliding up her shoulders to hold the nape of her neck as his mouth traveled over her eyelids and down her jaw. She whimpered as his teeth grazed her earlobe, setting her earring swaying, and she almost melted when his hand brushed her breast. It was an accident, she thought wildly, because they were pressed so close together- somehow her hands had got around his chest, beneath his jacket- but then he did it again.
He muttered something profane and tore off his glove, and then it was his bare hand on her breast, his palm cupping her, his fingers teasing along the edge of her bodice until- oh, heavens- his thumb went right over her nipple. Eliza's start of shock turned into a shiver of ecstasy as he stroked the hard little nub again. He pulled her hard against him, until his hips met hers and she felt his unmistakable arousal. His mouth was hot and wet against her neck, and dimly Eliza thought that if he asked, she would tear off her dress and give herself to him right here on Lady Thayne's terrace, in the rain, ten feet away from a ballroom full of people. This was what it meant to want someone with a burning passion. Thank all the saints in heaven she'd got a chance to feel it once in her life... "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
16
" His gaze fixed on her chest as he rose, and she realized, with mortification, that her dress was askew. She turned her back, but his arms came around her.
"Let me." His hands steady again, he ran his palms up her bodice to smooth her gown back into place. He took his time, his cheek against her temple, and Eliza tried not to shake like a leaf when his fingers brushed her nipple one last time before his hands drifted to rest on her hips.
He put his mouth next to her ear. "Should I apologize for what happened?"
The tiniest shake of her head.
His lips touched the sensitive skin behind her ear. "May I call on you- just you, not your father?"
Her heart was about to stop. She would faint and slide through his arms to land in a senseless heap on the ground. "Yes," she whispered.
"Thank you." Gently, he turned her around. Eliza gazed up at him, wondering if he could tell from looking at her that she was about to fall headlong in love with him. A small smile touched his lips, bemused but reassuring. "
― Caroline Linden , An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2)
