Authors: Cecilia Gray
Tags: #General Fiction
A Flirtatious Rendezvous: The Gentlemen Next Door #4 - Historical Regency Romance Novellas (7 page)
Her father had only two staff at his country home of twelve rooms, and they were already overtasked now that she was visiting without notice, so she had taken it upon herself to boil water for tea. She opened one cupboard after another until she found the jar of dry tea leaves from India.
It was strange, feeling out of place in what should be her own home.
Even when she’d moved into the Landale residence, it hadn’t seemed foreign. She knew the location of every candle, the best hiding spots, the turns around every corner. This country house was new, furnished solely by her father.
It didn’t have tapestries—the fine woven works of art had been a hobby of her mother’s. There wasn’t the smell of gardenias, her mother’s perfume, anywhere except for the dab on her own wrists.
She hadn't even been able to give Lady Rivington a tour when they first arrived and her new friend was now walking to town and probably knew more about her father's neighborhood than she did.
As she filled the teapot and steeped the leaves, she rested her elbow on the kitchen counter with a sigh.
Her father had made a life without her mother—and without her.
Part of her had accepted Viscount Montcreif’s offer to travel to the countryside, well, firstly because Lady Landale and Lady Rivington had insisted it would be a good idea but secondly in thinking she could persuade her father to let her stay. It would be easier to forget Hayden if she wasn’t reminded of him every day. But there was no place for her here, which only made her miss him more.
At least with him, she’d felt at home.
She strained out the tea leaves as she poured, and placed the two cups on a silver tray. After forcing a smile to her face, she lifted the tray and made her way to her father’s sitting room.
“If you like to hunt for sport, I can recommend a manor a half day’s ride away,” Viscount Montcreif was saying. “Ah, thank you, Miss Morton. The tea smells lovely.”
She thanked him for his compliment as she set down the tray and placed one cup in front of her father, the other in front of his guest.
“The hounds are more likely to sniff rabbits than game, but it’s the nearest respectable grounds,” he continued, taking a neat sip. “Do you hunt?”
“I never had occasion to in London,” her father said. “But I’ve always wanted to try. Hanna’s mother loathed the country so we never visited, but I am finding it most diverting.”
Hanna stood awkwardly as they resumed their conversation. Funny, when her father and Hayden conversed, she never felt any awkwardness. Never stopped herself from charging into the conversation where she wasn’t wanted. Now that she considered it, they never shut her out, either.
And yet here, even with his politeness, she felt dismissed, even if that was not Viscount Montcreif’s intention. She returned to the kitchen and leaned against the sink, at a loss for what to do next.
She was just considering taking her shawl to wander out to the garden when she heard a commotion—the door slamming open, and loud voices.
She ran toward the front room.
“Where is she?”
Hanna considered the possibility of her own mental breakdown as she rounded the corner into the sitting room and caught sight of Hayden standing in the open doorway. The wind had ruffled his hair, and dirt was caked on his boots as if he’d slogged through the country roads from London without stopping for either rest or wash.
“Mr. Banks, please come in,” her father was saying as he gestured inside. “Is everything all right with Lady Landale?”
He was silent but for heaving breaths until his gaze, direct and searing, found her. It flickered once to Viscount Montcreif then back to her. “May I please speak with Miss Morton alone?”
* * *
Hanna finally did grab her shawl, as Hayden insisted they be the ones to converse outside. He had, after all, rudely interrupted Viscount Montcreif and her father. But of course as they made their way up the path, surrounded on both sides by knee-high grass swaying in the wind, she could feel the eyes of both her father and Montcreif on her back as they stared from the window.
“Is your mother all right?” What other reason could there be for his visit?
“Yes, she is well. And right, as always,” he said. “And your father?”
“Very well,” she said with a rueful smile. “He seems to have acclimated quite well, and I’m ashamed to admit I wish he had more need of me. As it is, Viscount Montcreif is proving more useful than I am.”
“I trust Viscount Montcreif has been an amicable travel companion?”
So this was why he was here. He was ensuring that she was well and truly over him. If he wanted the reassurance, she would give it to him. “He is amicable in many ways,” she said. “And while he has made no official declaration of his feelings, we can safely assume your mother has won your wager, with or without your forfeit of it.”
“And what of your feelings?”
Hanna stopped short and glanced up, pulling the shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Pardon?”
He clasped his hands behind his back and stared down at her. “Your feelings, Hanna. What of them?”
Had he just used her Christian name or had she imagined it? “I find him amicable, too. I…like him.”
“Don’t.”
She must be going deaf. “Wh…what?”
“Don’t,” he said, his voice desperate. “Don’t like him.”
“I’m…confused. As usual, I suppose.” She shook her head. “I thought you said—”
“I said a great many things, Hanna, most of them stupid.”
She fought the soaring feeling of hope because she couldn’t bear its plunge to the ground. “What are you saying now?”
He ran both hands through his hair so it stuck up at all ends, the way he did whenever he was trying to solve a particularly troublesome mathematics problem. “I’ve had two days to consider it, Hanna. Two days of forty-eight hours that somehow felt infinite, as I imagined whether I’d arrive to find you had already eloped.”
She gasped. Eloped! “Who is the silly one now?”
“Precisely,” he said, grabbing her shoulders. “It has always been me. You told me you loved me when you were twelve years old.”
“There’s no need to tease,” she said, her cheeks burning.
“I have been telling myself for years that I do not love you. That I harbor no feelings for you whatsoever. None that I can prove. But when I was without you, when I pictured a life without you…”
Hanna’s breath caught in her throat as his hands ran up her neck to cup her jaw.
“The very thought was unbearable, and I couldn’t figure out why. The thought of you with someone else—it hurt, Hanna. Like a physical spear in my side.”
She felt lightheaded and grasped his elbows to steady herself. “Do you know what you’re saying to me? Do you know what you mean by this?”
“I mean…I mean that I love you, Hanna.”
She blinked, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes. “Are you sure? Even if you can’t prove it?”
“A woman once assured me that whether I prove something or not, it will not change the fact that it is true.”
She smiled against his kiss.
He gathered her against his chest and for once her daydreams stopped and she felt here, in the present, with his warmth all around her, the sun shining down on them, the blades of grass dancing in the wind, his hair tickling her cheek. “And you trust this silly woman?”
“Don’t call her silly.” He pressed a tender kiss to her hair. “She may be the smartest person I know.”
The End
* * *
Don’t miss the first three novellas in the sweet and delightful Gentlemen Next Door series!
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Cecilia's Booklist
The Jane Austen Academy Series
Young-Adult Novels – view the series trailer at
http://youtu.be/YL36WerF1y0
The Jane Austen Academy: where sassy girls, hot guys and Jane Austen collide
Available Now
Fall For You: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice
So Into You: A Modern Retelling of Sense & Sensibility
Coming Soon
When I’m With You: A Modern Retelling of Northanger Abbey
Suddenly You: A Modern Retelling of Mansfield Park
Only With You: A Modern Retelling of Emma
Always You: A Modern Retelling of Persuasion
The Gentlemen Next Door Series
Historical Regency Romance Novellas
The Complete Series Available Now
Fallen Idols Series
Paranormal Chick-Lit Romance Novellas
Available Now
Coming Soon
Fleeting
Fall For You
The Jane Austen Academy Series #1 – A Modern Pride & Prejudice Retelling
The Jane Austen Academy: where sassy girls, hot guys and Jane Austen collide
The Jane Austen Academy Series are young-adult modernized retellings of Jane Austen’s beloved books. View the series trailer at
http://youtu.be/YL36WerF1y0
.
* * *
Description
The last thing that the girls at the elite Jane Austen Academy need is hot guys to flirt with. But over the summer the school has been sold, and like it or not, the guys are coming. And it’s about to turn the Academy—and the lives of its students—totally upside down…
To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He’s a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She’s a driven study-a-holic just barely keeping up with tuition. It’s obvious that Dante thinks he’s way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie
knows
Dante is a snob with a gift for pressing her buttons.
But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie’s quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets… Secrets Lizzie can’t seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries…
* * *
A unique twist on a classic… A compelling mix of action, drama and love. – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
There are no words to describe just how MUCH I HEART Fall for You. ~ Tumbling In Books
An incredibly charming novel - a heroine worth cheering for! – Growing Up YA
Whether you’re a romantic or a Jane Austen fan, you can’t help falling for this book.. - EZ Read
I can visualize a cult following. Bravo! – Reader’s Favorite
This book? AMAZING. Addictive and mysterious and intriguing. Drama, romance and the right amount of mystery. – Ed & Em Reviews
Fall For You does not disappoint! I recommend for any Austen fan or any romance fan! – Books Are Sanity review
I absolutely devoured this. Overall, this was a gem of a read. A great, humorous read with lots of romance . – The Girl in the Café
Its own story cleverly woven within the classic. ~ Book Haven Extraordinaire
* * *
Buy
Fall For You
(The Jane Austen Academy Series #1 – A Modern Pride & Prejudice Retelling)
About Cecilia
Cecilia Gray lives in Oakland where she reads, writes and breaks for food. She also pens her biographies in the third person. Like this. As if to trick you into thinking someone else wrote it because she is important. Alas, this is not the case.
Cecilia has been praised for “instilling a warmth and weight into her characters” (Romancing The Book Reviews) and her books have been praised for being “well-written, original, realistic and witty” (Quills & Zebras Reviews).
Several of her titles - including A Delightful Arrangement (The Gentlemen Next Door #1) and An Illicit Engagement (The Gentlemen Next Door #2) - have spent, in her view, a shocking amount of time on bestseller lists for romance, historical romance and regency romance in the US, UK, Italy and Spain.
FALL FOR YOU, the first in a series of young-adult contemporary Jane Austen retellings, received a starred Kirkus review and was praised for being a “unique twist on a classic” and offering “a compelling mix of action, drama and love.”