Free Wicked Angel by Julia London

housekeeper, and followed Mr. Goldthwaite as he waddled quickly from the room. Unbalanced by a surge of unfamiliar emotion, Lauren looked helplessly to Mrs. Peterman, receiving a hapless shrug in response. Knowing she should do
nothing
but bid the gentleman a good day, Lauren grabbed his forgotten hat from a wall peg and rushed after him.
    "Mr. Christian!" she called as she stepped out onto the drive. He turned, his green eyes sparkling with his smile. She thrust the hat at him. He grasped it with one hand and pulled lightly, but she did not let go.
    "Ah… thank you, sir, for helping me out of a rather peculiar predicament," she said nervously. What in heaven's name was she
doing?
    He chuckled softly. "I was hardly any help, Miss Hill."
    "Mr. Christian, if you please!" Thadeus shouted from his curricle. Lauren scowled mightily at him then turned a winsome smile to her gentleman.
    "If you should ever have reason to be in the area, it would please the children enormously if you would
    call," she said, and instantly ashamed at her brazenness, nervously averted her gaze. "I, ah… they so enjoyed your tale."
    "Miss Hill—"
    "
Mr. Christian!
I really must be going!" Mr. Goldthwaite bellowed from the carriage. Good
God
, she would have liked to have knocked that stout little peacock from his perch and stuff him full of daisies!
    "Thank you again, Miss Hill," Mr. Christian said. Yet he remained standing in front of her, his eyes crinkling in the corners with his smile.
    "You are very welcome, Mr. Christian," she sighed, gazing up at him.
    His smile turned into a charming grin. "Miss Hill… the hat?" Lauren looked down; she was still clutching the hat. Horrified, she let go of it so quickly that he took a step backward. Chuckling, he turned toward the carriage.
    Oh, how very
grand!
She had succeeded in making a complete blockhead of herself! Mr. Christian looked at her again when he had settled onto the narrow little seat next to Mr. Goldthwaite. With a jaunty wave she hoped looked very carefree, Lauren pretended to be examining a tattered vine that had attached itself to the stone exterior of the house. When she heard the carriage pull away, she wished for a thousand deaths. For herself
and
Fastidious Thadeus.
    Alex managed one last look behind him as the carriage raced away from the shabby manor house. His initial assessment was correct—she was an angel, and a very provocative one at that. As Mr.
    Goldthwaite sent the carriage careening around a bend in the road, Alex grabbed his hat and the seat at the same time. "In something of a hurry, are you?" he asked dryly as the carriage righted itself.
    "I have
many
pressing matters," the little man fairly spat out. "I should never have called today!"
    "Have you known Miss Hill long?" Alex asked, knowing full well that she was the cause of Mr.
    Goldthwaite's angst. He could hardly blame the poor man. She was as captivatingly beautiful as she was kind, the sort of woman that could bring a man to a state of blind devotion.
    "I have been very well acquainted with Miss Hill for most of her life."
    "I am sure she is a good friend," Alex remarked for wont of anything better to say.
    Mr. Goldthwaite snorted loudly. "
Friend?
We are practically
betrothed
, sir!" he snapped angrily.
    Alex had no idea what the understanding was between the two of them, but in his humble estimation, Mr.
    Goldthwaite had a better chance of marrying Lucy than Lauren Hill.

Chapter 5
    With his feet propped upon a footstool, Ethan was sitting directly in front of the fire when Lauren marched into the drawing room carrying a tray of medicinal soup. The unusually warm weather had turned unusually cold, and Ethan had not stopped complaining since the first gray clouds had appeared.
    Kicking the door shut, Lauren marched to where her uncle sat and placed the tray down with such force as to spill the soup.
    "Don't be slamming that door, lass. I have a headache," he grumbled. Lauren said nothing as she poured
    him a cup