Free The Elusive Lord Everhart: The Rakes of Fallow Hall Series by Vivienne Lorret Page A

fur, her honeyed tresses already slipping free of their confines to brush against her collar. Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes bright, her lips parted and inviting . . . just as they’d been last night for a single moment. Until he’d come to his senses and realized how dangerous it was to be alone with her.
    He’d forgotten how easy it was to forget himself around her. Even now, he found himself taking a half step nearer. It was only a half step because he realized what he was doing just in time. Thankfully, he would not have to be on his guard for too much longer.
    He tore his gaze away but not before spotting a smirk from Danvers. Gabriel glared back with a “bugger off” look. His friend snickered.
    “And how does our cousin fare?” Croft asked. “I did not have the time to see her before her maid informed me that she was resting.”
    Calliope tensed. It was nothing more than a subtle shift in her posture, a slight adjustment of her shoulders, but Gabriel noticed. “She is resting but doubtless hoping that I will still be here when she wakes. Pamela has requested that I stay behind to keep her company.”
    Brightwell cleared his throat. “She mentioned the same to me earlier.”
    Until now, Brightwell had said few words and lingered more along the outer rim of the foyer. Now, he took a step forward and drew everyone’s attention. Of course, Gabriel paid more attention to how Calliope reacted.
    How often, years ago, had he watched her gaze alight on Brightwell? Dozens of times, at least. Back then, Gabriel had always felt a rise of annoyance. Strangely, he still felt it now.
    “I imagine you found that an odd request, considering . . . ” Calliope’s words drifted off, likely because everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. Why would Pamela want her husband near the woman to whom he’d once proposed?
    “Not at all.” Brightwell’s gaze softened with a familiarity that made Gabriel tighten his grip on the head of his cane. “My wife knows that there is no animosity on my part. What is in the past remains there, Miss Croft. Please do not allow your concern for what you believe to be my discomfort sway your opinion. Your cousin’s health is all that matters now.”
    Calliope drew in a breath and nodded. “Yes. You are quite right, Lord Brightwell.”
    “No. It is not right,” Gabriel heard himself say. The vehemence in his tone must have shown on his face because there were startled glances his way. He didn’t care. He didn’t want Calliope to talk to Brightwell any longer. He didn’t want her to stay for her cousin’s health. He didn’t want her near enough to tempt him to insanity. She must leave immediately . “Croft, you could not possibly consider leaving your sister here with the likes of us.” With me .
    “Be careful, Everhart,” Croft warned, his tone tinged with a reminder of the threat in Vauxhall Gardens. “Do not forget that you have your own family to worry about.”
    Ah, yes. A perfect example of his forgiving nature . Croft could still ruin him. Gabriel had hoped that after five years of penance, he would be free. Yet having the Crofts here only made it clear that the letter he’d written had not faded from their memories, just as it had not faded from his.
    “By all accounts,” Delaney offered, “Calliope would be here with her maid, her cousin, her cousin’s happily married husband—and three gentlemen who have declared never to marry.”
    “If I may . . . ” Danvers interjected, holding up one finger. “It behooves me to mention that part of the wager included steering clear of unmarried women. Miss Croft is quite safe.”
    “It behooves you, does it?” Gabriel knocked Danvers in the shin with his cane before turning to Calliope’s brother. “Croft, if Raena were in her place, I would never allow—”
    “Lord Everhart,” Calliope Croft interrupted, pointing at him with her muff. “When your sister turns four and twenty, I do not believe you will have a