Free To Tame a Highland Earl by Tarah Scott Page A

he is willing to give.
That is why Lord Rushton and I have remained friends.”
    “ I see,” Eve
said.
    Lady Benton studied her. “I don’t think you
do.”
    “ Pardon me for saying so,”
Eve said, “but you presume a great deal for a lady who doesn’t know
me or my family.”
    “ I don’t have to know you
to recognize your reluctance to marry Rushton. If he preferred your
sister that would be cause for discomfort. However, his interest in
her could have been fleeting at best, so you need not fear that he
will be pining for her while married to you.”
    The conversation had taken a strange turn,
and Eve wished mightily for Lord Rushton’s return. As if reading
her mind, his eyes shifted onto her. Amusement curved his lips. He
murmured something to Lord Adkins then, two champagne glasses in
hand, returned to her side.
    He handed one glass to Eve, then bowed over
Lady Benton’s hand. “How nice to see you, Lady Benton.” He
straightened. “Would you like some champagne?” He offered her his
glass.
    “ No thank you, my lord.”
She rose. “I am, in fact, returning to the ballroom. I promised the
next dance to Lord Townes.” She looked at Eve. “Good evening, Miss
Crenshaw, my lord.”
    When she left, Lord Rushton sat down. “Are
you all right, my dear?”
    “ Perfectly fine, my lord,
and you?”
    “ Never been better.” He
sounded like he meant it.
    They drank champagne and exchanged small talk
with other guests until he had finished off three glasses to her
one. By the time they returned to the ballroom, he seemed not to
have been the least bit affected by their short but heated
encounter in the closet. She, however, still felt as if her legs
were made of pudding, and she hadn’t been able to forget his
encounter with the woman in the refreshments room—or the lady she’d
spoken with.
    Any woman who married the earl would have to
grow accustomed to, and accept, such encounters. Tonight alone, two
woman had made advances toward him, and only God knew how many
others had approached him before that. Would the advances lessen
once he married? Only if he discouraged them—and he had already
said he wouldn’t.
    “ Are you all right, Miss
Crenshaw?”
    His voice broke into her thoughts. “Yes,” she
replied. “Just a bit unnerved.”
    “ You should have had
another glass of champagne.”
    She shot him a reproachful look. “Liquor will
not solve my problem. It was your fault we went in there.”
    “ That it was.”
    He steered her along the wall and out the
open doors onto the balcony. Her heart jumped into her throat. The
cad was going out of his way to encourage gossip. Cool air washed
over her and she drew in a deep breath.
    “ Shall we sit down?” He
nodded to a bench at the bottom of the stairs.
    Eve hesitated. They had managed to avoid
detection in the parlor, but the garden was a public place.
    “ I cannot kiss you in plain
view of the ballroom,” he said.
    Eve jerked her gaze onto his face.
    A corner of his mouth lifted. “I thought
perhaps you could use a little fresh air.”
    The fact was, she could. What would the
lasting effects be of sitting in the garden with him? Nothing. As
he’d said, they would be in plain sight.
    She allowed him to lead her down the three
steps. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to the
nearest garden hedge twenty feet from the mansion. Her heart
jumped. She recognized the hulking figure before it melted back
into the shadows. Oscar Hinks . The gravity of her plans hit
full force and she faltered as her foot touched the grass.
    Lord Rushton’s arm shot around her waist and
he hugged her to his side. “Miss Crenshaw.”
    She startled at the hard muscle that came
into contact with her hip and arm. “I am fine,” she said, though
the breathless note in her voice made her wonder.
    “ Come sit down,” he started
toward the bench, still holding her tight, and she realized it was
now or never. If she didn’t get him off to Gretna Green, she