Free The Reluctant Countess by Wendy Vella

me?” Patrick sighed, which Stephen knew was false. Patrick was rarely tired. In fact, he slept less and worked harder than any man Stephen knew.
    “Of course. Were it not for me, you would be surrounded by ‘yes’ men who would never gainsay one word or order you gave,” Stephen said.
    Patrick glared at him, stalked to the door, and wrenched it open. “Fletcher!” he bellowed.
    “My lord?” The servant materialized as if by magic before his master.
    “We are to be plagued by Viscount Sumner and his pesky pet until he grows a backbone and returns to his town house. Please arrange a room for him.”
    “Sad but true,” Stephen said in a mournful voice from behind Patrick.
    Patrick rolled his eyes at Fletcher, then ordered some food and returned to his chair by the fire.
    * * *
    Looking out the carriage window, Sophie observed the many sights and sounds of the city. Even after the weeks she had spent exploring London, she was still stunned at the noise. Sellers yelled out encouraging descriptions of their merchandise. Carriages clattered, and horses sprayed mud and left manure all over the streets.
    Over the past few weeks she had begun to enjoy her short trips from Letty’s town house, and the surge of independence that came with it. Amelia accompanied her when she could and they would visit Mr. Draven’s shop and often bought something to add to their collections. Amelia always pushed Sophie to purchase a doll’s house, but Sophie still felt a bit silly over her hobby and said that she would purchase a house when she found the right one.
    She had been glad to escape the house this morning. She had woken sweaty and heated after a night tossing and turning; her dreams had been filled with sensual images of Lord Coulter doing wicked and wanton things to her. She had washed, then hunted Letty down in the breakfast room, where she had asked, argued, and finally pleaded with Letty to let her and Timmy leave London, but Letty had stood firm. They would not leave until the end of the season and for once, she would not back down. Sophie could push the matter no further without giving herself away, without telling Letty about a certain dark and dangerous earl and the effect he had upon her.
    The problem was that he made her lose all of her hard-won control—something it had taken her months to find. Sophie felt as if cracks were beginning to appear in the veneer she had carefully erected to protect herself. Of course it was entirely his fault, the arrogant and deeply disturbing Lord Coulter. He had seen her knickers while she did a handstand, and he had seen her perched on a narrow ledge as she tried to escape the vicious tongues of the women of the ton. And if those events weren’t bad enough, he had also seen everything that she had taken great pains to hide from society, her insecurities and her fears.
    “Oh lord,” Sophie groaned. Even here, away from prying eyes, she was blushing at the thought of her reaction to his kisses. He made her body feel like a flickering ember that would ignite with a mere touch. She must stay away from him, as he could endanger the position she held in society and that could hurt Letty, and that she could not allow. He could unearth her secrets, because when he was with her she felt so very unlike herself, with all her wits scattered about her feet.
    A loud scream jolted Sophie from her thoughts. The carriage stopped suddenly and along with her maid Jenny, she tumbled off the seat onto the floor. Struggling to rise, Sophie heard a ripping sound as she pushed back the brim of her bonnet. Reseating herself, she noted that the hem of her gown was now torn and one of the ribbons of her bonnet had come loose. Flinging it onto the seat, she told Jenny to stay in the carriage and then opened the door and stepped out, determined to find out why they had stopped.
    “What seems to be the problem, Robbie?”
    “Don’t rightly know, S … my lady,” he said, standing on his toes beside her