Free Emily Baker by Luck Of The Devil Page A

anywhere looking at the list of fabric purchases Silas Polhaven had prepared for her approval. Too many other thoughts crowded her mind—Freddie, finances, and a surprisingly persistent set of green eyes. A cup of tea might prove just the thing to clear the cobwebs from her attic.
    “You spoil me, Mrs. Polhaven. You have your hands full enough with the girls. You know I am perfectly capable of fetching my own tea.”
    “Course ye are.” Katherine Polhaven nodded as she set the cup and saucer down on the far edge of the table and filled it. “But it doesn’t cost me anything ta show ye a little kindness now and again after all ye’ve done fer Mr. Polhaven and me. Not ta mention my sister and my girl.”
    “Well thank you. I must admit I have been a little overset these past few days. I cannot seem to concentrate.” And she hadn’t been sleeping well either. Those eyes, and the kindness in Garrett Lynch’s voice, haunted her with surprising depth. Not to mention the sensations that seemed to course through her anew with the thought of his hands on her arms, of being held so close and feeling so safe in the embrace of a stranger.
    She was hardly some innocent chit to be mooning over a man she had met but once. She refused to count the fleeting glimpse of a man she’d caught walking past the shop windows the morning after their encounter. It was too impossible. Too schoolgirlish.
    She’d banished the nosegay he’d sent to thank her for her hospitality to the back of the others from her guests, almost out of sight, although she couldn’t quite bring herself to instruct Teresa to toss them into the ash can.
    She accepted the teacup from the older woman and took a tentative sip of its savory contents, trying to order her thoughts.
    “Ye have a lot on yer mind. Especially as ye try ta handle it all on yer own.”
    “Nonsense.” Maura shook her head in denial. “I have you to help with the girls. Dorothy runs my house and Mr. Polhaven the store.”
    She had help and advisors for every aspect of her life save the one for which she really needed guidance. The well-meaning sisters helped her run her house and her school, but there was no one she could turn to for counsel on her private affairs. No guide for wayward mistresses looking to avoid both heartbreak and loneliness.
    The card party she’d hosted for Freddie two nights ago had shown her how ready she was to leave that part of her life behind her, but at the same time such bad elements as Harold Jameson ready to pounce on the new Baron Stanhope’s naïveté left her reluctant to break all ties with him, as though she alone could steer Freddie through all the pitfalls life had to offer.
    She’d managed to avoid any further intimacies with Freddie since before his trip to his grandfather’s. Besides being too floored to do more than snore against the pillows their first time back together, he’d escorted his aunt to a musicale evening the first night after the party. She’d pleaded her monthly indisposition when he’d come to supper last night.
    He’d stayed late into the evening playing chess with her by the fire. He’d been so charming as he entertained her with stories about his grandfather she’d almost relented a second time and let him stay the night. But in the end, common sense, and her “indisposition,” prevailed. She’d sent him on his way just before he launched into his latest marriage proposal.
    Her need for companionship could not be allowed to drag him down. She cared too much to let that happen. She’d always cared unwisely, and that fault had set her feet on this path in the first place.
    “Ye don’t fool me—”
    Maura started and nearly sloshed tea into her saucer. She’d forgotten Katherine Polhaven was still in the room. Yet, there she stood, one hand still gripping the kettle and the other on her hip.
    “—nor any of us. Dorothy is already beside herself because ye’ve hardly eaten a bite in three days.”
    Katherine