Introducing Miss Joanna (Once a Wallflower #2) - Maggi Andersen Page 0,63

in bed last night was him. The very thought of him sent her blood pounding through her veins. She wanted to draw her fingers through his hair, trace the angles of his aristocratic nose, his lean cheeks, and hard jaw, and allowed herself a moment to think of his sensual lips on hers.

She’d never thought seriously about making love before, beyond a few giggles with her girlfriend. This was desire that settled low in her belly, like a yearning for something she didn’t quite understand. Pushing away her half-eaten breakfast, she reached for her cup and sipped without tasting the tea. Best they did not meet again after today. She must try to forget him. “You’re right, Papa. We must go home.”

“No, my dear,” her father said, putting down his newspaper, his about-face surprising her. “You must deal with things head-on and take up the threads of your life again. We will stay until the lease on this house is up. Who knows what might happen in the following weeks?”

“Very well, Papa.” Did he think she and Reade…? Or was he hopeful she would meet another suitor? There wasn’t room in her heart for anyone else.

Jo hovered over the silver salver on the entry table. Three calling cards. “A busy afternoon. Several gentlemen wish to pay their respects, Miss Dalrymple,” Spears said with a warm smile.

“It would seem so, Mr. Spears.” Jo’s heart sank as she sifted through them. Two gentlemen, she had danced with at her last ball, the other she had met at the picnic in Richmond. How annoying. They might be here when Reade called.

“What happened at the Home Office?” Cartwright asked Reade as they ate luncheon in one of Reade’s favorite restaurants. “I admit to relief at not being dragged into this one.”

“Everyone expressed relief the matter is at an end. We have notified the Regent.”

“His majesty should reward you. Another title, more lands?”

Reade grinned. Cartwright lifted Reade from the grim mood he found himself in. “Prinny wants the whole thing brushed under the carpet. He has banished Lothian to the Continent for two years. Rivenstock isn’t so lucky. He will suffer the full force of the law. Mrs. Millet has disappeared. It’s believed she’s escaped to Scotland.”

Cartwright whistled softly. “Will you send someone after her?”

“I am tempted. It would need to be someone adept at stealth. The Scots might object.”

“And Miss Dalrymple? Is marriage in the wind?”

Reade cocked a brow at his friend’s audacity. “Best she chooses another man.”

Cartwright put down his cutlery to observe him. “Mind telling me why?”

“She’s a beautiful, trusting soul, Jo.”

“Which means?”

“She deserves the best.”

“Something better than a war hero? Have you forgotten how many lives you saved when your superb tactics outwitted the French in Spain?”

Reade sat back and scowled, hoping to dissuade him from continuing. It didn’t work.

“You don’t love the lady?” Cartwright persisted.

“Love doesn’t come into it. Leave this alone, I beg you.”

“All right,” Cartwright said with a sigh. “I might ask Letty to talk to you, however.”

Reade lowered his head in his hands. He laughed. “Not if you’re my friend, you won’t.”

“I’ll say only this,” Brandon said seriously. “You blame yourself unfairly for what happened in the past. You have just saved two young women’s lives and numerous others. I believe that counts for a great deal, don’t you?”

Reade studied his friend’s intense face. What he didn’t say had more weight than his words. Reade had failed to save young Miles, but because he had a duty to all his men, that wasn’t possible. Nor could he have saved his mother and Bart. And perhaps there was never anything he could have done to appease his father for being the wrong son to survive.

Tension he hadn’t been aware he carried eased from his body. Reade rubbed his neck; he’d be a fool to turn his back on a chance at love. Did Jo want him? Was it love or gratitude she felt for him?

He nodded. “Thank you, Brandon. You’re the best friend a man could have.”

Cartwright nodded. “And don’t you forget it.”

Reade laughed and pushed back his chair. “I must now go to see Dalrymple, who seems to have warmed to me, somewhat.”

And Jo, he wanted to see her.

Chapter Twenty

The three gentleman callers crowded the drawing room. Jo’s father had not appeared, leaving her and Aunt Mary to entertain them.

Jo had been determined to hide her feelings from Reade, but when he walked into the parlor and their gazes locked, her resolve crumbled, and she struggled not