A Taste for Scandal by Erin Knightley

was reasonable, wasn’t it? “What sort of trade do you have in mind?”
    He held up a single gloved finger, an incredibly boyish grin on his lips. “Give me one moment.” Without another word, he turned and pushed out the door and into the street, quickly disappearing from view.
    Jane turned wide eyes to Lady Beatrice, who shook her head. “I haven’t a clue.”
    What had Jane gotten herself into this morning? And why must her stomach insist on doing flips every time the man grinned at her? She had much more pressing things to worry about. If she were smart, she’d hurry to the kitchen and send Weston back in her place. It was the practical thing to do. And yet . . . yet, she simply couldn’t seem to make herself move. Instead, she watched the door, anxious to see what the earl would bring back.
    She tried not to show the disappointment she felt when the next person who pushed through the door was a customer. That was precisely the person she should be waiting for—not the earl. Still, she made quick work of the transaction, quickly assembling his order and exchanging funds. Her mind was so preoccupied that by the time he left, Jane couldn’t have even said what he had just purchased.
    Soon after, Lord Raleigh popped back into view and pulled open the door with one hand while hiding the other behind his back. “You’ve made your peace offering, Miss Bunting. Please allow me to make mine.”
    Humor crinkled the corners of his eyes and there was no denying the rush of warmth that spread through her body like warm honey. She mustn’t get her hopes up—he could very well be playing a trick on her.
    From behind his back he produced the loveliest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen. She couldn’t contain her delighted gasp. Actually, it looked like two or three bunches put together, overflowing with a riot of color and variety. She drank in the beauty of the vibrant blooms, a sight absent from her life since the days Papa used to buy flowers for Mama. Pleasure, tinged with nostalgia and almost unfamiliar in its intensity, lifted the veil of exhaustion from her shoulders and buoyed her sinking heart.
    “I—I don’t even know what to say,” she stammered, hardly able to take her eyes from his offering. No one had ever given her flowers before. She was far too busy to entertain the notion of a beau, and she couldn’t justify spending their hard-earned and meager funds on such a frivolous indulgence.
    “Say thank you. And in turn, I shall say thank you for the scone. See how polite we can be when we put our minds to it?”
    Jane hazarded a glance at Lady Beatrice, who was grinning with delight, her gloved fingers pressed to her mouth. Looking back to Raleigh, Jane offered a tentative smile. “Yes, thank you, of course.”
    Almost as if they called to her, she turned her gaze back to the flowers. She could hardly believe they were hers, all hers. Her senses seemed to have completely taken their leave.
    Raleigh gave the flowers a little waggle, rustling the stems and shaking her from her stupor. “Perhaps you would like to put these in water?”
    “Yes, of course,” she said, willing her cheeks not to blush as she reached for the bouquet. Her fingers grazed the supple leather of his gray gloves, and she very nearly dropped the precious blooms. She had to get a grip on herself. “Thank you. Again.”
    He dipped his head in acknowledgment, his icy blue eyes never leaving hers. “It occurred to me last night, as I sampled those utterly delicious biscuits you brought by, that anyone who could bake such divinity must surely be a good person. And I must concede that you were right. It wasn’t fair to judge you based on your reactions in the heat of the moment.”
    He paused and leaned forward conspiratorially. “And I suppose I really must thank you for not poisoning the biscuits since, upon reflection of my behavior, I admit it wouldn’t have been unwarranted.”
    Who was this charming man? A smile, the