In the Arms of the Heiress (A LADIES UNLACED NOVEL) by Maggie Robinson Page B

blurted out things she shouldn’t.
    He’d been a bit mischievous setting her up with that Monte Carlo story, but Mrs. Westlake had badgered him about it in her poisonously sweet way. Charles had to think of something, right? The few times he’d been able to swivel around like a doorknob to see her, Louisa had looked miserable sitting down at the other end of the table. Charles didn’t care for the way that blighter Sir Richard was talking to her, either. He could tell from the man’s expression that whatever had once been between them was still festering. Louisa must have said something to the baronet to finally put him off, for he had devoted himself to the vicar’s wife for the last three courses.
    Charles was more than a bit mischievous now. He steadied himself on the back of Louisa’s chair, for he was in danger of sliding down to the carpet and bringing Louisa with him. He could not recall when a mere kiss had been this explosive.
    Of course, he couldn’t remember when he last kissed a girl—
    Oh, yes, he could. Charles wobbled and carefully withdrew from Louisa’s upturned face.
    She was flushed pink, her brown eyes unfocussed, lashes batting like butterfly wings.
    “Mr. Norwich!”
    “Oh, Grace, don’t get your feathers ruffled. They’re newlyweds, after all.” Isobel laughed, but Charles could hear an edge of hysteria. It must cost the residents of Rosemont to go against Grace.
    “Please forgive my shocking behavior. I have no excuse, save that I’m in love with my wife,” Charles heard himself say.
    “Bah,” the old gentleman next to Louisa grumbled. “You’re delaying the next course, young man. Sit down, sit down.”
    “I’m sorry,” Charles whispered to Louisa. “I don’t know what came over me.”
    She straightened, reaching for her water glass. Her hand was trembling. “Think nothing of it. I don’t.”
    Liar
. But neither of them could risk another kiss.
    Charles returned to his seat, prepared to be manhandled by Isobel and reprimanded by Grace. He did not have long to wait. Once he shifted so that his leg was nowhere near Miss Crane’s clutches, he turned to Grace Westlake.
    “I suppose you think I am a bounder for behaving so improperly.”
    “A bounder?” Grace wiped her lips on a lace-edged serviette, leaving a crimson stain. Some poor laundress would have a time getting it out. “No. More like a fool. Someone should have warned you about my niece before you married her, Mr. Norwich. You young people are so impetuous. You think you know everything. Louisa has been difficult all her life. When she ran away, I truly feared for her mental stability.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “She has always been headstrong. I should think after one evening here you have discovered what her family and friends truly think of her.”
    “I’ve discovered that she has precious few
friends
in her family,” Charles said baldly.
    Grace sighed. “It may appear that way to you. You’re a stranger and know none of us. I daresay you don’t really know Louisa.”
    “I know her well enough.”
    “Oh. Passion.” Grace waved a dismissive hand. “That won’t last. And when it fades you’ll realize you’ve shackled yourself to someone who cannot bring you true happiness. She’s incapable. Irrational. All this talk of getting a job, of women’s rights, of freedom, whatever she thinks that may be—she will not make you a comfortable wife, Mr. Norwich.”
    “Comfort is highly overrated.” It was true Louisa had already tilted his world, though not for the reasons Grace Westlake stated.
    “You say that now. Talk to me in a few months when your château has lost its allure and she wants to go to India or Africa or some such hideous place.”
    “Travel is very broadening, Mrs. Westlake.” It had certainly opened Charles’s eyes.
    “You have an answer for everything. You’re very smooth, Mr. Norwich. I’ll give you that.”
    Charles snipped the last thread of his patience. “There’s