Читать книгу The Accidental Countess - Michelle Willingham - Страница 2

He pulled off the poultice and glared at her. ‘Who are you?’

She blanched. ‘You don’t remember me?’ The question held sardonic disbelief. ‘My name is Emily.’ She leaned in, her gaze penetrating. Almost as if she were waiting for him to say something.

Hazy bits of the past shifted together. Emily Barrow. My God. He hadn’t seen her in nearly ten years. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I live here.’ With an over-bright smile, she added, ‘Don’t you remember your wife?’

Her revelation stunned him into silence. His wife? What was she talking about? He wasn’t married.

‘You must be joking.’ Stephen wasn’t an impulsive man. He planned every moment of every day. Getting married to a woman he hadn’t seen in years wasn’t at all something he would do.

She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his gaze towards her silhouette. The soft curve of her breasts caught his eye. The top button of her gown had come loose, revealing a forbidden glimpse of skin. The fallen strand of golden hair rested against the black serge, a coil of temptation, beckoning him to touch it.

She’d never been able to tame her hair, even as a girl. He’d helped her with hairpins on more than one occasion, to help her avoid a scolding.

Now the task took on an intimacy, one more suited to a husband. Had he truly married her? Had he unbuttoned her gowns, tasting the silk of her skin…?