Page 51 of The Rake Desires the Diamond

Looking puffy-eyed and unkept, Taylor stepped into the foyer. “What in the blazes is all of this rumpus? My father is still asleep.” He locked gazes with Evan and sighed.

“Where in the hell is Greyson?” Harrington asked.

“I know not. He left about an hour ago. I excused myself from our morning constitutional to stay with my father. Heis quite ill. And I’m afraid I have not slept well the last few evenings.”

Perchance guilt over allowing a devil to take advantage of his maid? Well, that and an ill father. But looking the other way as a woman was mistreated was the worst sort of malevolence. It was no better than hurting a child. Or a puppy.

Evan clenched and unclenched his fists. “We are looking for Lady Katrina Harrington. We fear Greyson may…” He could not bring himself to declare his worst fear since it involved Greyson’s unwanted, repulsive hands on his princess. His darling.

Taylor whimpered as he dropped his forehead into his hands. “Hell and damnation.”

“What did you think would happen when you let a man like him stay here?” Harrington asked.

“I detest him. It is just….” Taylor stared at his shoe for a painfully long time.

Evan’s instincts about the unlikely friendship were confirmed. “Fess up, chap. What in the hell is he blackmailing you with?”

Taylor looked up, blanched, and then dropped his gaze back to the brown leather, which seemed to be as begrimed as the man himself. Obviously, something was weighing on him to the point Charles Taylor had become a wretched excuse for a dandy.

At the moment, Evan could give less than two shites about Taylor’s affairs, his bloody smudged shoes, or anything other than the woman he was crazy about.

“We do not have time for this. We need to find Katrina. Where do you take your morning constitutional?”Evan asked.

“Sir, you’d better go with them and show them the path you normally walk,” the butler said. “I will see to your father’s care while you are gone.”

“Thank you, Carter.” At last, Taylor lifted his chin. “Gentleman, allow me to grab my hat, gloves, and walking stick.”

Before Evan had a chance to physically escort the clodpole out of his home, Harrington pummeled a hatless, gloveless, stickless Taylor in the back, sending him flying out the front door.

“Let’s get a bloody move on,” Harrington bellowed. “Mark my word, Taylor, as God is my witness. If anything happens to her, I will knock your teeth down your throat.”

“Pfft!” Not if Evan threw the first punch. Not that he often bragged about it, but his uppercut was wicked, and he’d had enough of everyone’s shite.

Chapter twenty-one

July 2nd, 1818

Strenuous hiking did wonders to lift Kat’s spirits. She’d have preferred to stroll along the beach, but her missing undergarments forced her to choose a route far from curious eyes. It was not a total loss. The blue sky seemed to go on forever. Trees and greenery lined the expansive fields. Wildflowers grew among the hedgerows, and birds merrily sang to her as they fluttered from branch to branch. With only the wildlife and her thoughts, Katrina perambulated away the morning.

Of course, sneaking into Evan’s room had been inappropriate. Scandalous. Disgraceful even. Still,her brother did not need to humiliate her. She was a grown woman with wants and needs. If the rumors were true, Ethan had bedded dozens of women before his marriage. How dare he hold her to different standards because she was female. She would no longer feel shame for who she was, and she would not spend another moment living a life of pretense. She wanted to play peek-a-boo with her new nephew. To paint beautiful scenes. To swim in the ocean. To run barefoot through a grassy field. To the devil with being laced into bone-crushing stays. Who was she trying to deceive? She loved biscuits. And chocolate. And Evan Eaton’s arse. And his kisses, licks, and suckling. And dare she think it…? Oh, yes! She would announce it to the birds and butterflies.

After kicking off her slippers, she wiggled her toes in the grass. Bending her knees, she crouched like she’d watched her brothers do when they were children. “Ready. Set. Run.” She was off, dashing across the field, yelling, “I want to make love to Evan Eaton.”

Exhilarated, she fell to her knees and laughed until tears dripped from her eyes. Perchance, the preventative dip and the sea air had cured her of her Uptight-itis infliction. Both her cousin and the man who’d infiltrated her world were correct, and she was no longer in denial. She’d had a stick shoved up her buttocks her entire life. But now, it was gone. It had just taken a few days for the cure to set in unless it was the orgasm from Evan’s skilled mouth and fingers that had adjusted her attitude. Heavenly stars! The man possessed a talented tongue. A pleasurable shiver wracked her body.

Interesting. As angry as she’d been with her brother, she was no longer vexed with him. What was there to be frustrated about since she planned to ignore his directive and seek Evan’s company? This was the first minute of the rest of herlife, and she would live every single second to the fullest once she retrieved her slippers.

Shoeless and stay-less, she scanned the area. “Hmm.”

No slippers. The mere thought of it should have panicked her. Instead, she giggled. In her enthusiasm, she’d kicked the things to kingdom come.

Tramping through the underbrush alongside the field in her bare feet was slightly uncomfortable. No matter. She was the new and improved Katrina. She dropped to her knees and crawled about in the vicinity where she suspected they might be, finally spying one hanging from a low-hanging branch.

Scooting along on her hands and knees, she reached for the shoe and tugged it free. Now, to find the other.

“Huh!” At last, she spied the tip of purple satin, hiding behind a rock. Unfortunately, she needed to weave through a patch of trees to get to it. She stood, slid a foot into the slipper in her hand, and then hopped on one foot to the rock. She’d just plucked her shoe from the ground when she heard someone say, “Apparently, Eaton has feelings for Katrina.”

She knew that cultured voice. What was Alexander doing in such a secluded spot discussing her? She tucked herself behind a tree and peeked out around it.