Page 79 of A Lady's Key to Passion

Harry felt a spark of guilt, wondering if he might’ve inadvertently upset his friend. “I know.”

“And sometimes, it still bothers me. I still miss him sometimes. It is fine to let yourself grieve, and it is fine to admit that you’ve been hurt by his loss.”

“I appreciate your concern, Rutherford, but I am fine. You act as though I am some fragile thing that’s going to break apart without warning. And this is all rather odd coming from you, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that your normal cure for handling negative emotions is to indulge in, shall we say,pleasure,and distract yourself from them. Should you not be encouraging me to take a trip to a bawdy house?”

“Female companionship cannot soothe all wounds,” Alan replied.

Harry arched an eyebrow and resumed walking. “That doesn’t sound like you. Who are you, and what have you done with my friend Rutherford?”

Alan sighed. “Neither of us can remain a bachelor forever. We’ll both have to wed eventually, and with that comes obligations.”

Harry shook his head. “You want me to discuss my father’s death with you and to abandon all my vices. You ask too much of me.”

“I don’t mean you have to abandon them all,” Alan argued. “I know that I cannot. It is just that I…I worry about you.”

“And it is easier to give unsolicited advice than to follow it?”

Alan’s expression hardened, but he nodded haltingly. “It is, indeed. But I am trying. I am going to spend a little less time in the pub each week, starting tomorrow because it has been a dreadful day. But I am going to be a better man. Hopefully, I shall be suitable for the Season.”

Unbelievable.

Harry turned his head and cast his friend a discerning look. “I am not sure I like this change in—”

His shoulder collided with somethinghard. Harry’s head snapped forward in time to see a young woman stumble back from him. She was clearly a poor girl—perhaps from a farm or someone’s maid—and she wore a blue dress with a heavily stained hem, which was a little too short and displayed a pair of thin stockings and patched-together shoes.

And yet she wasbeautiful. If Harry had a poetic soul, he might’ve compared her hair to fire or fine wine. He might’ve compared her face to Helen of Troy or Camelot’s Queen Guinevere. As it was, he found her only lovely beyond words. Her hazel eyes shone with flecks of gold and green that shimmered like stars in the night sky. None of those girls in Boston or on Charlotte Street or any of the ladies of thetonwere anywhere nearly as beautiful asthisenchanting young woman.

“Ooh!” she gasped.

The young woman bent over, and Harry’s gaze swept hungrily over her rounded shoulders and her swan-like neck. It took all his restraint not to linger over her bosom, hidden by a rough modesty cloth. She was returning vegetables to her basket.

The world shifted into embarrassing and shameful clarity. He’d bumped into her and made her drop her goods all over the ground. Harry immediately crouched down. “Miss, I am so sorry. Let me help you!”

Pain burst through his skull, as in his haste, he’d bumped intoherhead with his own. He hissed between his teeth and clenched his jaw. God, how humiliating. The young woman’s eyes met his, and it seemed as if the world froze around them. She was so lovely, her face so near his own that he could’ve leaned forward just a little and kissed her.

“Miss, I can—”

She pushed his arm aside and quickly gathered the rest of her items, shoving them into the basket. Harry stared at her; his mind slow to comprehend that thisyoung womanhad just shoved his arm aside like he was….

Like his assistance wasso unneeded.A woman had never treated him like that before. Before he could think of anything clever or affronted to say, the girl disappeared into the crowd, her basket once more securely looped over her arm.

“Are you going to rise, Lyndon, or do you intend to spend the remainder of the evening on the ground?” Alan asked.

Harry blinked, feeling dazed. He slowly straightened. His eyes remained fixed upon the spot where the young woman had vanished.

“I just felt a little disoriented. That’s all. I think I ought to return to the estate. This was only supposed to be a brief visit to the cordwainer, anyway. There’s much I need to do today.”

Alan looked contemplative. “Are you certain? I am going to meet with Wrightworth at the tavern. You could join us.”

“I thought you were going to visit the taverns less.”

“Yes.Beginning tomorrow. Weren’t you listening?”

He had been, but suddenly, Harrydidfeel genuinely unsteady. There had just been something so enchanting about that young woman, and when she left, Harry felt as though his senses had likewise abandoned him.

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