Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Sample!  All excerpts here are rated PG-13 or milder. Here’s another post from the second book in my House of Pleasure series, Only Marriage Will Do,  set in Georgian London.

In Only Marriage Will Do, there seems to be a little mystery afoot.  Amiable Dawson has stepped in to rescue a damsel in distress and to his amazement the damsel–who he’s never seen before–is calling him husband and introducing him as the Earl of Manning (who, if you may recall, is Katarina’s brother from Only Scandal Will Do and a friend of Amiable’s).  Amiable is a tad confused,  but gamely carries on with the subterfuge.  He too is interested in why her suitor claims she is his wife and seeks a more thorough explanation.  St. Cyr has just asserted that Juliet is married to him and no one else.

After another slight altercation, St. Cyr leaves and Amiable comforts a distraught Juliet.  Finally, having found out that Katarina is not there, he is pressed into service of a different kind.  He agrees to escort Juliet to her friend’s house.  While he is attending to matters outside, inside the carriage, Juliet is making other plans.  And unexpectedly, those plans escalate.

She had never been one for shilly-shallying; when she approached a task she met it head on in the most expedient manner possible.  Already well into formulating her plan to bring Captain Dawson to the point of declaration, Juliet jumped and clenched her hands when the object of her affection entered the carriage and took a seat opposite her.

“Does the coachman have the direction, Lady Juliet?”

“Yes.  He knows I am to go to Lady Honoria’s home in Beaumont Crescent.”

“Very well.”  Captain Dawson rapped on the trap and the carriage immediately started.  “You said you will stay some days with your friend?”  His generous mouth smiled at her, causing Juliet’s heart to pound unmercifully.

“Until my aunt arrives from Northumberland.  Perhaps a week or so.”  Juliet’s mind raced.  What could she do to keep Amiable Dawson from parting company with her when she arrived at Honoria’s home in approximately ten minutes?  What would make him want to stay with her?  Already knowing his protective nature, Juliet reasoned that a threat to her person would likely keep Amiable close by her side.  She smiled to think she was already calling him by his first name, at least in her own mind.  But what menace could threaten her?

When the thought popped into her head, her face reacted before she could school it. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a little “O.”  She saw alarm flare on her companion’s face and swallowed hard, scarcely knowing if she could in fact perpetrate such a lie.  One look at his concerned visage convinced her.

“Is something wrong, Lady Juliet?”  Amiable leaned toward her, apprehension evident in his manner.

“No, Captain Dawson.  Yes.  I. . .I thought I saw Philippe in that carriage we just passed.”  Her hand came up to shield her face.  Oh, Lord but this felt wrong.  But look what he was doing now.

Amiable had immediately rapped on the trap and called to the driver to stop.  Before the carriage had actually halted, he swung the door open and jumped to the ground, head swiveling around, searching the crowded streets for the non-existent peril.  Juliet watched him, her heart swelling at his obvious concern for her.  If it meant having him to care for her for the rest of her life, it was worth a little subterfuge.

He returned to the carriage, worry in his face.  “Are you sure it was him, Lady Juliet?”

It was easy to act flustered.  “Oh, perhaps not, Captain Dawson.  But perhaps it was.  I don’t really know!  But I was thinking ‘what if he follows me to Honoria’s?  What am I to do?’”

Amiable took her hand and squeezed it gently to comfort her.  At his touch, Juliet thought she would melt into the springs of the carriage.  “I know you are still frightened of him, my lady.  But all will be well.  Your friend’s family will rebuff him if he puts in an appearance there.”

“But what if he brings papers and convinces the Claypools that I am his wife?”  Juliet’s false fright deepened into a real concern. If, in fact, St. Cyr could produce such papers, the Claypools would have no choice but to turn her over to him.  Fear poured off her and she gasped in air in an effort not to faint.

These subterfuges do not seem to bode well for her relationship with Amiable.

Hope you enjoyed a little more of Only Marriage Will Do.  Stop by SSS tomorrow for more from Only Scandal Will Do.  And today be sure to click here to visit more Sweet Samples.  Please excuse the pic this week.  It’s very hard to find pictures of couples in an 18th century carriage. 🙂