The Bride Ship. Regina Scott. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Regina Scott
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия: Frontier Bachelors
Жанр произведения: Исторические любовные романы
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781472073211
Скачать книгу
How silly! She wasn’t a debutante meeting the mighty Clay Howard for the first time. She squared her shoulders and marched toward him.

      He met her halfway. “Good morning, Allegra,” he said with a nod of welcome. “How did you and Gillian fare your first night aboard?”

      One of the older women nearby cast them a look with raised brows. She couldn’t know their past history and family connections gave him the right to use her first name.

      “Tolerably well, Mr. Howard,” Allie said, making sure to use his last name. She took his arm and drew him a little farther away from the others toward the deck chairs that rested along the wall of the first-class quarters. “And you? Ms. O’Rourke wondered whether you had all you needed.”

      She couldn’t confess that she’d wondered, too, but he didn’t question her. Instead, his smile deepened, showing a dimple along the right side of his mouth. “Give her my thanks, but tell her not to worry. I’m set up fairly well. I’m bunking with Mr. Conant, a reporter from the Times, and he was kind enough to offer me the lower bunk so I can stick out my feet. And Ms. Stevens and the widow Hennessy provided me with sheets and blankets when they heard I had none.”

      She should be relieved that he had been so well supported. Yet some part of her was disappointed she hadn’t been the one to make sure he was comfortable.

      “Well, then,” she said, removing her hand from his arm. “It seems you have no further need of us. Answer me one question, if you will, and I’ll leave you to your promenade.”

      He cocked his head. The breeze pulled free a strand of red-gold hair, and she had to fight the impulse to smooth it back from his face. “And what question would that be?” he asked with a smile, as if confident of his ability to answer it.

      “Why did you join us on this trip? You can’t have been planning on spending three or more months at sea.”

      “No, indeed,” he said with a chuckle. “But make no mistake, Allegra. I joined the company of the Continental because of you.”

      There went her stomach fluttering again. “Because of me, sir?” Her question sounded breathless, and she cleared her throat.

      “You and Gillian,” he clarified. “It’s a long way with more dangers than you can know. Someone has to protect you.”

      Oh, but he was impossible! “Did it never dawn on you, sir, that I might be able to protect myself?”

      His shrug did nothing to stem the rise of her frustration.

      She stepped back from him. “I will have you know that I’m fairly self-sufficient. Should you need our help on this trip, you can find Gillian and me in stateroom thirty-five, on the port side of the lower salon. We’d be more than glad to protect you.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RMeRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgACAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAbgEbAAUAAAABAAAAdgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAfgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAkgE7 AAIAAAAOAAAApodpAAQAAAABAAAAtAAAAOAAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9w IDcuMAAyMDE0OjA5OjA1IDA5OjQxOjQ3AFNjb3R0LCBSZWdpbmEAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAE AAAAAQAABlagAwAEAAAAAQAACgAAAAAAAAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABLgEbAAUA AAABAAABNgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQAAAABAAABPgICAAQAAAABAAAR2AAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAA AEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/ 2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwPFRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQODg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEIAIAAUQMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAb/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIE AgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMicYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRai soMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dn d4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcGBTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi 4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kSTVKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl 9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AK/puDiDyDqphhVJ3UMsOcbDVH7+ z/pe121aDXZdNW/JYz03UP8Aex1W/wBRzS4l1V1jfS+ztbZWxjf1j1/8E9OlzEANQfwX/dZjW4/i ptOui2Om49dTC+3XiCfNYbssvy2VsuqxXEt3VBhs9MH9PY59zjb6j6KXel6fp+99H6RDb1zOsYW1 9QqZWJIF1AaXH3urOxs+n/g6n/pP+H/4BRynGWwkPMJGGQ3I/F7XM9dtTXVNZ6TxqYaSeywL8eqt 5aNI47/JZ1nVM4svYeqU+lT7qS+oTbNbrHelt2+lusrZTss/09XqfnqqzqvUa/Uurz8cWUtqfVUa gTY57d9tNe4OZ6mK/wDRWb/pp2KXCL1RLBI9R/zv+9eiq6RmPxvtQY0VxIkw6B+dtQGsCq1/Wbrp Nn+V6djQ0guoZDiWmxzQ0bv5t22iz8/1rP0ddir29VzXvbYc7H321OtsAqA2WisXDFe2W/pbLT9m 9ns9RSRzHXiHlSPu0jsR9eL/AL11wweARNtftgAEDUx3lc83q/UfUDDm47WmvebDUNoeW720e0ue 13q/oN9ja/T/AJ3+aQr+t9WYKjVl1WepU2x4bW0Gt7vp41m7/CU/no+6OxR92n3j/wA7/vXoY8kl gftfqv8ApWf5rf7kkPcHYq9mXcfi/wD/0A42U9tksDQQdPa0wf3hua73Kz1fMxKunDIditsuLvTF rhueS6bP5yxtn8p2+xUmUOmQELrl9tXT68azRtzpGnZnu3D+2WoGI3oX3XCcr+Y/a5FvUcqywure aw76NbIAAjbtB2/56vdOwuu5x3YYOTUBAJc2ts/2h+aqfTcQ5eRsAAABLge0+HC67puVm9PLfSxj diVEC9wrLdo/fD2v9R39f0NijnOtABfiywEjqZS+1zrMPqvRTS/q+K1+Na4t3NLXiI3O9zfoWs+n Vv8A5xdNV0HHOyMaqXGRoHNcwDe47f39Wof1uz2u6fkdPexpY6puTVdueCTU6u6GbavQ91bvzr2K zhX3VU025tT23PrYBWJG0dvpj2+zYxOxkkHQfYsyEgj1S+1nmdG6biwBiVBzxuYQ2DPnys/7BiOJ Borg9oXQZGCzKLMh5dd+8C5zYBP0B6D2tbsWNm0+nUbmZLqsf7W6r9I7cW045u+22utY31v032S6 qmr9M/8Am/TToSiNxqj1k6TP2lCOmYJ0+z1/5qJV0nCfY1gxatzyGj2juVpU4+L6/wBkbkh1xYch rS5z9tQFbYbcWt9T+cbd7/f+m/0aO/IwcF9d