A Fallen Woman by Kate Harper Page A

humor that
had been vastly enjoyable, all the more in that they were
unexpected.
    Now there
was something far more... Rachel searched for the right word that
might describe the man she had observed the previous day and came
up with some odd choices.
    Dark.
    Intense.
    Brooding.
    Yes, she thought, with some surprise. There was something darker and
more jaded about the earl, as if his experiences had tested him,
forging a harder blade. He had certainly had his attractions when
she had first met him and she had been sure some lucky young lady
would snap him up in short order (although in truth he could have
had the countenance of a potato and the personality of a wet squib
and he would still have been considered one of the most eligible
men in England – he was Worsley, after all). His appeal was of a
different kind now. The engaging, puppyish youth was gone, replaced
by a harder version who carried an air of weary watchfulness about
like an invisible cloak.
    Three and a half years was a long time, of
course , but
it seemed that the earl had experienced a great many things in that
time. It was the only explanation for that shift in attitude. She
wondered what Adam thought of the new Worsley. Not that she
supposed she could ask his opinion. The less interested she
appeared in the man the better it would be. Still, Rachel felt a
pang of real regret. Worsley had been that rarest of men; modest,
considerate and kind. All unusual attributes in a man of his
standing but charming, nevertheless.
    No matter what her thoughts on the subject of the old and new
versions of the man… what she really needed was a strategy to deal with him. She had
allowed her anger to override more cautious considerations the
evening before, but in retrospect, ignoring each other for the
length of his stay at Thorncroft might be the most sensible thing
to do. Worsley had said what he had to say, she had persecuted him
the evening before. Perhaps they could call themselves even and
spend the rest of his visit in a state of mutual disregard. All
they needed to do to achieve a happy equilibrium was to avoid each
other – easy enough as he had made it plain that he had no desire
to spend time with her –
while they waited for this visit to end.
    It would all be over soon enough; the wedding, the
celebration s
and the unfamiliar foray into socializing. Then her life would
subside slowly back into the quiet pattern that she was so familiar
with. Nothing would change, not for Rachel, no matter how many
parties her parents decided to host.
    All she could
hope for was a quiet, predictable life.
    For creatures such as herself , there could be nothing else. Indeed, for
creatures such as herself there was usually a great deal worse.
Until yesterday morning, she had been entirely cheerful at the
prospect of living the rest of her life in the shadows but it
seemed that Worsley’s words had triggered something within her. The
kind of desolation he had spoken of touched her and she stirred
uneasily, even though she knew that her family would never turn
their backs on her.
    Even so…
    Is this really my life? Never again having the respect of a
decent man or having the opportunity of a family? I thought I would
have children and… and my own household and the love of a good man. What
will happen to me when Mama and Papa have gone?
    It would be all too ea sy to sink into melancholy in the face of such a
grey future…
    Rachel sat up abruptly and blinked. She was shocked and appalled
by the maudlin direction her thoughts were taking. She hadn’t
allowed herself such self-pitying nonsense for years and yet here
she was, feeling sorry for herself. As if she had anything to feel
sorry about! A fresh surge of resentment eddied through her.
Worsley had prompted this, curse him! He had made her reflect anew
on her life with his harsh words, painting a picture of desolation
where there wasn’t one.
    ‘Just remember how fortunate you are, my girl,’ she
snapped. ‘You cannot