Tanya Anne Crosby by The Impostor's Kiss

be done in so little time!Lord, but there must be something suitable she had to wear!
    A sense of panic enveloped her. She rushed to the wardrobe. Opening it revealed a meager assortment of garments that might have embarrassed her to wear in more finer households, but here, at Glen Abbey Manor, everything was old and overused. Even some of Lady Fiona’s own gowns were somewhat worse for the wear. Still, Aggie gasped with delight at the riches Chloe unveiled and Chloe felt an immediate twinge of guilt.
    Chloe reached in, pulling out a wrinkled dress of soft blue chiffon with ivory lace cuffing at the sleeve and hem. The neckline was fashionable but modest. She’d worn the gown to her cousin’s wedding in Edinburgh two years before. There hadn’t been an occasion to wear it since.
    Aggie sighed wistfully. “It’s beautiful, Miss Chloe! It’s aboot time to stop wearing mourning colors anyway.” She held her hands out. “I’ll take it and press it at once.”
    Chloe wasn’t accustomed to being waited upon. “Oh!” she said, “but I don’t mind doing it myself.”
    “I insist!” Aggie said. “It’d be my pleasure, Miss Chloe. Anyway, you’ve your own duties to attend to.” She tried to take the dress from Chloe’s hands.
    Chloe frowned. “Well…thank you, I suppose,” she said, reluctant to release the gown. It wasn’t her place to utilize the servants in such a capacity. She was scarce more than a servant herself.
    Aggie pulled it firmly from her grasp, smiling reassuringly. “It’s a fine day, Miss Chloe, when one of them notices one of us. I want to do this, please.”
    Chloe sighed. “Very well,” she relented, releasing the dress.
    She hated to disappoint Aggie, but she was certain Lord Lindale hadn’t romance on his mind.
    Aggie didn’t give her even an instant to reconsider. The girl scurried out of the room with a flurry of blue chiffon trailing behind her.
    The instant she was gone, Chloe wanted to race after her.
    She couldn’t do this.
    She’d never dined with a man before—never alone. Come to think of it, never at all. Her father didn’t count, and he’d never invited guests to dinner. He’d worked hard and she had worked by his side, eagerly learning everything he would teach her. By the end of the day, it had been a blessing simply to enjoy a peaceful meal together.
    It had been Chloe’s childhood dream to continue her father’s practice, but it wouldn’t be an easygoal to achieve because she wasn’t a man and therefore could never formally study medicine. What she knew, she knew only because her father had respected her enough to teach her and because she’d pored over his medical journals. It was highly unlikely that she could take her skills to Edinburgh or to London. No one there would seek the care of a woman. Only in Glen Abbey was she free to pursue her dreams, but when she’d lost her house, she’d lost what little security a roof over her head had afforded her.
    Lindale, the cad, was a greedy penny-pincher who parted with his coin only to satisfy his own vices. That he’d agreed to double her salary was shocking. Chloe had to see it to believe it.
    Perhaps the fall had knocked some decency into him. Chloe could only hope. And yet, though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was about him that had changed, something had.
    Never in her life had anyone looked at her the way he had. He’d gazed at her with such—she couldn’t describe it—unbridled hunger in his eyes that it made her quiver merely at the memory. To her dismay, she couldn’t stop thinking about it…the way he’d kissed her, the way he’d held her.
    She wondered what he was doing…and then wondered why she was wondering what he was doing.
    What was the matter with her that she couldn’tstop thinking about him? Would she lose her head over any man who dared to steal a kiss from her?
    It must be true, because Lord Lindale was hardly the sort of man she admired and respected.
    He was nothing