A Slight Miscalculation Read Online Free Page B

this?” Her mother came
up behind her and called down to her father, who hovered in the
open doorway to his study. “Who are these people, Tillney? Send
them off. We’re for Lord Dayle’s ball.”
    “Oh, do hush, Cassandra,” the strange lady
called out.
    “Your mother?” Jane asked.
    Worthe nodded and her smile grew even
wider.
    Lady Tillney pushed past her, peering
downward. “Minerva Hampton? Is that you? Whatever are you up to
now?”
    “It is I. We can discuss how long it has
been later. Right now I believe my son is about to propose to your
daughter. Let’s allow them to get to it, shall we?”
    “Your son!” the baroness gasped in horror. Then understanding
dawned, or she must have suddenly recalled her Debrett’s. “Oh, your
son the viscount !” She hurried down the rest of the stairs. “Welcome, my
lord!” She’d flipped from horror to ecstasy without a hitch. “I
suppose we might consider attending the theater this
evening.”
    He nodded to her and then stepped around
her, stopping at the bottom step and holding out a hand.
    Jane came down, stopped on the last stair
and took it. “Is that why you’ve come?” she asked.
    He nodded. “I’m afraid I’ve made a couple
more miscalculations.”
    She bit back a smile. “Surely you don’t need
me to fix them.”
    “But I do.” He lifted his hand and touched
her cheek. “I miscalculated how important it is that I see these
stars every morning when I awake.”
    She frowned. “Stars?”
    He grinned. “The constellation Andromeda.
The princess, in fact, etched very finely in freckles across your
lovely nose and onto those soft cheeks.”
    Her hand flew to her face. “I’ve always
hated those freckles!”
    “Well, you’ll have to stop that, as of right
now.” His tone had gone low. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss
where his finger had just been.
    Behind him, her father cleared his
throat.
    “Yes.” Worthe straightened. “There’s also
another worrisome number plaguing me, almost beyond
calculation.”
    She took his other hand, clasped them both
to her bosom. “And what is that?”
    “It’s the sheer number of hours, days,
months and years I would be miserable without you.” His mouth
twisted. “If I promise to look up from my telescope when you prod
me, to allow you to check all of my calculations before I send them
out, if I vow to make your search for those in need as important as
my search of the stars, then will you make a connection with
me?”
    Tears rose in her eyes as she nodded her
agreement. “Yes, Lord Worthe. I will.” She gave him a wobbly smile.
“Let’s start our own constellation, shall we?”
    He pulled her close. “I don’t know what
shape it shall take, but I know it will shine bright.”
     
     

Author’s Note
     
    Astronomy was becoming more popular during
this period of the Regency. William and Caroline Herschel were two
of the well-known scientists working in the field. Clubs and
societies were springing up and people were applying developments
in other fields such as math, physics and chemistry to their
understanding of the universe.
    In truth, though, the first recorded
mathematical computations of the variations in Uranus’s orbit did
not come until nearly thirty years later. They led to the discovery
of the planet Neptune. I hope the reader will forgive me. I felt
that giving Jane and Worthe their HEA warranted a little fudging of
dates.
     
     
     

About the
Author

    Deb Marlowe adores History, England and Men
In Boots. Clearly she was destined to write Regency Historical
Romance.
     
    A Golden Heart winner and Rita Nominee, Deb
grew up in Pennsylvania with her nose in a book. Luckily she’d read
enough romances to recognize a true modern hero she met a college
Halloween party—even though he wore a tuxedo t-shirt instead of
breeches and boots. They married, settled in North Carolina and
produced two handsome, intelligent and genuinely amusing boys.
Though she spends much of her time with