A Touch of Passion Read Online Free Page B

face crumple.
    “If anyone is likely to be hurt, it’s me. Now that he’s the earl … due to my reputation I am not considered marriage material.” Rose’s eyes filled with tears. “I love him. I’ve always loved him. I’ve loved him since I was fifteen.”
    Portia moved to sit next to her friend, wrapping her in a fierce hug. “I know, silly. I’ve known about your feelings for Philip for years. However, I also knew why, at nineteen, you married that fossil Lord Thompson. When your father died, your mother’s financial situation was dire. I realize that was why you agreed to wed the walking dead, and so did Philip. Lord Thompson’s wife and only son died of scarlet fever and he needed an heir for the dukedom. Which you dutifully provided before he died. I certainly don’t begrudge you finding your happiness now. You deserve it as a reward for the two years you had to spend with him.”
    Rose squeezed Portia’s hand and wiped her eyes. “Philip makes me happy. I’d marry him if he asked, but he never noticed me before I married, and now my reputation as the sensual widow precedes me. I’m totally unsuitable. I don’t think he takes me seriously. I’m a liaison to relieve his boredom. Hence I’m urging caution regarding Lord Blackwood’s invitation. If you destroy your reputation by having a love affair with Grayson, and then you meet a man who becomes your reason for living … men tend to want virginal, or at least respectable, brides.”
    Portia just couldn’t get the words out of her mouth. How could she admit that Grayson, a man who seemed to think she caused nothing but trouble, a man who viewed her as an annoying sister, was the love of her life? However, if anyone could understand, it would be Rose. “You love Philip, and I love Grayson.”
    Rose patted her hand. “I know. Are we not a pair? In love with men who see us as nothing more than pleasurable pursuits.”
    “I don’t believe that of Grayson. He may be a rake of the first order, but he’s honorable. He would not have invited me to meet him if he did not have serious intentions. All of London knows he returned from Waterloo intent on taking a wife. War tends to awaken men’s fears of mortality.”
    Grayson had been more attentive since Robert’s death. They had put aside the terrible night two years ago at the Cyprians’ Ball. Everything changed with grief. He’d lost his best friend, a man more like a brother, while she
had
lost her brother. They had become reunited by grief.
    Rose patted Portia’s cheek and sighed. “Let us hope so. The alternative would ruin you, and I don’t wish to see that happen.”
    Portia didn’t wish to be ruined either. She did, however, want Grayson.
    “When did you realize he was the one?” Rose’s question interrupted her memories. “Can you remember?”
    “Yes, I can remember,” she whispered. “I was with you at the time.”
    Rose’s flawless skin wrinkled with a frown. “I didn’t notice any change in you. When I fell in love with Philip I thought everyone had noticed.”
    “With five brothers I’ve learned to hide my emotions. Besides, I came down with the lung fever not long afterward.”
    Rose smiled. “I think I know when it happened. Was it when he rescued the little lad who fell down the cliff?”
    She simply nodded.
    “It was an impressive rescue. While I rode for help, you stayed talking to the lad, keeping him as still as possible on the ledge about fifty feet down the cliff. By the time I got back with help, Grayson had climbed down and brought him up on his back. Very heroic.”
    “I can still remember how fast and hard my heart was beating. One slip and both of them would have died. The thought of losing him … well, something inside budded into life. My head, my heart, and my body sang in unison that he would make a fine husband, lover, and friend. It was that simple. One minute he was an annoying male, and the next he filled my dreams.”
    “Well, from the tone of