The Doctor's Reckless Debutante

THE DOCTOR’S RECKLESS DEBUTANTE ROGUES GONE DIRTY BELLA MOXIE CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Epilogue 1 Miss Eloise Turner toyed with the food on her plate, the chatter and laughter of the guests at her parents’ dinner party a distant hum as her thoughts raced and her stomach churned. They’d had an understanding! That was the thought that played over and over in her mind. They’d had an understanding. How could Nathan just…leave? An odd sensation drew Eloise out of her obsessive thoughts and her physical misery. Her skin prickled with heat, and not for the first time since this dratted dinner party began, she felt the weight of his stare. Dr. Sinclair. She kept her head down as she cast a furtive look toward the end of the table where he sat between her father and her cousin. His gaze collided with hers, and once again she looked away quickly, her cheeks burning at the dark intensity of his gaze. Why was he staring so? She’d never met the man before tonight, and truly, they’d done little more than exchange the most obligatory pleasantries when he’d first arrived along with the others. She’d heard about him, of course. Her friends Rosaline and Franny had even suggested she speak to him when they caught her vomiting in the garden at the last ball. But she couldn’t talk to him about her problem. Could she? Her fingers knitted in her lap as she snuck another glance. His gaze was still on her even though he was answering some question her cousin had posed. She couldn’t make out his words, but his tone was even, maybe a touch bored. It was also…calming. She focused on the sound of his low, rumbly voice as her heartbeat slowed as if to keep pace with his modulated cadence. She took a deep breath. Yes, if she could just concentrate on that, she might survive this dinner after all. It wouldn’t do to be sick at the table. And she certainly didn’t want to answer her parents’ questions if she were to burst into tears over pudding. But truly…they’d had an understanding! Her sister Mary leaned forward on the other side of the table, concern in her eyes. “El? Are you all right?” Eloise forced a smile to reassure her sister. Mary knew some of what had occurred. But not all. Close as they were, Eloise couldn’t quite bring herself to tell Mary the full extent of what she’d done. Or rather…what she’d allowed Nathan to do. But only because they’d had an understanding! She took a deep breath, holding the smile firmly in place until her sister finally turned her attention away to answer a question posed to her by the gentleman sitting beside her. Lord Eagleton, she thought his name was. A baron in search of a wife, no doubt. The baron part she recalled from their earlier introduction, but it did not take much intellect to deduce that he was yet another from their mother’s long list of eligible gentlemen she had in mind for Mary. Poor Mary. Sweet as could be, and shy by nature, her older sister must look like the perfect biddable bride to an odious man like Eagleton. Even now, her kind, quiet sister nodded and smiled like a docile lamb as the much older man prattled on about himself as if his recent acquisition of hunting dogs was the most interesting tale ever to be told. Poor sod had no clue that the sweet, indulgent blonde-haired beauty who was nodding so dutifully was a hundred times more clever than he. Not to mention far more amusing, if he ever gave her a chance to speak. But even when he paused for breath, Mary seemed content to wait for another long-winded speech. But that was Mary for you. Quiet. Dutiful. Docile. Everything Eloise had never quite managed to be, no matter how hard she tried. She used to think her mother was overreacting when she’d said Eloise’s impulsive, outgoing nature would get her into trouble. But now… Her stomach twisted into a knot as memory after memory assaulted her. The words Nathan had whispered in her ear that night. We’ll be married soon enough, you know. What are we waiting for? There it was again, that prickle of awareness that was most definitely coming from the doctor’s end of the table. Why was he so interested in her? And why couldn’t she resist returning his stares? She caught him again, but this time she didn’t look away quickly enough. This time she had the absurd notion that she’d been caught in a snare. His gaze held hers and wouldn’t let go. Her lips parted in surprise at the man’s audacity. He was their guest, after all. And a doctor, not a viscount like her father or even a baron like poor Mary’s dinner partner. He shouldn’t be staring at her so. And she shouldn’t be meeting his gaze head-on like this. She really ought to look away. But it was difficult because no one seemed to notice the staring contest taking place across the table and his audacity seemed to feed her own. She hadn’t had much of a chance to study him earlier. It wasn’t polite to leer at a man. It gave him ideas. Like you gave Nathan ideas? Shame and regret coiled in her belly. She focused on the doctor instead. His eyes were dark, and even from across the table, she felt their warmth. Did he look at everyone with such undiluted focus? Did he make everyone feel like they were the only one in the room when he met their gaze? Her heart gave a little hiccup in her chest as his lips quirked up on one side. Air escaped her in a rush as that tiny movement softened his otherwise austere