Page 18 of The Language of Love

“His friend is quite attractive in his own, er, savage way.”

“Savage?” Freddie repeated, musing over the description. “Yes, I suppose he looks as though he’d be more at home wielding a broadsword than dancing in a ballroom.”

“And yet as huge as he is, he moved with grace and elegance.”

“Which is more than I can say for his employer.”

Annis snorted. “Yes, how many times did Lord Rotherhithe dip his cuff in his tea?”

They both laughed.

“Although Mr. Parker isn’t as pretty as his employer, I found him far more attractive,” Annis said. “His jaw looks to be hewn from stone and his deep-set eyes are uncomfortably… penetrating, but he has the loveliest eyelashes, although they didn’t soften his appearance even a whit.”

“They are the sort of lashes that are quite wasted on men.”

Annis chuckled. “I agree.” Her own eyelashes were thick and long but so fair as to be invisible. She sipped her tea, her mind drifting again to Mr. Parker’s towering body and powerful build. Her hand had all but disappeared in his, yet he’d held it with surprising gentleness.

“Perhaps savage wasn’t the right word,” Annis amended. “Dangerous might be better, although I couldn’t say why.”

“Perhaps you found him dangerous because of the murderous looks he kept giving his employer.”

Annis laughed. “He did look appalled, didn’t he?”

“Mm-mm,” Freddie hummed. “And angry.”

“Mr. Parker’s manners were far better than the earl’s.”

“Yes, Mr. Parker appeared quite distinguished and intelligent. If not for his hulking body and inexpensive clothing, he would make a far more polished aristocrat than his companion.”

Annis liked his hulking body. She liked his thick, glossy brown hair, square, chiseled jaw, firm lips, and prominent high-bridged nose, too.

And then there were his eyes…

Although the warm hazel color wasn’t especially exceptional, there was an expression in them that had made her feel almost… naked.

Annis shivered.

“Are you cold, dear?” Freddie asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Annis replied, wrenching her mind off the enigmatic Mr. Parker.

Freddie caught her lip with her teeth, the pensive expression unusual in a woman who was normally so cool and reserved. “It does not make me happy to think of the reception Mr. Parker will receive when he accompanies the earl. I hope his lordship understands what he is doing.”

Annis raised her brows. “Mr. Parker wishes to attend social functions with his employer?”

“I don’t know what his preference might be, but the earl made it very clear in his letter that his friend will accompany him, going so far as to say that if Mr. Parker wasn’t welcome, then he wouldn’t consider himself welcome, either. And you just heard his lordship—they are joined at the hip.”

They both snickered at the memory of the earl’s ridiculous pronouncement.

“I think his loyalty to his friend speaks well of him,” Annis said.

“Perhaps. But it does not speak well of his intelligence.”

Privately, Annis thought Freddie would have her hands full with the thick-headed peer.

As if she’d spoken aloud, Freddie said, “I know I claimed I was not worried about launching the earl, but I am relieved there is barely half the Season left.”

Annis had no comforting words to offer.