A Noble Man. ANNE ASHLEY

      Sophia must have a sound reason for treating him with indifference.

      Ben couldn’t prevent a wry smile from curling his lips as he considered his present unenviable situation. He was a Sharnbrook, with proud aristocratic blood flowing through his veins, and he’d be damned if he would tolerate being ignored by the young woman who was destined to become his duchess!

      The instant she glimpsed that tall figure looming alongside, Sophia could feel the tension in her steadily mounting. How could she now begin to treat this man like a servant when she had never done so before? Impossible to tell him to remember his station in life when she herself was finding it increasingly difficult not to think of him as an equal!

      A Noble Man

      Anne Ashley

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ANNE ASHLEY

      was born and educated in Leicester. She lived for a time in Scotland, but now resides in the West Country with two cats, her two sons and a husband who has a wonderful and very necessary sense of humor. When not pounding away at the keys on her computer she likes to relax in her garden, which she has opened to the public on more than one occasion in aid of the village church funds.

      THE STEEPWOOD SCANDAL:

      Lord Ravensden’s Marriage, by Anne Herries

      An Innocent Miss, by Elizabeth Bailey

      The Reluctant Bride, by Meg Alexander

      A Companion of Quality, by Nicola Cornick

      A Most Improper Proposal, by Gail Whitiker

      A Noble Man, by Anne Ashley

      An Unreasonable Match, by Sylvia Andrew

      An Unconventional Duenna, by Paula Marshall

      Counterfeit Earl, by Anne Herries

      The Captain’s Return, by Elizabeth Bailey

      The Guardian’s Dilemma, by Gail Whitiker

      Lord Exmouth’s Intentions, by Anne Ashley

      Mr. Rushford’s Honour, by Meg Alexander

      An Unlikely Suitor, by Nicola Cornick

      An Inescapable Match, by Sylvia Andrew

      The Missing Marchioness, by Paula Marshall

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

      Chapter One

      March 1812

      The Earl of Yardley glared in frustrated silence at his daughter’s lustrous blue-black curls. Anyone might be forgiven for supposing that Lady Sophia’s bent head and clasped hands expressed contrition, but he was not fooled for a moment. Oh, most definitely not! Unless he much mistook the matter, his daughter’s striking green eyes were twinkling while she was doing her level best to conceal that wickedly provocative smile of hers.

      “So, you flatly refuse even to consider this latest proposal,” he reiterated, still somehow managing to keep a tight rein on his temper. Any other young woman would have been overjoyed to receive four offers for her hand since her arrival in town a mere two weeks ago. His Sophia, however, was a law unto herself!

      Swinging round on his heels, he went across the room to stare sightlessly out of the library window. “At least may I be permitted to know why you have taken Lord Vale in such dislike?”

      “Oh, I do not dislike him, Papa,” his most undutiful offspring hurriedly assured him. “The truth of the matter is I haven’t known him long enough to form an opinion.”

      “In that case, what can be your objection other than a need to know him a little better?”

      Sophia, with a suspicion of wicked amusement still lingering in her eyes after learning of this latest offer for her hand, raised her head at last. “Well, apart from the fact that he will never see forty again, he is the only gentleman of my acquaintance who could sit in a carriage and stare out of both windows at one and the same time.”

      A noise sounding suspiciously like a suppressed chuckle reached her ears, and she looked across the room at her father’s surprisingly straight back and silver-grey hair. For a gentleman who had celebrated his seventy-first birthday just a few short weeks before, he was still in fine physical condition. “Papa, you don’t seriously expect me to consider this offer from Lord Vale, do you?”

      He didn’t, but he had no intention of admitting to it. “You seem to forget that I was several years older than Lord Vale is now when I proposed to your mother.”

      “True, but you were such a distinguished-looking gentleman…still are, for that matter. Besides which, you haven’t a turn in your left eye.”

      “Don’t try those wheedling ways with me, my girl!” his lordship snapped, striving not to let his favourite child twist him round her little finger, which, sadly, she so often did. “Very well, I can understand your reluctance in not wishing to consider Vale’s offer, but what about the one from young Farley?”

      Sophia’s finely arched brows rose. “Are you by any chance acquainted with the Honourable Cedric Farley? I don’t think you possibly can be, sir…He’s a moonling!”

      Once again his lordship was forced to exercise the firmest control in order to conceal his amusement. His daughter was nothing if not brutally candid. “And what were your objections to both Pelham and Neubert, may I ask?”

      “A pair of tailor’s dummies!”

      “God in heaven!” His lordship clapped a hand over his eyes. “Where in the world do you learn such expressions?”

      The exaggerated raising of one brow was a clear indication that she considered the question totally unnecessary. “From the male members of this household, who else?”

      Not best pleased at suddenly finding himself at a disadvantage, the Earl went striding back across to his desk. “I’ll have a word with that brother of yours when next I see him. He must learn to put a guard on his tongue when you’re about.”

      “I’m reliably informed that Marcus should be arriving any time now, and intends to stay in town for a week or two. I must say though, Papa, I think you’re being grossly unfair to take him to task,” she pointed out in