A Christmas Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

encountered someone who has suffered such a loss.”
    â€œI would offer you advice, but, if I have met such a person myself, I cannot recall it.”
    He laughed. “Do not think me too bold to say that you are quite amazing, miss, to be able to be amusing when you are suffering from such a dire experience.”
    â€œYou are not too bold. If I am to pretend to be your fiancée, you should be comfortable treating me with a certain amount of camaraderie.”
    â€œCamaraderie?” He chuckled again. “May I say, miss, that you chose a very tepid word to describe the heartfelt love that should exist between two people who are planning to marry?”
    â€œLove? We are supposed to be in love?” Her eyes widened; then she put her hand to her forehead again. Every motion, even one so slight, continued to make the room spin.
    â€œMiss?”
    She heard dismay in his voice, but she could not answer. Clutching the coverlet, she was not sure whether to close her eyes or open them. Either way added to the nausea swarming through her. Myriad images filled her head, but she was not sure what was real and was memory and what was only imagination. Shouts and screams filled her head. Pain slashed through her.
    A warm cloth settled on her forehead, and she sank more deeply into the pillows, letting the relief the warmth brought ease the speed of the spinning. Her heartbeat slowed, and she was able to breathe without fearing each breath would be her last. Gone were the maddened scenes that might be memories of the carriage accident or just the remnant of a forgotten nightmare.
    â€œAre you all right?” Cool hands took hers between them, cradling them gently.
    â€œI believe so.” Her voice was unsteady even to her own ears. Slowly she opened her eyes to see Lord Cheyney on his feet, his hands surrounding hers. His expression of anxiety spoke more loudly than his words. “Forgive me, my lord. I am afraid I overreacted to your comments.”
    â€œYou had assumed this betrothal was an arranged one with little affection on either side.” One side of his mouth tilted up in a tired smile. “That would have been the better part of wisdom, I see now, but, in an effort to soothe my grandfather’s dismay that I had not found someone to wed in the wake of—” He released her hand and cleared his throat. “I thought the tale of a true-love match would please him greatly.”
    â€œBecause you never imagined it would bring you to this contretemps?”
    â€œMayhap if I had considered the story of this betrothal of the least importance, I would have given it deeper thought.” He folded his hands behind his coat, which was still damp from the winter storm. “I do not condone my cousin’s methods, miss, but Felix is right about one thing. Our grandfather is not a young man. It might be better to humor him on this one thing.”
    â€œYou care deeply for him, don’t you?”
    â€œMy cousin?”
    She shook her head, then wished she had been more cautious. Leaning her head back again into the pillows, she whispered, “I see that you tolerate your cousin. No more.”
    â€œYou apparently do not see too clearly just now. Felix and I have been tie-mates as well as cousins for all our lives.”
    â€œReally?” she asked, looking up at him.
    He was not hoaxing her, for puzzlement filled his eyes. Or was this no more than a part of the greater charade that he was drawing her into? She knew nothing of this man or his cousin or his grandfather. She knew nothing of anything but what had transpired in this rough room since she awoke.
    Now it was obviously her turn to apologize. In little more than a whisper, she said, “Forgive me, my lord, if I spoke out of turn. I was judging only on what I saw ensue between the two of you during a very short conversation when, it is obvious, you both were not at your best.”
    â€œYou have a true skill at