A Curse of the Heart Read Online Free PDF

Mrs. James leaves through the front door. As I said, she is always the last to leave and has never stayed past nine thirty. I trust by your response there is no one to object to you spending the evening here?”
    He stood abruptly, as though the question caused him discomfort. “I live alone, Miss Linwood, and I work alone. So no, there is no one to offer any objection.” He gave her a respectful bow. “Until tonight.”
    “Until tonight,” she repeated, feeling a flutter in her stomach at the prospect of having company this evening.
    He walked to the door but then turned back to face her. “If you could provide a list of all those who work here, at what times they have access and anything else you might think pertinent.”
    Rebecca had no idea why he was interested in that information but thought it best to say nothing. “I shall provide you with everything you need.”
    He managed a smile. “And I trust there is no one to object to my presence here this evening.”
    She looked up at his handsome face, into eyes that made her forget to breathe. “Like you, there is no one to object. Like you, I am alone.”

 
    Chapter 5
     
    Gabriel was not the sort of gentleman to hover on a street corner at night, or hide behind a bush spying on the home of an unmarried lady. That sort of licentious conduct was reserved for bucks and rakes, not respectable scholars of the ancient world. Yet here he was dressed in black, waiting to partake in a late night rendezvous.
    But this was not a rendezvous, he reminded himself.
    This was penance, to atone for the disgraceful way he’d behaved.
    Lord Wellford had been a man of patience, a man sympathetic to the needs of his students; he bought Gabriel books, paid for dinner, listened to his theories on the mummification process. And now he would repay the kindness of his mentor by coming to the aid of his daughter.
    Thirty minutes had passed since the housekeeper let herself out through the front door, waddling off down the street with her wicker basket swinging on her arm. Gabriel had decided to hang back in the shadows, to wait and ensure no one else entered the house without Miss Linwood’s knowledge. To wait until he could enter the building unnoticed.
    He still found the thought of her living alone rather unsettling. Why employ a housekeeper who leaves at nine? Why not hire a maid or paid companion? Once he’d dealt with the curse, which probably amounted to nothing more than an infestation of rats, he would convince Miss Linwood of the need to be chaperoned at night.
    Walking up to the door, he took a deep breath and rapped three times.
    She opened it immediately, her radiant expression suggesting someone eagerly awaiting the arrival of a friend. Not a man set on disproving her theory, ready to leave her looking like a naive fool.
    “Mr. Stone,” she said stepping back to bid him entry, “please, come in.” As her gaze drifted over his attire, she smiled. “Black suits you.”
    He ran his hand down the front of his coat, intrigued by the obvious compliment and handing her his hat and gloves decided to offer one of his own.
    “And I find white much prettier than brown.”
    She blushed as she glanced down at the pale muslin dress, the silver-green bodice complementing the vibrancy of her copper curls.
    “Well, it is more appropriate for an unmarried lady, as opposed to the dress I wore to Lord Banbury’s ball. That one was my mother’s as I do not own a ball gown of my own.”
    The memory of how exquisite she looked in emerald green, how the material clung to her soft curves, made his mouth feel so parched he feared his top lip had stuck to his gum.
    “White is very fetching, Miss Linwood,” he heard himself say and then wanted to kick himself in the shin for sounding so pathetic.
    “Have you eaten, Mr. Stone?”
    The answer was yes but for some reason, he said, “No, Miss Linwood, I have not.”
    “Excellent,” she beamed. “I took the trouble of having Mrs. James