A Guardians Angel Read Online Free PDF

Its leaving severed her last connection with London, and she could not be sorry about that.
    She saw a form, long and slender as a cat. That must be Master Thomas Sutton. He was walking toward the gate and the road leading past Oslington Court.
    Hurrying from the raised terrace, she set her parasol on her shoulder as she crossed the neatly trimmed yard. She did not pause to admire the shrubs or the fruit budding in the trees. Master Thomas was just the person she needed to talk with. She hoped he would be able to answer the questions taunting her. Miss Esther was too young, and Miss Sutton had resisted explaining why she was so distressed by a mere glance from her guardian. There were too many mysteries in this huge house, and she wanted to have some of them resolved so she could do her best to guide Miss Sutton.
    Angela reached the gate exactly at the same moment Master Thomas did. Her smile became a frown when she saw the butterfly net he was carrying propped on his shoulder and the stubborn set of his jaw. Miss Sutton had been mistaken. Her brother had not set aside his propensity for trouble-making with his adolescence.
    “I thought your guardian requested that you refrain from calling on Lord Harrington,” Angela said with a sigh. She did not want to give him a dressing-down, but she had a responsibility, as did everyone in Oslington Court, to see that the children obeyed the duke’s rules.
    Master Thomas kicked one pebble toward the gate, then another. He stuck his hand into the pockets of his dark breeches, causing his short coat to hang at an odd angle. Reluctantly he answered, “Rodney said Justin was not to come chasing after his ‘blasted butterflies’—his words, Miss Needham, not mine—on Oslington land. As you can see, I am meeting Justin on the other side of the gate. On the public road. Off Oslington land.”
    She plucked the butterfly net from his hand, surprising him. “If His Grace gave you such an order, you know he intended you to keep it both on Oslington property and off. Did you tell him that you would obey him?”
    “Not exactly. I said—”
    “That your father told you a man was only as good as his word. If you gave His Grace your word, in any form, then you should recall both that and your father’s advice.”
    He snatched the net back. His chin jutted defiantly. “I never said anything about meeting Justin on the road.”
    “Master Thomas—”
    “Why are you chasing after me? You were hired to watch over my sister.” He grinned. “You are watching over her like a guardian angel, aren’t you?” He laughed, clearly delighted with his own bon mots as he continued, “You are my guardian’s Angela. Go and bother Leonia. She is your charge, not me!”
    Taken aback by the venom in his voice, Angela knew she must not yield at this point. “Master Thomas, if you would explain to me why His Grace has—” When she realized he was not listening, but looking past her with a sudden grin, she turned and gasped as she bumped into Lord Harrington.
    “Miss Needham.” He tipped his tall hat to her. As when she had seen him the previous day, he was dressed well. He wore a russet coat over his light brown leather breeches that accented the subtle strength of his body. In one hand, he carried a small basket, which Angela suspected had something to do with the butterflies he hoped to snare with Master Thomas’s help.
    “Lord Harrington,” she said as coolly as the last time they had spoken.
    He smiled, setting his eyes to twinkling again with the humor that had both infuriated and charmed her the previous day. “I see I have no need to atone for the discourtesy of failing to introduce myself properly yesterday. My reputation precedes me, as they say.”
    “Do they?”
    His green eyes narrowed as he set the basket on a low section of the wall by the gate. “Are you always so imperturbable, Miss Needham? Or do I rate a special condescension from you?” Not giving her a chance to answer, he