A Home for Helena (The Lady P Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

leaned forward. The offer was so tempting. Too tempting. Annabelle lacked social interaction and voilà, the opportunity presented itself. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, of course. He couldn't impose on his neighbors forever. But he did need to find a new governess. And he would like to get away from his problems for a few days. He hadn’t been to London for more months than he could count—a short respite would be just the thing. He could visit his club and drop in on Violet, his occasional mistress. Sir Henry kept company with a lively set, and some congenial male companionship was just what James needed. Still…
    “I couldn’t possibly, not without a written invitation from Lady Sarah.”
    “Done!” Sir Henry clapped a hand on James’s shoulder and maneuvered the conversation back to horses.
    The invitation came the next day, written in Lady Sarah’s elegant hand, and James quickly sent over a note accepting her invitation for Annabelle and her husband's for the trip to London.
    Annabelle would be in good hands with the Newsomes. Sir Henry had married his second wife when he was about the same age as James’s thirty-two years. Lady Sarah Tate had been eighteen and in her second Season. Such an age difference was unexceptionable in the ton, perhaps, but he himself had no desire to wed a chit almost half his age. The popular perception might be that younger girls were more malleable and easier to train, but a wife wasn’t the same as a dog, as he had reason to know from his own experience. He was determined to never again tie himself to a woman with a hidden agenda or one too young to know her own mind.
    The Newsomes’ marriage seemed to be a happy one, however. A love match that still continued ten years later, after two daughters and a son, in addition to an older son, the heir, from Sir Henry’s first marriage.
    A most fortunate man, Sir Henry was. A young and beautiful wife—the daughter of an earl no less—with a large portion, which he didn’t need because his first wife had come with a fortune as well. An heir and a spare and two pretty daughters. James wouldn’t balk at a marriage like the Newsomes’.
    But he himself was definitely not in the market for a wife. Not now, at least. Maybe never. He had Annabelle. His property was not entailed and by the time he was ready to call at St. Peter's Gate, he intended it to be one of the most prosperous estates in the area. Why risk his peace of mind by saddling himself with another temperamental woman if he could avoid doing so?
    In the meantime, he was going to have a rare respite in London with Sir Henry.
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    “ B ut you only just returned , Papa!”
    James closed his eyes briefly. He’d forgotten about that trip to Folkestone to investigate a shipping company seeking investors. He didn’t have a great deal of spare cash, but he’d been investing small amounts each year in solid businesses and now possessed a variety of profitable holdings.
    “It’s only for a few days, Annabelle—a week at most. You’ll be so busy with the Newsomes that you won’t miss me at all.”
    She hugged him so close he could feel her little body convulsing against him. “I will, Papa! I will! Take me with you, please do! I want to go to London. I’ll be good. I promise, Papa!”
    He loosed her arms and put her away from him. “Not this time, Annabelle. I’ll be involved in lots of adult things that would bore you to tears. And don’t forget: you promised you would apply yourself to your lessons. Prove to me you can do that at Newsome Manor, and then we’ll discuss a trip to London.”
    “But Papa…” Her tear-stricken face tugged at his heart.
    “You’ll be fine, Annabelle. You’ll have other children to play with—one of them is just your age—and a baby too.”
    “A baby?” Her eyes lit up.
    “Yes, a little boy. Perhaps the nanny will allow you to hold him. You’ll have to be very careful, though, since he’s still quite small.”
    “I’ve