A Kiss to Remember Read Online Free PDF Page A

and I are in something of a pickle.”
    Even when George and Lottie were tottering about with bad knees and wooden teeth, Laura would still think of them as “the children.” She couldn’t help wanting to shield them from realizing just how grave their situation was. Especially for her.
    “I hate to be such a bother when I know I haven’t been as faithful as I should,” she continued. “Why, only last week I neglected my psalms two mornings in a row, drifted off to sleep before I’d finished my prayers, gobbled up the last scone when I knew Lottie wanted it, and snapped at Cookie for burning the porridge. Then when I scalded my cheek with the hair tongs, I said”— she peeked through her lashes to make sure there was no one around to witness her shocking confession—“a
very
wicked word.”
    The wind ruffled the leaves, sighing its disappointment. Perhaps a recitation of her shortcomings wasn’t the best way to begin, Laura thought, nibbling her bottom lip.
    “I wouldn’t have troubled you at all, but if I am to thwart this Lord Devil”—she winced again—“Lord Devonbrooke … and keep a roof over the children’s heads, it seems I must wed before my birthday. Which leaves me lacking in only one thing—a gentleman that I might marry.”
    Laura ducked her head deeper, her words spilling out in a rush. “So that’s what I’m asking you to send me, Sir. A gentle man, a decent man, a man who will cherish me for all the years we shall live as man and wife. I’dlike for him to have a warm heart, a faithful soul, and a fondness for regular bathing. He doesn’t have to be terribly handsome, but it would be nice if he wasn’t abominably hairy and had a reasonably straight nose and all his teeth.” She grimaced. “Or at least most of them. I’d rather he not beat me, even when I deserve it, and I’d like for him to come to love George and Lottie as I do. Oh, and a tolerance for kittens might ease things considerably.”
    Deciding that it couldn’t hurt to make a few promises of her own, Laura added, “And if you’ll send me a man who can read, I’ll see to it that he takes up where Papa left off.” It only made sense that if God was generous enough to bless her with a husband, she should be generous enough to share him with God. Fearing she had already asked too much, she blurted out the rest. “Thank you for all of our blessings. Give Papa and Mama and dear Lady Eleanor all our love, and amen.”
    She slowly opened her eyes, gripped by a tingling sense of anticipation. She couldn’t have said what she expected from the Almighty in that moment. Rolling thunder? A majestic blast of trumpets? Incredulous laughter?
    She scanned the dazzling swath of blue visible through the branches of the towering oak, but the heavens seemed as far removed as the elegant ballrooms of London.
    Climbing to her feet, she brushed bits of dried leaves from her skirt. She was already beginning to regret her hasty prayer. Perhaps she should have been more specific. After all, hadn’t God already sent her several prospective husbands? Kind, decent village lads who would be proud to make her their wife and Arden.
    Manor their home. Men with loyal hearts and sturdy backs willing to work from dawn to dusk to keep a roof over all their heads.
    Even tenderhearted Lady Eleanor, fearing the future could be nothing but bleak for an unmarried woman with a brother and sister to provide for, had chided her for spurning their clumsy but earnest proposals.
    What if God now sought to punish her for her pride? What better way to teach her humility than to have her spend the rest of her days shaving Wesley Trumble’s back or scrubbing behind Tom Dillmore’s ears? Laura shuddered as a choking wave of panic rose in her throat. If God didn’t send her a gentleman before her birthday, she would have no choice but to swallow her pride and marry one of the village men.
    Half fearing that His answer to her prayers might be lurking in the meadow