A Marquess for Christmas Read Online Free PDF

pistols.”
    Violet
sank deeper into the copper tub. She lifted her leg for Miriam to wash. The
girl started with her feet, giving them a good scrub before she moved up her
shin.
    “Will
he stay with us?”
    “As
we have yet to obtain his name or title and he is unfit for travel, yes, he
will remain here for a few days.”
    Violet
suspected he would not be ready for transport even at the end of the week, but
kept that to herself. She didn’t want to think past the next three days. If she
did, her mind would wander into dangerous thoughts.
    “You
think him a nobleman, then? Oh, what if he is a duke or a prince!”
    A
laugh was her reply. Her maid had an eager imagination. A prince. If he had
been, surely Violet would recognize him. The English princes were far too old
and portly to be chasing thieves and wrestling in the dirt and surely a foreign
prince would have a retinue following him everywhere.
    “I
doubt he is a prince. Would a prince be travelling alone on a country road at
dusk?” Violet shook her head. “No, he would be dressing for some royal affair
or sleeping off last night’s soiree with ten servants in attendance.”
    “Maybe
an earl or a viscount then.” Miriam circled her knee and washed her thigh.
“Imagine, you could be a countess before Easter. Then we could get new livery
and everyone would have to call you my lady, not just us.” Miriam’s green eyes
were bright and her freckles softened under her happy glow.
    “The
man may not survive the week and already you are planning his marriage and
future.”
    “If
he is not married yet, he ought to be.”
    The
maid was besotted with him already and hadn’t seen more than a glimpse of him.
    “Let
us focus on keeping him alive for now. We can worry about his marital affairs
later.”
    “Yes,
my lady.”
    Violet
patted her cheek. She looked like her mother now, Violet’s distant cousin, who
had died years ago from scarlet fever. She’d made a poor match and being the
wife of a fisherman had never suited her.
    Miriam
and Violet had the same rich, dark hair and soft, full lips. But whereas
Violet’s skin was clear, Miriam’s was dotted heavily with freckles and Violet’s
eyes were hazel while Miriam’s were a bright shade of jade.
    Though
she did not envy her maid’s reduced circumstances, Violet envied her ability to
see the world as fresh and evergreen.
    The
girl moved to the other foot, smiling as she scrubbed. Though she said no more
about their mysterious guest, Violet knew her cousin was continuing to
daydream.
    Try
as she might, she was not immune to the other girl’s fantasies. Who was her
rescuer? Was he a nobleman as Avery and Miriam assumed or a well-to do
gentleman? Either way, she suspected he was above her station.
    Violet
was a gentlewoman, with her own house, but she was certainly not the wealthiest
widow in the shire. She lived quite happily on her two thousand pounds a year
and never had want of anything. But she made no pretentions to nobility.
    The
man could very well be an earl or a viscount. As soon as he was coherent enough
to tell her his identity, she would find his family. Though she’d gotten him to
safety, his condition could worsen at any time. Violet couldn’t bear the
thought of his relatives searching for him, never knowing what happened. In the
war, she’d seen the faces of too many wives waiting in vain for their husbands
to return from the battlefield.
    Did
he have a wife? Some beautiful countess or baroness who watched the window for
his return? Had Violet been fantasizing about a man who belonged to someone
else?
    “Could
you fetch more hot water?” Violet asked, wanting her solitude.
    Miriam
rose and gave a slight curtsey and left the room.
    Violet
closed her eyes again, settling deeper into the water, letting her hands roam
over her skin, stroking and teasing as they made their way down. Her body
needed release. Not merely from the stress of the day, but from seeing a
handsome, naked man—who was