An Honorable Wish (A Lady's Wish 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

watching the young ladies. “Let’s walk out to the back pasture and you can explain what we’ll be doing,” Tony said, breaking the spell.
    Aaron hesitated and looked back at the house. “If you don’t mind, sir, my father would like a word with you first.”
    “Certainly.” Tony followed Aaron into the stone house. Inside, it was dark but spotlessly clean. Aaron led them to a room with a window that faced the back pasture. An older man sat in a chair with a blanket over his legs.
    “I’m Henry Williams,” he said, his deep voice booming from the gloom of the large sitting room.
    Tony moved forward and shook the man’s hand. “Tony Matthews.”
    “I know who you are,” Mr. Williams said.
    Tony’s stomach twisted. “Pardon?”
    “My son informed me that you’ve just returned from London. Do you by chance know of Mr. Chelsworth?”
    “I’m not acquainted with the man.” The lie fell all too easily from Tony’s lips.
    Mr. Williams’s face fell. “I was hoping . . .”
    Aaron knelt beside his father. “Don’t worry, Father. We’ll make this work.”
    “It’s no use, Son, but I appreciate your trying.”
    Seeing Mr. Williams sitting in that chair, hopeless, tore at Tony’s heart. “I’ll speak with my brother. If we hear of anything, we will let you know.”
    “Thank you, sir,” Mr. Williams said.
    “Come, Mr. Matthews, we’d better get started.” Aaron grasped his hat in his hand as he led Tony back outside.
    Suddenly, the boy looked older than his years, making Tony realize how much time he himself had wasted when he was sixteen. This young man was carrying his family’s problems on his shoulders. Tony had no concept of what it felt like to carry such burdens. Those always fell to his brother.
    Shame edged in. He’d squandered so much time and money on gaming, without any thought to the future. Now, the future was uncertain. It wasn’t something he was used to dealing with, and Tony wasn’t sure he liked the feeling.
     
    Juliet followed Penelope as she walked to the back of house, where the kitchen garden was located. She loved it here on the farm. Life was so much simpler, like it had been for her before Anne had married Nathaniel.
    As much as Sophia hated those days, Juliet had loved them—the cottage, with its cozy hiding places, the smell of the apple cake Anne had learned to bake, long walks in the woods. These simple things had made her happy. Yet everyone else had wanted more.
    Her first Season in London had been a disaster. Town was so noisy that Juliet hadn’t been able to sleep. The rigorous schedule of calls, teas, and shopping filled the days. There wasn’t time for reading. It took hours just to dress for a ball.
    But there were things she had loved about Town. The smell of the books in the bookshops, the tart-sweet taste of ices from Gunter’s on her tongue, the feel of Tony’s arms as he waltzed her around a brilliantly lit ballroom.
    “Mr. Matthews is very handsome,” Penelope said softly. “Is he your beau?”
    Juliet laughed. “No! Why do you ask?”
    “He watches you.”
    “You must be mistaken, Pen.”
    But she knew that Tony was constantly studying her, even if she wouldn’t admit it aloud. She’d noticed last night in the drawing room, then again in the library. Juliet looked up and found Penelope with that knowing look in her eye.
    “Would it be so very bad?” Penelope asked.
    Juliet shook her head to clear her thoughts. This was madness. And if she let herself go down that path again, she was only setting herself up for more hurt. “Perhaps we should start in the garden?” she said, changing the subject. “Or is there something else I can help with?”
    Penelope looked uncomfortable. “The truth is, Miss Townsend, Mother found out what Aaron had you doing yesterday. Mucking the stalls for lambing.”
    Juliet closed her hands over the blisters that had formed. “It needed to be done.”
    “You’re a proper young lady and shouldn’t be doing