Broken Wing Read Online Free PDF Page A

the man! It was unforgivably rude. “We could force the issue, of course,” she continued, “but I am certain you can understand why we are loath to do so.” She moved closer to him, her voice becoming husky, soft and pleading. “Surely, monsieur, as someone who’s taken Jamie’s interests to heart, someone who has sheltered and protected him, you would consider coming with us, at least to help him through this transition.”
    Gabriel’s breath stilled in his chest. Miraculously, he was being offered another chance, and despite his best efforts to strangle it, hope was born again. He knew he shouldn’t trust it. Vile temptress, she betrayed him every time, leaving him weak and wounded in ways too cruel to endure without the familiar palliatives of brandy and blood. He also knew, deep in his soul, if he refused her now, the offer would not come again.
    He met her gaze directly, his eyes intense, uncertain, and in that moment Sarah saw past kohl, artifice, and carefully constructed defenses, to a heartbreaking vulnerability. Careful not to show it, she struggled to give him what he needed, something he could trust.
    “We would pay you, of course,” she said brightly.
    His eyes sparked with sudden interest. Leaning toward her, he murmured in a sinful whisper, “And what are my services worth to you,
ma belle?”
    “Eh!” Ross started.
    “Ten thousand pounds, monsieur,” she responded, taking a step back. The man’s sensuality was apotent force!
    “Indeed,” Ross grunted, deciding he’d best take command now, before the situation got worse. Ten thousand pounds, to a glittering catamite, an accomplished whore, because Sarah and James wished it. On top of that, Sarah meant to take him home, make him part of the motley gathering of rogues and eccentrics she called family. Well the man
had
placed himself between James and those who would have devoured him. Sarah was seldom wrong about people, he acknowledged, and the man was owed that much and more. It was a small price to pay for his guardianship, however unconventional, of young James over the past five years.
    The creature was studying him, eyes hooded, lips curled in a cynical smile, anticipating his outrage and refusal. Insolent pup! He had a good deal to learn. “Ten thousand pounds for a year’s employment, half now, the rest upon termination in one year’s time. You will be employed as James’s companion and treated as a gentleman in my home, as long as you comport yourself as one. I will expect from you, at minimum, the respect and deference a guest should show his host.”
    Gabriel hesitated. It was a considerable sum. Enough to buy a comfortable home, to travel to all the places he’d read about, to leave his life at Madame’s and never return. “Am I not a little old and … experienced, my lord, to be companion to a ten-year-old boy?”
    “You are, indeed,” Ross said. “As my sister hasexplained to you, monsieur, we are mostly concerned with sparing James any unnecessary worry or fear after all he’s been through. He feels safe with you. Your presence will reassure him as he adjusts to being home. We require nothing more from you than that.”
    “And this agreement, Lord Huntington, it will be in writing, signed and witnessed?”
    “Yes, of course.” As Ross spoke, Monsieur Henri arrived with Jamie and Mr. Smythe.
    “Gabriel!” Jamie hurtled into the room, oblivious to his new brother and sister, chattering excitedly about Bow Street runners, Mr. Smythe, and oh, yes, his new family, which had come to take him home. Sarah and Ross watched in amazement as the elegant, cynical, debauchee they had just invited into their home transformed before them.
    A genuine, sweet smile lit his features as he crouched down to the boy’s level and ruffled his hair, saying with a gentle laugh, “Calm yourself
mon vieux
. It is generally useful to the art of conversation to take a breath now and then,
non?”
    Obediently Jamie drew a deep breath before