Dance of Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page A

neighborly.”
    Cursing under his breath, he whirled toward her. “Let me make this clear, Lady Clara. I’d rather that you not be neighborly.” Then he paused, a decidedly sinful expression spreading over his face. Resting his hand on the doorknob, he allowed his gaze to play over her suggestively. “No, I take that back. Be as neighborly as you like as long as you leave your brats at home. I always welcome female…companionship, especially when the female is so choice.”
    She’d have to be an idiot to mistake his meaning. “Is that your idea of a compliment? Because if it is, it’s in very bad taste.”
    “That was my idea of an invitation. I beg your pardon if I wasn’t clear enough.”
    “Oh, you were quite clear, sir. But you’ll have to use the establishment down the street for that sort of companionship. I’m afraid my talents don’t lie in that area.”
    “What a pity,” he said coolly. “Because I have no other use for you as a neighbor, and no use at all for your charges. So keep them away from my shop. Understood?”
    “Perfectly.” She wouldn’t let her children near his shop now even if he gave them his goods for free.
    “ Adieu , mademoiselle.” He entered his shop and closed the door with a bang.
    Good Lord, what a man! First to act as if he feared being robbed by every one of her charges and then to give her a most insulting invitation! She hoped she never had to deal with him again. Such rudeness went beyond the pale.
    Still muttering to herself about their astonishing neighbor,she turned toward the top of the alley, where Samuel waited for her, scowling.
    “What did that fellow want?” Samuel asked as she neared him.
    Thank heavens Samuel hadn’t heard what the beastly creature really wanted. “Johnny picked his pocket. I was trying to soothe things over.”
    Samuel eyed her oddly. “Are you sure that’s what Johnny did?”
    “I caught Johnny red-handed. And he wasn’t only ‘practicing,’ I assure you. Fortunately, Captain Pryce was willing to overlook the matter.” And lecture her and insult her in the bargain.
    Samuel kept staring at the closed door to the shop. “ Captain Pryce?”
    “He claims to be a captain in Her Majesty’s Navy.”
    “Looked too rough to be a naval officer, if you ask me.”
    Rough? Oh, yes. But if his behavior weren’t so appalling, she would call him attractive—in a roguish sort of way. Those formidable thick brows…strong, aggressive features…intriguing eyes. A pity he had the manners of a troll.
    A small smile touched her lips. He should fit in nicely around here.
    No, that wasn’t entirely true. For all his surliness and rude suggestions, he bore little resemblance to one-eyed Briggs with his coarse language and filthy habits. Or that brutal boxer Harry, who leaped out with his fists to avenge any offense, large or small.
    Still, she could understand what Samuel meant by “rough.” Captain Pryce had a certain hardness…an authoritarian air and rampantly masculine strength that sent delicious shivers along her spine. Any “female companion” would probably be well pleased to find herself at his disposal.

    Good Lord, what was she thinking? The man was a beast. It was just as well that he’d warned her and her children away. Any woman of good sense would avoid dealing with him entirely.
    Besides, she had far more important matters to attend to now that Uncle Cecil had bequeathed her a fortune. “Oh, Samuel, I haven’t yet told you the news, have I?” As they left the alley, she explained about her new inheritance, thankful that her revelation took his mind—and hers—off the disturbing Captain Pryce.
    When they reached the Home, she paused to survey the faded brick façade with an assessing eye. “What do you think should be done first with the money?”
    “That’s easy—you got to fix the roof. Leaks every time it rains. You got to put up new tiles.”
    “And something should be done about the listing shutters and the