Dangerous to Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

me.”
    “Well, he was getting away,” Stanley countered. They both peered up at her guiltily.
    Lucy stared at them. They were not bad boys. Not really. And to be honest, she was glad that if they’d broken anything, it was that hideous old vase. But that was not the point. They were brothers who were growing up to hate one another, just like so many other brothers of the quality. Younger brothers who would inherit nothing always hated their elder siblings, just as the eldest sons always grew to hate their fathers and waited impatiently for them to die. And all on account of the antiquated system of primogeniture.
    “I’ll deal with you first, Stanley. I should like to remind you that some day the responsibility for the Houghton stables will fall to you. If you are to rise to your responsibility then you must have a care for every horse there—”
    “I do! Nobody can say I don’t love all the horses!”
    “Do not interrupt. It’s rude. No one disputes your affection for the horses. What I want to point out, however, is that you will also have responsibility for all those who tend to those horses. You should encourage everyone’s affection for the horses, including Derek’s. If he would give Sunny an apple, then you should be pleased, not jealous and resentful. Do you understand what I am saying?”
    Stanley gave a reluctant nod, as she expected he would. She’d determined long ago that he took his inheritance very seriously. Though his father saw the rank only in the light of the privileges it provided, Lucy hoped to instill in Stanley some sense of the responsibilities too.
    “As for you, Derek. Did you choose to be kind only to Sunny, or to the other horses as well?”
    His eyes would not meet hers. “I didn’t have enough apples for every bloomin’ horse in the stables.”
    “No, of course you didn’t. So you selected Sunny specifically because you knew it would rile Stanley. Am I right?”
    He shot her a resentful look but didn’t answer. Lucy took a deep breath. Were it not for the broken vase this would not be so serious a matter. But she knew her brother would demand someone be punished for the vase. If she did not give them both a fair punishment, Graham would let all the blame fall to Derek.
    When the maid Lydia scurried into the room, Lucy took the broom and dust pan from her. She gave the broom to Stanley and the pan to Derek.
    She gave them a stern look. “First you shall clean up this mess. Together.” She raised one hand, forestalling their objections. “Then you shall go down to the stables and give every horse, from hunter to draft animal to pony, some sort of treat, whether an apple, a handful of oats, or just a little affectionate light grooming. You shall do that together also, both of you with each horse. When you have completed those tasks, come find me and together we will then go and tell your father what has occurred and how we have resolved it.”
    All in all, a fair resolution, she decided. Derek knew he had been saved a caning from his father. The swift smile of relief he threw her showed that. As for Stanley, he’d had a new facet of his future responsibilities revealed to him, then been sent to the stables, his favorite place in the whole wide world.
    She sighed. As much momentary satisfaction as she received from situations such as this, she nonetheless found it frustrating. She reached in her pocket for the precious letter. There was so much more in life to learn. But she feared she would never have the chance. Rather than experience life, at twenty-eight years old she was already considered a spinster and relegated to raising her brother’s children, preparing them to experience life.
    But not forever, she vowed. Somehow she would find a way to leave Houghton Manor. She had a very modest income of her own, left to her by her mother’s father. But one hundred pounds a year was not enough for her to be entirely independent. If she could only find a way to supplement it,