Dare to be Mine Read Online Free PDF Page B

recover from last night's horrible ordeal with her husband. Elyssa still
cringed inside at the cruel words he'd spoken to her. Glancing across the
distance toward her mirror, Elyssa gazed at the saddened figure staring back.
    Surely her hair was not so ugly, was it? Nor her lips so completely sinful? Her ego was crushed
to think that a husband could hold his wife in so little regard as to point out
each and every flaw he found with her appearance.
    Flashes of the dark stranger intruded
upon her melancholy thoughts. He hadn't seemed to find her so very repulsive,
had he? In fact, he had seemed quite taken with her, and he was the most
handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on.
    "Rubbish," Elyssa muttered,
tearing her gaze from the mirror, “he’s obviously a profligate and a rogue.”
Determined to stay out of Percy's sight and that of his associate, she wondered
what might make the time pass a bit quicker. Frowning at the silver tea set her
mother had given her before the wedding, Elyssa decided to polish the tarnished
set that had been passed down from mother to daughter for several generations.
    Not wishing to soil her wedding ring
during the messy chore, Elyssa carefully removed the heavy band of silver and
placed it on the table next to her bed. She fingered the spot that felt
suddenly naked without the ring, for it was the first time since the wedding
that Elyssa had removed it. Indeed, its absent weightlessness was comforting. A
traitorous thought sprung to head and Elyssa imagined how lovely it would be to
never have to wear that ring again. To not be wed to the stuffy earl any
longer. To be free to make her own choices, and eventually
marry a man of her own choosing. Elyssa glanced one last time at the
ring with disdain before changing into a simple gown of faded black before
taking a vigorous hand to the silver.
    Downstairs, Percy was nearly finished
with his breakfast, not caring that his wife was noticeably absent that
morning. He shook his head in recollection of Elyssa's tasteless exhibition the
previous night. He had no"> CHAPTER desire to ever allow being humiliated again as he had
been on their wedding night.
    Whatever had possessed Elyssa to do such
a thing was beyond all comprehension, and not for the first time Percy cursed
himself for choosing such a young bride. Elyssa’s lack of worldly experience
was at the core of his hardness toward her. Of course, the point was now moot,
for Percy harbored little if any feeling for Elyssa other than the comfort of
having someone capable to run his household. He should have remained faithful
to the memory of his dearly departed Mary.
    Once Percy Fredrickson decided to close
someone out of his heart it was a permanent thing. And although he did reluctantly
like and admire Elyssa to a certain extent, she had not turned out to be the
soul mate he had hoped for during his declining years of life.
    Returning his attention to the
newspaper, Percy didn't notice the quiet entrance of the unwelcome intruder until
he was standing across the table from him.
    "I see you still dine alone.
Apparently even your new wife cannot abide to be in the same proximity with
you." At the resentful utterance of the uncomplimentary notion, Percy's
head slowly came up until their eyes met in mutual dislike. Ignoring the
immediate dread that voice prompted, Percy clenched his jaw, determined to keep
the upper hand.
    "I distinctly recall you telling me
our paths would never cross again. And as you can plainly see, I am still
breathing."
    Pouring himself a glass of juice, the
younger man leisurely took a drink as he looked about the huge dining room for
any changes since his last time there.
    "I see nothing ever changes around
here. Same stuffy decor. Same bitter
attitude."
    "What are you doing here,
Daniel?" Percy demanded.
    "I had to see for myself this new
wife of yours. Where is this paragon of virtue I have heard so much
about?"
    "Why? What has she to do with
you?" Percy parried, his eyes