Dare to Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page A

"Nonsense, dear lady. What have any of you done to deserve your situation?"
    She rose. He rose, still holding her hand. It brought them closer.
    She looked up at him as if he were Saint George and she the princess chained before the dragon. He was astonished again to see no trace of discomfort with his appearance.
    He found himself raising their hands to his lips, something he'd never done before. He touched his closed lips to her knuckles, shivering, wishing a miracle would happen that would allow him to press his lips to hers.
    He'd never kissed a woman, not even a whore.
    Perhaps she sensed the nature of his shameful thoughts, for she drew her hand free and looked away. "I have no words..." she whispered. "My dear, dear Sir Benjamin, good night!"
    With that, she fled.
    Ben sank back into his chair, head in hands. What a wretch he was! He'd taken that woman under his protection, promised to assist and advise, and then allowed wicked, lewd thoughts into his head.
    But oh the wonder of a conversation without any awareness of his deformity. Perhaps it wouldn't be too wrong to converse with her again. The Giffords were to stay for a little while. So recently that would have been an inconvenience, but now it seemed a wonder of the world.
    ***
    Lily hurried upstairs, keeping a sober face in case anyone was watching. Once in the bedroom, however, she grinned with delighted relief.
    Now she knew why Sir Benjamin Brook was a recluse, and it was something she could use to save them all. He was deformed. No wonder he'd kept his muffler wrapped around his lower face.
    She'd been shocked at first sight, but she'd pushed it away, focusing on beguiling him at all costs. The effect on him had been immediate. Did people always shrink away?
    It was an unpleasant deformity, to be sure. It made him look stubborn and even angry. When he pressed his lips together to hide his teeth, he scowled. She could control her reactions, however. She'd found it useful to look into his eyes, and that had had the usual good effect of its own.
    As a consequence, she'd achieved her first step. They could stay!
    She'd partly achieved her second in that he would try to find a solution for her, something other than the workhouse.
    A workhouse.
    She'd never thought that they might end up in such a desperate situation.
    Her children would never end up in a workhouse, never be sold to cruel employers to be worked to death. Never. Even if she had to steal. Or sell her body on the streets.
    She'd do even that for her children, but she knew it would have no good effect in the long term.
    She'd gone downstairs planning to charm Sir Benjamin into allowing her to become his housekeeper. Clearly he didn't care about the state of most of his house and didn't have guests to worry about, but surely he wouldn't object to a well-kept house as long as she didn't disturb his comforts.
    Mention of the workhouse had slipped the conversation out of her control, however. She'd not had the chance to plant the idea, nor to mention the more serious consequences of neglect, such as moth, damp, and beetle. Her reaching out to him had not been deliberate, but when she'd seen the effect on him, a new, daring hope had flickered.
    Might it be possible to marry Sir Benjamin Brook?
    He wasn't a user of men. She was sure of that now. He'd been too aware of her as a woman, and too affected by their touch.
    Therefore, he probably would like a wife, but had never found a woman not repulsed by his appearance. She was surprised at least one lady hadn't seen the advantages and secured the prize. Perhaps it was his reclusive ways.
    She'd seen the prize, however, and taken the first steps.
    Once they were holding hands, she'd risen, holding onto him, and stepped closer, bringing their bodies almost to touching. He probably hadn't realized that she, not he, had moved their hands to his lips. She'd been astonished by the way he'd kissed her knuckles -- reverently but fearfully. As if she might snatch free