Double Deceit Read Online Free PDF Page B

was the only way he could protect his mother, he reminded himself as regrets pricked at his resolve. They surged into a stab of pain as he passed a copse of trees where a young couple swayed in a passionate embrace.
    The intensity of those regrets took him by surprise, spawning a wave of yearning. He would never know love now, thanks to his father. But he had no choice. His course was set. Turning back would make it impossible to live with himself.
    He stiffened his spine, setting heels to his horse. The copse was soon far behind. But though regret dutifully followed conscience into oblivion, he couldn’t quite banish his loneliness.
    * * * *
    “Sir Winton has returned,” announced Murch when Alex reached the house. “He wishes to speak with you in the library.”
    “I thought he went back to London,” she muttered, frowning. She was covered in mud from working on the temple. Digging so soon after a deluge had not been her brightest idea, but she’d wanted to make up for the time she had lost during his last visit. Winter was fast approaching, which would put a halt to further excavations until spring.
    “His coachman claims he went to Lincolnshire.”
    “There and back in a week? What was he doing?” Even with ideal traveling conditions, he couldn’t have spent more than a few hours at his destination. And why return to Gloucestershire instead of London?
    “The hip bath is in your room, Miss Alex. As is hot water.”
    She heard the warning in his voice. Murch had been more of a father than Sir Winton. It had been Murch who’d summoned a doctor when she broke her arm; Murch who’d protected her the time Sir Winton tried to blame her for the horse he’d lamed in a drunken rage; Murch who kept her excavations secret and persuaded the staff to do likewise. He had offered comfort, support, and even advice when she was unsure how to deal with Richard, and he’d detected the vicious nature Richard’s first tutor had successfully hidden from her, allowing her to replace the man before serious damage was done.
    But he never forgot his place, so the warning note in his voice was a shock. Whatever awaited her in the library would not be good.
    Half an hour later, Alex approached her father.
    “Congratulations, my dear.” Sir Winton actually smiled. “You will make your bows to London next spring.”
    “What absurdity is this?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes. He’d cursed for years because she was unmarriageable. A come-out was thus a waste of money. He’d even forbidden a visit to Bath, claiming she would only embarrass herself by flaunting her failings before the world. How could he drag her to town when they both knew that advanced age added a new fault to the list? She’d been on the shelf for years, as he frequently reminded her. Did he mean to make her into a laughingstock?
    For once he read her face. “You need not fear failure, for your dowry is large enough to guarantee success. Gentlemen will beg for your hand. And about time, too. I thought I’d never find a way to get rid of you.”
    “Dowry?” she asked suspiciously, even as pain from this new proof of his disdain stabbed her heart.
    “Forty thousand pounds and a productive estate.”
    Her eyes widened until she feared they would bounce onto the floor. “And how did you acquire so much?”
    “Dice.” He shifted to avoid her accusing stare. “Is it my fault the man is a poor player who demanded throw after throw when he began to lose?”
    “What man?”
    “Lord Linden.” He shrugged.
    “You will return every shilling, for I do not want a Season.” She glared at him. Did he actually expect gratitude for forcing her to fend off every fortune hunter in the country? The man was a bigger fool than even she had believed.
    The usual frown snapped onto his face. His eyes glittered. “The fortune is already in your name, in trust for your husband. You will participate in the next Season, and you will do nothing to discourage suitors. I will