His Christmas Nymph Read Online Free PDF Page A

of Thoresby.”
    Pain fl ashed across her face. “Lord Thoresby wants nothing to do with my family. He has a wife who was an heiress and she has given him an heir. He doesn’t want to claim us as his relations because of his wife. She calls us the poor relations and on the one occasion that we did visit my uncle, my cousin chased me and told me that I was his slave. My brothers Christopher and Arthur thrashed him very badly for calling me his slave, and after that Lady Thoresby told my mother we were no longer welcome. My mother told my brother that she hated the man who could raise such a spoiled little hellion. My uncle looked a little hurt when my mother told him that but he hasn’t asked us back, and he didn’t show up for her funeral.”
    Now he knew why she looked so lost sitting in his grandfather’s folly. It was as if she felt protected sitting ther e—and maybe she was protected. His father and his grandfather would have absolutely adored Caroline. In fact, his father would tell him not to let her get away the way that he’d let Margaret slip through his fingers. 
    “ Lady Thoresby is a wretched woman. My mother will have nothing to do with her and I can honestly say that she made the right decision in this instance. What does your father think of you marrying that farmer? Surely, he can’t be thrilled with you putting your lot in with a man of such a low standing in the community.”
    “He promised my mother that he wouldn’t force me into a marriage I didn’t want. He agreed that since they married for love, he would not stop me from marrying for love. That means in theory that I have the freedom to marry a pauper or a prince.”
    “In that case, you can obtain your father’s blessing. I can ask your father for your hand in marriage if you’d like.”
    * * * * *
    Caroline’s heart raced and she felt quite lightheaded. His proposition was quite scandalous and yet she couldn’t bring herself to refuse him.
    The y barely knew each other and here he was giving her what she desperately sought—he gave her an avenue of escape.
    She wanted to say yes. If she did agree to his plan, he couldn’t chance crossing Gertrude’s path. She’d fight tooth and nail to put a stop their nuptials. No, if she agreed she would have to ask her father privately while Gertrude was off visiting her friend ’s tomorrow.
    If she could trust the d uke to be discreet, then he could proceed with asking her father for her hand. As far as she was concerned, he didn’t have to ask because if he was telling the truth and she had no reason to think he was lying, her mother had already given her blessing.
    “If you are quite certain you want to go forward with this folly,” she paused, reflecting on the irony of her choice of words, “then, I pray you won’t come until half past one in the afternoon. My step-mother should be out of the house visiting her friend, Mrs. Thomas.”
    It was true, she normally visited Fanny’s mother every Wednesday at that time.
    “I don’t have to visit your father at all. With my station in life, Miss Griffiths, people come to me. I’ll have my man summon your father to co me up to the house at that time. At which point, I will make my proposition to him, and never fear, I will swear your father to secrecy. He might not like the fact that we intend to marry by special license without making a public affair of it. I don’t even know if he’ll be able to attend. I want to do this secretly, you understand. I have my own reasons for marrying without much fanfare.”
    “Is your mother pushing you into marrying someone you detest?”
    He surprised her with his answer: “Yes.”
    “There’s only one problem with our plan, Your Grace.”
    “What’s that?” he asked, raising one eyebrow at her.
    He cut a dashing figure in his steely blue greatcoat. His hair was bl ack as pitch and his eyes were the most intriguing shade of blue—almost like woods filled with bluebells. Maybe marrying a man