His Reluctant Lady Read Online Free PDF Page A

the
inkwell and said she’d attend.
    The footman opened her door, and her
eyes grew wide when she saw Sophie come into her room. She bolted
out of her chair and hurried to her sister. “Why didn’t you let me
know you were coming?” she asked, hoping she blocked Sophie’s view
of her desk. If her sister saw what she was writing… She didn’t
even want to think about it.
    “ My life is at an end!”
Sophie pulled a handkerchief out of her reticule and wiped a couple
tears from her eyes. “I just heard that Lord Dabney is
betrothed.”
    “ Oh, oh dear.” This was
going to be a long afternoon. “Sit here on the settee, Sophie, and
I’ll get some tea. No, we’ll make it sherry.” A broken heart was
better with a little sherry. Turning to the footman, she said,
“Bring us sherry and a couple of scones.”
    The footman nodded and left.
    Agatha glanced at the desk where pages
of her story were in plain view, but she knew she couldn’t do
anything about them while her sister was in the room. Forcing her
feet forward, she went over to her sister and sat next to her.
“Now, tell me. Where did you hear this?”
    “ Our aunt told us this
morning,” Sophie sniffled as she dabbed more tears from her eyes.
“I don’t know what to do. I thought for sure he loved
me.”
    “ It takes more than a few
dances to develop love.”
    “ But we had our love of
books in common.”
    “ No, you didn’t.” Agatha
reached for Sophie’s hands and gently held them. “You’ll do better
without him. He’s a bore. All he reads are stuffy old novels.” She
didn’t care much for his disdain for gothic fiction anyway. Yes,
her sister would do much better with someone else.
    “ No, I won’t be better off
without him. There will be no one for me but Lord Dabney. No
one!”
    “ Please, Sophie, settle
down.”
    “ How can I settle down when
my life is in shambles?”
    Agatha closed her eyes and reminded
herself that her sister had a tendency to exaggerate. When she knew
she could be patient, she opened her eyes and smiled. “Sophie,
sometimes things aren’t meant to be. This could be a blessing in
disguise.”
    Sophie crossed her arms, her lower lip
jutting out. “I don’t see what blessing could possibly come from
this.”
    “ For one, you won’t have to
pretend you read books that bore you.”
    “ I never said his choice in
books bore me.”
    “ You didn’t even know who
Plato was.”
    Sophie shrugged and muttered, “Anyone
could have made that error.”
    “ You’ll be happier if you
don’t have to pretend to like books you don’t. Think of it, Sophie.
He could require you to read those.” She shivered at the thought of
having to read the dull literature he loved so much. “You
underestimate the misery of marriage. If you were wise, you’d
choose someone who won’t be around often. Find a gentleman who will
only stay in your house long enough to get an heir. Happy is the
lady who will find him running off to live elsewhere for the rest
of his life. That is the gentleman you ought to seek. Lord Dabney
is too content to be with his books. He’ll never leave to run off
to a mistress so you might be spared his attentions.”
    “ I wouldn’t want Lord Dabney
to run off to a mistress. I’d want him to be with me.”
    The butler entered the room with the
sherry and scones, sparing Agatha the need to respond. What was
there to say to such madness? Her sister hadn’t been forced to
endure the marital bed. She couldn’t know any better. Agatha
grabbed the decanter and poured her sister a glass of wine. She
handed Sophie the glass and encouraged her to drink.
    After Sophie took a couple sips, Agatha
asked, “Do you feel better?”
    “ No, not really.” With a
mournful sigh, she set the glass on the table and waited for the
butler to leave before she said, “I need you to help me find a
husband.”
    Agatha fought the urge to roll her eyes
as she poured herself a glass of sherry. Sophie had no idea what
she was