Julia Justiss Read Online Free PDF

protect once more tightening his chest.
    A little smile played about her lips. “I want a bed with a feather mattress so soft, when I lie down I will feel like I’m floating on air. A turkey carpet on the floor so thick, my feet will sink up to the ankles, as if in a pair of fuzzy slippers. Oh, and speaking of slippers—” she turned to Mr. Pendenning “—if those instruments of torture that Jerry Sunderland provided me in the guise of footwear are representative of what I can expect in shoes, I shall remain as I am, barefoot.”
    The lawyer chuckled. “Not knowing your size, poor Jerry grabbed the only pair the cobbler had ready. I promise you, my dear, that the bootmakers of London can put on your feet slippers so soft and supple you would swear you were still barefoot.”
    “Very good,” Miss Lambarth said. “I shall feed those shoes into the first fire I kindle in my room. And this gown, as soon as a replacement can be found.”
    “I’ve already summoned a dressmaker to wait uponyou here,” Mr. Pendenning said. “She is bringing several gowns that can be quickly altered to fit. For the rest, I’m sure Lady Darnell will take you to her own mantua-maker and assist you in purchasing as many gowns as you like.”
    Adam had to laugh. “I can assure you she will! My stepmother positively delights in shopping. I expect my sister will also petition to join such an expedition.”
    “I want pretty colors,” Miss Lambarth stated. “No black. And soft fabrics, like the material of this sofa.”
    “I’m sure Lady Darnell will be able to find you something that pleases you. So,” Mr. Pendenning said, “you will go with Lord Darnell, as your mother wished?”
    Miss Lambarth looked back at Adam. “A big library?”
    “Quite large.”
    “A thick feather mattress?”
    “Soft as a cloud.”
    “Warm rooms?”
    “You can make the wallpaper curl.”
    At that moment a knock sounded and one of the lawyer’s assistants stepped in. “Mr. Pendenning, you wished me to let you know when the seamstress arrived.”
    The lawyer looked over to Miss Lambarth. “Are you ready for that new gown?”
    That smile transformed her face again. “Absolutely!”
    “And you will accompany Lord Darnell to meet your cousin when it is done?”
    After a pause she nodded. “I will go with him.”
    “Excellent.” He beamed at the girl. “Show Miss Lambarth and the seamstress to the back office and see that they are not disturbed,” he instructed his assistant.
    “I’ll wait here for you, Miss Lambarth,” Adam told her as she walked to the door.
    She paused on the threshold to look back at him. “I hope neither of us regrets this.”
    Something about her fierce independence sent a rush of awareness through Adam. ’Twas just compassion for her plight and anger at the unspeakable treatment she’d suffered, he told himself as he assured her, “I’m certain your stay in my home will be a pleasure for us both.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    A FTER THE YOUNG MAN escorted Miss Lambarth out, Pendenning turned to Adam. “Will you join me for a brandy? After the, ah, surprise of meeting Miss Lambarth, I expect you could use one. I know I could.”
    “I would be grateful,” Adam replied.
    The lawyer poured the brandy and handed Adam a glass. “I imagine you have questions for me.”
    “Indeed! My stepmother told me that Miss Lambarth’s mother left nearly a decade ago. Am I to understand from what I’ve just witnessed that from that time until his recent death, her father kept her a…a prisoner? ”
    His face setting in grim lines, Pendenning nodded. “As horrifying and incredible as that may seem, ’tis true. How much of my client’s story do you know?”
    “Only that Lady Lambarth apparently had a…prior attachment before she married, and when after some years together, she found life with Lord Lambarth insupportable, she left him and the child and fled to her former lover.”
    Mr. Pendenning shook his head. “It wasn’t that at all.