Julie Garwood Read Online Free PDF Page A

incident, and from that day on, they all took a turn teaching me how to defend myself.”
    “The woman’s a walking arsenal,” Mr. Smith commented to his friend. “She says she protects herself against London.”
    “Are we to argue over the differences between the sophisticated Colonies and your shameful London once again, Mr. Smith?” Caroline’s voice was filled with laughter. She teased, more to take the man’s thoughts off his pain than anything else. With gentle, sure motions, she tied the long strip around and around his thigh.
    Mr. Smith had slowly lost his pained expression. “Iam feeling remarkably better. I owe you my life, dear woman.”
    Caroline pretended she hadn’t heard his fervent statement and quickly turned the topic. She was always uneasy over compliments. “You’ll be dancing within a fortnight,” she promised. “Do you attend the grand functions of the
ton?
Do you, as they say, belong?”
    The innocent question caused Mr. Smith to cough. He sounded like he was strangling on something caught in his throat. Caroline watched him for a second and then looked over at Bradford. She saw the amusement in his eyes and thought that the smile around the corners of his eyes almost made him look handsome.
    She patiently waited for him to answer her, as Mr. Smith, continuing with his coughing and gasping, just didn’t seem capable of the task.
    Bradford wasn’t a fop, she thought as she awaited his reply. It was actually a bit of a disappointment to acknowledge that. No, he didn’t act like Mr. Smith at all. Oh, they were dressed in the same type of garment, but Caroline didn’t think that Bradford carried a handkerchief made of nothing but lace. She didn’t believe that his thigh would feel so much like the skin on a new baby’s backside either. No, it would probably feel tough … and hard. He was so much more muscular than Mr. Smith too. He didn’t run to flab at all. She imagined that he could easily crush an opponent with his weight alone. How would he be with a woman? Caroline felt her cheeks warm at her mind’s alarming fantasy. What
was
the matter with her. To actually try to visualize a man without his clothes on, to consider what he must be like when he touched a woman. Lord, it was all unthinkable!
    Bradford saw the pretty blush and believed that she thought Mr. Smith was laughing at her. He immediately answered, “We do belong to the
ton
but Mr. Smith attends more of the gatherings than I.” He didn’t addthat he rarely attended any of the parties anymore and considered it all a trial to his patience. Instead of voicing his true feelings, he inquired, “You mentioned that you are visiting your father? You live in the Colonies then? With your mother?”
    Bradford wanted to find out as much as he could about Caroline. He refused to acknowledge his sudden compulsion to gather as much information as possible and pretended, even to himself, that it was a mild interest and nothing more.
    Caroline frowned. It would be rude not to answer the politely phrased questions, yet she found she didn’t want to tell either of the gentlemen anything about herself. She would be in London for only a short time if her plans didn’t go astray, and she didn’t wish to form any friendships with the English. Still, there didn’t seem to be any way around the expectation on both men’s faces. She had to say something. “My mother has been dead for many years,” she finally stated. “I moved to Boston when I was just a little girl. My aunt and uncle raised me and I’ve always called my aunt Mama. She did raise me, you see. And it was easier … to fit in,” she added with a negligent shrug.
    “Will you be staying in London long?” Bradford asked. He leaned forward, placing his large hands on his knees, obviously intent on hearing her answer.
    “Charity would like to attend some of the functions while we are here,” she replied, avoiding the real question he had asked.
    Bradford frowned over the