Lady Silence Read Online Free PDF

Never!”
    “ But, my dear, she has spent half her
time here in the bookroom. Ask anyone. She has a remarkable thirst
for knowledge. I doubt she has mastered Greek, but I have seen her
reading Latin with my very own eyes. Gave me quite a start, I can
tell you.”
    “ You’re mad. I
beg your pardon! ”
    “ As well you should,” said his
mother.
    “ You are saying the girl reads ?” Damon inquired
carefully.
    “ Well, of course she reads. You are the
only one among us who believes her born in a hovel.”
    “ And writes?”
    “ A fine hand—better than my own. I have
her pen all my invitations.”
    Hell and the devil, their
goose was cooked . Better an adventuress than the girl
should have strayed from some noble house. The reasons a girl of
twelve might flee the comforts of a wealthy home were enough to
turn his stomach sour. In truth, if he had not gone to war, they
might never have occurred to him. No . . . more likely she was the
by-blow of a married noblewoman, who had left the girl to the
not-so-tender mercies of professional child raisers. Many a country
cottage was full of children their mothers dared not
claim.
    An obscure country cottage where she was
taught to embroider, arrange flowers, ride a horse, and play the
pianoforte? Damon winced.
    After taking punctilious leave of his mama,
Colonel Farr sought the shelter of his bookroom. Here, at least, he
could be comfortable, shutting away all thoughts of the female
irritant who was disrupting his dream of peace and quiet. He strode
through the door the footman opened—how easily one fell back into
the routine of luxury!—and settled at his desk with a long-drawn
sigh.
    A slight rustle. The soldier, ever
ready, found the source immediately. A slender girl, blond and
enticing, perched atop the bookroom ladder. “ You ,” he groaned. Summoning his most clipped
parade-ground tone, he barked, “You, there, come down at
once!”
     
    ~ * ~
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Damon did not avert his eyes as Katy Snow
descended the ladder, her derrière wiggling as seductively as any
man could wish. Why should he? His mother might be fooled, but the
girl was a homeless waif who should not have risen higher in the
household than parlor maid.
    Yet now she stood before him proudly,
hands primly folded in front of a gown that was tucked and trimmed
as fine as any lady’s. Lady
Silence . He should never have called her that, even in
mockery, for the name stuck in his mind, rankling. The girl was
nothing but an adventuress, clever and conniving. She had feathered
her nest at Farr Park with the softest down, and now she stood
before him, head high, emerald eyes looking straight into his own,
as if they were equals. Memory stirred. As she had looked that long
ago day when he had left for the war.
    Equal, hah! The bold-faced baggage didn’t see him on his feet, did she?
She was standing, he was sitting. To the devil with treating her as
if she were well and truly a gentlewoman.
    “ Pay close attention, girl.” Damon
enunciated each word with biting clarity. “I will be spending most
of my time in my bookroom. I want no distractions. You, therefore,
will not enter this room while I am in it. Is that
clear?”
    The green eyes flared, her luscious
pink mouth thinned into a line. Obviously horrified, she gaped at
him as if she could not believe her ears. Slowly, she shook her
head. No, no, no!
    “ This is my room, Damon declared.” My sanctuary. A cage for the lion still roaring
within . “I require privacy for a book I plan to
write.” And why the devil had he told her that? Colonels did not
explain themselves.
    To his astonishment, the arrogant jumped-up
brat melted away, leaving a lovely young creature suddenly intent
on making him understand what she wanted to say. She placed her
fingertips in front of her mouth, reminding him she was always
silent. She made mincing mice feet on the carpet, her slender
fingers curled in front of her. Fathomless green eyes pleaded.
    Damon