Love and the Loathsome Leopard Read Online Free PDF

pulled open the door and went through it, closing it behind her.
    There was hardly a pause before Lord Cheriton rose to his feet and, moving as swiftly as Wivina had done, reached the door.
    With his ear against it he heard a man say,
    “Why is there a horse outside?”
    “It belongs to a stranger. He was passing the house and came in before I was aware he was here.”
    “Get rid of him!”
    It was an order, sharp and peremptory.
    Very very softly Lord Cheriton turned the handle of the door.
    He had noticed when Wivina had shut it that it had not squeaked and in fact there had been no sound other than the actual closing of the door itself.
    It took him only a second to get the door ajar so that he could hear better and could see with one eye through the narrow crack.
    Standing in the centre of the hall was a man elaborately dressed but still wearing his high hat on the side of his head.
    Wivina was standing in front of him, twisting her fingers as Lord Cheriton realised she did when she was agitated.
    He heard her say now,
    “I am trying to send him away – but he – knows Lord Cheriton.”
    “The devil he does!” the man ejaculated. “In which case, all the more reason to speed his departure.”
    “I know – I understand – but if I seem too anxious he might become – suspicious.”
    There was a pause after she had said this and the man in the hall turned his face sideways and Lord Cheriton could see his profile.
    Between thirty and thirty-five years of age, he had a coarse and yet at the same time an unusual face. His nose was long, the line of his lips was cruel, and even through the crack in the door Lord Cheriton realised that his expression was an unpleasant one.
    “Make every effort to dissuade him from being interested in you or the house,” the man said after some thought.
    “He talks of finding – somewhere in the neighbourhood to – settle down.”
    “I’ll make sure he finds nothing !”
    There was something almost savage in the words.
    Then, as if he was in a hurry to be gone, the man said,
    “I’ve brought you a present.”
    “I don’t want your presents,” Wivina replied sharply.
    “Nonsense!” the man replied. “There’s the usual tea, and a keg of something a little stronger for those crumbling old ruins in the kitchen – and for you something special!”
    “I will not accept it, and you are not to give Rouse any more to drink. He gets so stupid on it and anyway it makes him ill.”
    “A dram or two of gin hurts no one.”
    “I don’t agree with you. It is bad for the men and I have a suspicion that Emma is getting a liking for it.”
    The man laughed and it was not a pleasant sound.
    “You ought to be grateful because I’m saving you money.”
    “We can manage without your help.”
    “You can’t manage to buy yourself a new gown. Here’s some sprig muslin that could only have come from Paris. You’ll look very beautiful in it.”
    There was a caressing note in the man’s voice now and Wivina gave a little cry.
    “Do you really think I would allow you to give me clothes? Take it away and give it to the girls who lie waiting for your men when you come back from one of your infamous journeys.”
    The man laughed again.
    “It amuses me when you spit at me like an angry kitten! When you see what I’ve brought you, you’ll be woman enough to realise that it’s time you discarded your rags and looked like a lady.”
    “I am a lady!” Wivina said fiercely. “And a lady does not accept such presents from any – man.”
    “Unless he’s her husband!”
    Lord Cheriton realised that Wivina shuddered.
    Then the man said,
    “Perhaps you’ll be more interested in what I’ve brought for Richard – three books in French! Two are what he has been wanting to read for some time and the other is what he should be reading at his age.”
    “If it is one of those disgusting French books you have offered him before, you can take it away,” Wivina said angrily. “Leave my