My Fair Mistress Read Online Free PDF

Her blood beat unsteadily at the notion. Yet it would only be for six months, she reminded herself. For her family, she could endure anything for six months.
    “Yes,” she murmured softly, “we are agreed.”
    He leaned even closer. “Shall we seal our bargain with a kiss?”
    “No!” she exclaimed, jolting in her chair. “There will be no kissing today.”
    He laughed, emphasizing the long dimples in his cheeks in a way that made him appear even more fiercely handsome than before. “Then it seems I shall have to console myself with mere fantasies until our next meeting.”
    Leaning across his desk, he reached for a ledger bound in fine quality leather, then flipped it open. Running a finger down one page, he paused on an entry near the middle. “Lord Allerton is scheduled to pay his obligation a week from Thursday. Would Wednesday next be a suitable date to begin our arrangement?”
    So soon? she thought, dismayed. That would leave her only eight days, a little over a week to adjust to the life-altering step she was about to take. And once she set herself onto that path, there would be no turning back.
    Yet a week, a month, a year, what difference would it make? No matter how much time she had, it would never be enough. Time would not make this bargain of hers any easier to face.
    “Very well,” she agreed before she had an opportunity to turn coward. “Next Wednesday it shall be.”
    He nodded. “What about your brother? What will you tell him?”
    Oh, dear. Harry. What would she tell him? Certainly not the truth.
    “I’ll think of a story,” she said. “Something he’ll accept without too many questions asked, something he’ll believe.”
    She stood, glad to be on her feet, even if her legs were a bit wobbly. “Well, the hour grows late and I must be going. I’ll await your message.”
    “You shall receive it shortly.”
    Julianna crossed to retrieve her pelisse. Before she could reach it, Pendragon strode up behind her and grasped the cloak. Silently, he held the garment up for her to don. Hesitating for a long moment, she slowly presented her back to him and waited.
    Her throat grew suddenly dry, heart pumping fast as the clean, masculine scents of writing ink, bayberry, and a hint of what must be Rafe Pendragon himself curled enticingly beneath her nose.
    He slid the cloak over her, then rested his broad palms on her shoulders. “If you don’t arrive by one in the afternoon next Wednesday,” he murmured, his mouth very near her ear, “I will assume you have changed your mind about our agreement. If that should prove the case, the original terms of your brother’s loan stand, including the due date. Think carefully about the lies you tell him lest they come back to haunt you.”
    She pulled herself out of his grasp and swung around to face him. “And what of you, sir? I have nothing but your word, and though I should likely make you write down the terms of our agreement, to whom would I show it should you decide to defraud me? How do I know you will uphold your end of the bargain and set my brother free when this…arrangement between us is at an end?”
    His jaw tightened, eyes lambent beneath hooded lids. “You do not. And though I can’t claim to be a gentleman, I am a man of my word. So long as you abide by the terms of our agreement, I will do the same. No tricks. No deceits. Whether or not you trust me is entirely up to you. You have my permission to forget this day ever happened and let your brother settle his own debts. Good day, Lady Hawthorne. I have other business to conduct.”
    He was angry at her accusation, she realized. Even more, he was insulted. Yet his words rang with truth, his demeanor radiating the kind of offended pride only a man of honor would display. If she chose to go through with this bargain of theirs, she felt reassured he would honor the terms exactly as agreed.
    “Until next Wednesday, Mr. Pendragon,” she said softly. “Do not bother ringing for your man,