No Greater Love Read Online Free PDF

upset. It’s difficult when one’s parent is ill—there is so much uncertainty and fear.”
    “Yes, I can imagine. Cyril was always a deeply sensitive child. It was very hard for him when his mother died. He was only six, poor lad. Lady Raven, as you’ve no doubt gathered, is not a particularly warm person. She made a poor substitute for a mother.”
    Georgia bit her lip. “I wouldn’t say that she’s made any kind of mother at all. If anything, Cyril seems intimidated by her. But then, most people are. She’s that kind of person, don’t you think?”
    Nicholas smiled sourly. “Maybe to most people. She doesn’t intimidate me in the least.” He absently pulled up a handful of overgrown grass and the roots came with it. His eyes fell to his hand and he tossed the grass away. “How do you feel about her?”
    “Feel, Mr. Daventry? I’m in her employ. I’m not allowed to have feelings.”
    “Not even in the privacy of your bedroom, Mrs. Wells? Most people do have feelings in the privacy of their bedrooms.”
    “Very well. In the privacy of my bedroom—my turret I should say—I dislike Lady Raven acutely. There.”
    Nicholas laughed. “Was that so bad? If truth be told, I dislike Lady Raven acutely myself. You might as well tell me the rest. I’m not likely to go running to her with your inner thoughts, and it would help me to have a clearer picture, given I’ve been away for ten years.”
    “Ten years?” Georgia said, wondering where he’d been and what he’d been doing. It was odd his name hadn’t come up, although who would have brought it up in that strange house was beyond her. “That is a long time, Mr. Daventry. But I must confess, I feel it would be unwise of me to say anything further. I cannot afford to lose my job; Lady Raven would see to it that I never found another.”
    Nicholas considered this. “That in itself says everything. Tell me, how did you come to accept a position at Ravenswalk?”
    Georgia gave a shrug of her shoulder. “I didn’t exactly. I don’t think I would have if I’d been given a choice. But in one day I found myself dismissed by my previous employer, and informed that I was to go to work for Lady Raven. As I wasn’t consulted, and I really had no other alternative, I found myself here.” Her eyes darkened, and she looked down so that Nicholas wouldn’t see the bitter, bleak expression in them that said everything about his family.
    But apparently she hadn’t looked down quickly enough, for he touched her chin lightly with his finger and pulled her face up to meet his eyes. “That bad?” he asked quietly, and she nodded miserably.
    “I’m sorry. Now that I’ve returned, perhaps I can do something to help.”
    “Oh, no! Please, Mr. Daventry, I beg of you, leave it alone. If Lady Raven should take against me, my name would be worth nothing! She has a great deal of influence, and without my work I should starve.” Her eyes started with tears, and she turned her head and quickly wiped them away. “Please,” she said in a whisper. “I should never have spoken at all. It was foolishness…”
    “But true. I value truth, Mrs. Wells, above everything, and you have been truthful with me. I shall not jeopardize you in any way, I promise. You have made it much easier for me to walk back through that door in a way you cannot understand. I’ll leave you now, for I shouldn’t delay the inevitable any longer. I imagine I’ll see you again.”
    Georgia bowed her head, thinking that was about as likely as Lady Raven growing a beard. She managed to smile at him. “I hope your homecoming is a happy one,” she said, rising and brushing off her skirts.
    “Not bloody likely,” Nicholas muttered, also standing, “but it’s bound to be interesting. And, ah—I really am sorry about the kiss. I have a tendency to act on impulse, and it seemed the right thing at the moment. It was your tender feelings for my house that did it.”
    “Your house? This is your