Persuading Prudence Read Online Free PDF Page A

outside your family is more than willing to toss up her skirts at the tiniest bit of encouragement from you, and therefore offer little challenge for you.” she replied dryly then blushed furiously.
    So, his Prudence had a feisty side. How intriguing.
    “Be that as it may,” he rejoined, barely suppressing an amused smile, “the situation is what it is. I have no assurance you have not conceived, and I will not take the chance of a child of mine being born a bastard. Or can you provide tangible proof that what I found on the sheets was due to your woman’s time?”
    Pru’s color deepened, if that were possible. She shook her head.
    “Well then,” he said confidently, “the matter is settled. I will obtain a special license upon our return. We will make the arrangements and be married right away.”
    Pru paled, but her face grew militant, her lips compressing in a thin line. “I will not be forced—indeed bullied— into marriage!”
    Kolton’s brows drew together in confusion. “Bullied? Whereas it is true the situation necessitates, or forces as you suggest, we marry in all haste, I am certainly not in the habit of bullying women. And I am not trying to bully you now. I am only trying to be reasonable.”
    “Reasonable?” she huffed. “You are being high handed and giving me no choice in the matter!”
    “What other choice is there, Pru?” he asked, motioning with his hand in an exasperated gesture.
    “Well,” she said sitting back, tapping her chin thoughtfully with one slender finger. “If I were expecting, I could retire to France before I begin to increase noticeably. Somewhere in the countryside—a small cottage, perhaps—where no one knows me and I can claim to be newly widowed. And,” she continued, her eyes brightening as she warmed to the idea, “I can send letters back claiming to have befriended a young lady in an ‘unfavorable’ position. I can say that, before she passed in childbirth, the young woman begged me to raise her child and I agreed.” She finished her story with a note of satisfaction ringing in her voice.
    Kolton stared at her a moment, his jaw sagging a bit. “In as long as I have known you, dear Prudence, I would never have suspected it.”
    “Suspected what?” she asked distractedly, caught up in contemplation.
    “That you , of all people, would be capable of concocting such a speedy, not to mention plausible , lie . Nor would I have suspected how easy it seems to be for you to voice it. I give you credit for possessing such a quick mind, my dear, though it unsettles me a bit.”
    That remark made her bristle. She straightened her shoulders and glared at him. “While I appreciate, and thank you for realizing there is more occupying my head than air, I must make it clear that I do not normally take it upon myself to lie, my lord. I don’t like to lie in fact. Not when the truth is far easier to remember. However, I believe the situation in which we now find ourselves calls for some prevarication.”
    “ Some prevarication? The only kernel of truth in your entire story is that you will travel to France,” he pointed out. “This is beyond ridiculous, Pru. I will not sit back and pretend the child is not mine, it is not reasonable, or fair, of you to suggest otherwise.”
    “I do not want to marry you simply because we...um...well, you know. I might not even be with child, Kolton. And to marry without proof that I am is ridiculous.”
    Her argument was logical in its own distorted way, but for reasons even he couldn’t understand, he was determined to marry her. “Our marrying would not be as bad as you seem to believe. I think we could get on quite well together.”
    “Yes,” she sighed in a martyred fashion, turning her head to stare out the window. “I suppose we could if I were willing, that is, to accept your mistresses, which I do not believe I am.”
    He hadn’t thought about that. He realized how little he actually knew about the inner workings of her