Pirate Hunter's Mistress (The Virginia Brides) Read Online Free PDF Page B

she’d married. She felt drab and as unattractive as a field mouse. No matter how Arden Manor had fallen, she was out of place here among the portraits of impressive Arden ancestors who gazed down from the walls. She didn’t belong and would never belong because she wasn’t of aristocratic birth.
    Her ancestors had been poor Cornish men and women, eking a living from the land, whether by farming or mining tin. It was only through her father’s intelligence that her family had prospered. In fact, her father had barely been able to read but he’d made certain his daughter was well educated by engaging the best tutors. Marlee had loved her father with all of her heart. No man could ever take his place in her life, certainly not a rogue like Richard Arden.
    The minutes ticked away. She fidgeted in her seat. Why hadn’t Arden put in an appearance by now? Wasn’t he curious about her? One would think he’d be eager to inspect her, to woo her into signing over her fortune to him. Instead it seemed he was purposely keeping her waiting and she grew annoyed at the slight.
    She fingered the fraying damask on the divan then set to examining the faded draperies on the floor-to-ceiling windows.
    “What are you doing?” Barbara asked and joined her by the window where the rain beat mercilessly and showed no sign of abating.
    “I’m deciding how to redo this room. It’s deplorable. I think blue would show up nicely for the chairs—the same shade as my gown, I think. Don’t you agree?” Marlee didn’t wait for Barbara’s answer but went to inspect a high-backed wing chair. Taking a handful of her gown in her hand, she placed the material upon the chair cushion as a sample, totally unaware that her lace-edged petticoat and white-stockinged legs were all too visible to the two handsome men who watched from the doorway. “I think this color will do nicely. What do you say?” she asked Barbara.
    “I’d say you’re a very fetching sight, my lady,” the taller and darker of the two men responded.
    Both girls turned in unison, their faces blazing. Marlee was so stunned that she tripped over her own feet and fell backward into the chair she’d been appraising. Her gown twisted around her calves, preventing her from moving. Tongue-tied over her clumsiness, she wasn’t certain what to say to the black-haired man who suddenly loomed over her and extended a hand to her. He was so very tall and broad of shoulder that she was forced to stretch her neck to see his face.
    Ebony eyes, darker than the heavens on a cloudless night, raked her from the top of her head to the tips of her kid slippers. A few strands of black wavy hair fell carelessly but attractively upon his forehead and skimmed his black-winged brows. A superbly molded nose was a clear indication of his aristocratic heritage as was his well-formed mouth that slashed into a disarming smile to reveal a beautiful set of teeth.
    Attired in a brown velvet jacket over a cream-colored shirt, he wore buff-colored trousers and brown boots. With each movement of his upper body Marlee feared his wide shoulders would rip open the expensive material. She felt incredibly tiny as he stood over her, suddenly fragile and more than dismayed to meet her new husband in such an unladylike and less than aristocratic position. But his hand was outstretched to her, and she shyly took it, finding not the smooth, soft skin she’d expected but a hand which was tough and strong, callused, too, and surprisingly gentle.
    “Forgive me,’’ Marlee began and blushed a violent shade of scarlet as she attempted to untangle her skirts. With Barbara’s assistance she managed to set her gown aright and once again stood on her two feet. After she’d put herself in order she was all too aware of his dark eyes dancing with amusement. He was silently laughing at her. How foolish and clumsy she must look to him!
    “There’s nothing to forgive,” he kindly returned. “I startled you and do apologize. I