Return of the Viscount Read Online Free PDF

easily wed, Blackthorne?” Appertan demanded, smirking.
    â€œI had no immediate plans to wed. But I considered your father a friend and mentor. With his death, I wanted to assist your family in any way I could. Frankly, I assumed Lady Cecilia was a plain spinster, who felt she could only attract a suitor with her fortune.”
    Lady Blackthorne gasped, Miss Webster covered her lips to hide what was obviously a grin, and Appertan’s mouth dropped open before he barked out a harsh laugh.
    Michael glanced at his wife apologetically. “You must concede that is a fair assumption.”
    â€œI told you I didn’t want to be under the control of my guardian, Lord Hanbury,” she said.
    â€œI admit, I was surprised when I first beheld you,” he said, looking upon her lovely, flushed face.
    She seemed more exasperated than angry. Other women might react differently, and he was relieved she was not the kind to take offense easily. It was almost off-putting to meet the woman behind the letters and see if reality could improve upon the sweet, caring disposition she’d shown through words. He wasn’t disappointed—he was intrigued, for he sensed depths she’d kept hidden from him.
    Miss Webster turned to her. “What did you think your husband would be like?” she asked eagerly. “After all, you felt you knew him well from his letters.”
    Michael was very curious to know what Lady Blackthorne had told other people about them.
    â€œI will admit, I did not picture his face,” she began slowly.
    She avoided meeting his gaze, to Michael’s amusement.
    â€œI just knew he was a kind man, who honored Papa in every way, who was a hero in battle.”
    â€œI am not a hero,” he cut in, ignoring the darkness of memories that so easily welled up inside him. “I did my duty, as did many men.”
    Lady Blackthorne stared at him with obvious interest but didn’t ask for an explanation. Perhaps she had too many of her own secrets.
    â€œBut she thought you a hero,” Miss Webster said dreamily. “I found it all so romantic.”
    Romantic? Perhaps through a young girl’s innocent eyes. It had practically been a business agreement, where Lady Blackthorne received the reward of financial freedom, and he received her gratitude—and the knowledge that he’d assisted the daughter of his late commander. It had been enough for him, but not anymore, now that he’d met her.
    â€œI don’t care how romantic it is,” Appertan said in a bored voice. “I don’t know you, Blackthorne, and your presence in Appertan Hall offends me.”
    â€œThen Lady Blackthorne and I will remove ourselves to the Blackthorne estate,” Michael said.
    As his wife gaped at him, Michael calmly took another spoonful of his oxtail soup. It was really quite delicious after army fare and shipboard provisions.
    â€œCecilia doesn’t even know you!” Appertan answered with outrage. “How could you insist she leave?”
    Michael met his gaze. “I am not insisting, Lord Appertan. You are.”
    Appertan’s gray eyes narrowed, and his lips twitched, but he obviously couldn’t refute that. “I would never allow my sister to leave with a stranger.”
    â€œAnd I don’t intend to make her leave her home since I’ll be returning to India soon. But I understand that Lady Blackthorne needs time to become acquainted with me, and I intend to give her that time.”
    Her flushed face took on a darker hue, and he wondered if she was embarrassed to be discussed so freely—so familiarly. He already knew she wasn’t a woman given to standing by while others made decisions about her life, and he admired that.
    â€œVery well,” Appertan said between clenched teeth. “I’ll accept that, as long as I never hear Cecilia complain in any way. How long do you plan to remain?”
    â€œMy schedule is flexible.