Seducing The Bride (Brides of Mayfair 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

or who might object to the match?” he asked.
    “No.” If she had, she wouldn’t be in this mess, she thought.
    “Good,” he said. “It’s settled, then. We can be married by special license.”
    “One moment, my lord,” she said. “I have not yet consented to your proposal.”
    Lord Thornby paused, piercing her with his dynamic blue eyes. “But I pray that you will.”
    “You do not even know my name,” she pointed out.
    “Details,” he said, waving a hand in dismissal. “We’ll get to your name, eventually.”
    Why was she even entertaining the idea? Her life had been turned upside down and this man was only making it worse. “My name is Isobel Hampton.”
    “A perfectly good name,” he said. “You see? Isobel, Countess of Ravenwood. It has a ring to it.”
    “But you don’t even know me, my lord,” she pointed out.
    “Then tell me about yourself,” he countered. “How did you come to be in that alley all alone? Where is your family?”
    Isobel had never lied to anyone before, never had the need. But she found how quickly one could acquire new skills when it was a matter of survival. She would lie to this man. She would accept his generous offer and gain back her life.
    The sad truth was, she would do anything to escape life with Sir Harry Lennox. Anything at all….
    “I have no home, Lord Thornby, nor any family.” That wasn’t completely untrue. “My guardian recently died. He had accumulated a vast debt. The barristers sold everything, and I had nowhere to go.” Her lies and the truth were all mixing together now like knotted embroidery floss.
    “I am terribly sorry to hear that, Miss Hampton,” he said. “Do not trouble yourself further with those awful memories. You needn’t tell me everything now. There will be plenty of time for that, if you consent to marry me.”
    “But why me, my lord?” she asked. “Surely someone of your rank could have any bride he chose.”
    “That’s true, now that I stand to inherit an earldom. And I choose you, Isobel Hampton.”
    “But why?” she demanded. “I must know.”
    “I could say all number of things to you,” Lord Thornby continued. “I could confess to being overwhelmed by your ethereal beauty, or to feelings of undying love for you. I have my reasons for wanting a marriage of this kind, and part of it has to do with love. You see, I have no interest in it.”
    He studied her with those blue eyes that seemed to look straight into her very soul. “If you agree to this ‘marriage bargain,’ you must know that love will never have a place in our union,” he said. “What I propose is not so unusual, after all. Most of the marriages in London fare the same, I’d wager. Hopefully, we will enjoy an amiable friendship. Hopefully, there will be children. I must know as soon as possible if you accept. Because if you don’t, I’ll need to start looking for another bride before the day is out. And I must remind you that although it was an innocent mistake, you have, in fact, been quite decidedly compromised. Of course, the decision is entirely yours.”
    Isobel twisted her fingers around the candlestick in her hands. The urge to trust him grew stronger. Something in his voice made her feel strangely comfortable in his presence, though she knew she should be wary.
    But if his proposal was serious, it could be the answer to her prayers.
    Awful memories spun in her head. Even now, a part of her hoped that what she had seen before her flight from Hampton House had been some sort of nightmare, but the hard knot of fear in her gut meant it had been all too real.
    She’d witnessed the murder of her beloved guardian, and the man responsible—Sir Harry Lennox—had sworn to find her. No one could know the depths of the man’s depravity. He was determined to possess both Isobel and the Hampton estate, no matter what the cost.
    Something had guided her out of that strange hell and led her here—an instinct to survive. She refused to give up