Shattered Dreams Read Online Free PDF

coaching inn yard, you see, and I got
splashed.”
    “ You weren’t injured, I take it?” He growled. The thought of
anyone hurting her annoyed the hell out of him.
    She
shook her head, and leaned back in her seat warily at the ferocity
that suddenly appeared on his face.
    Good Lord, he is like some warrior God , she mused on a sigh.
    He
fought desperately to keep his mind off the kind of ‘duties’ she
could fulfil, and tried to remember what she had just
said.
    He
couldn’t help it; he just had to ask. “What kind of duties are
those?”
    Please, Lord, help me, he prayed. He
felt like a total letch when he read the innocence on her face. She
had absolutely no idea of the mental and physical turmoil she had
just thrown him into. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or
cry.
    “ The housekeeping duties, sir. I received your letter and took
the first available post chaise here as instructed.”
    “ The housekeeper duties,” he repeated dully.
    Surely
to God, Mrs Dandridge hadn’t employed someone to do her job for
her, had she?
    A wild
laugh began to bubble, but he ruthlessly quashed it. For one split
second, he wondered if that was why the Dandridges’ didn’t have any
money; they had spent all of their wages paying someone to do their
work for them. However, sanity was soon restored and he quickly
ignored the notion as utterly ridiculous.
    While he
studied her, his mind raced frantically to find a way to get rid of
Mrs Dandridge. The only thing that stopped him from dismissing the
awful woman, and her deplorable cooking habits, was the knowledge
that he didn’t want someone as stunningly beautiful as Tilly to
work for him.
    Sleep
with him – yes.
    Work for
him as his employee – definitely not.
    Aware
that Tilly was still waiting for him to answer her, Harry slowly
shook his head.
    “ I am afraid that I already have a housekeeper,” he informed
her cautiously.
    “ Yes, I know. Me,” Tilly replied somewhat
hesitantly.
    She
tried desperately to ignore the faint tremor in her hands, but
couldn’t keep the deep seated worry from beginning to blossom. From
the cautious look on his face, she had the distinct impression that
he had no idea what she was talking about.
    “ Can I see the letter you received?” He wondered if she had
the wrong address.
    Tilly
dug around in her bag, and handed him the letter with a hand that
shook uncontrollably with a mixture of fear and nerves.
    He
smiled at her in an attempt to ease the worry in her eyes. However,
to his consternation, she almost fell back into the chair opposite
as she resumed her seat and slowly, but surely, grew pale and
watchful as the minutes ticked by.
    Tension
hovered in the air between them while he carefully opened the
single sheet of parchment and read what was written
there.
    His
temper began to build. It wasn’t enough that the neatly penned
letter had been written by a hand that wasn’t his. To his disgust,
someone had forged his signature, poorly, but effectively, on the
bottom of the parchment, and sealed the letter with the Rectory
seal.
    “ You received this, when?” He peered at her over the top of
the parchment.
    Was she
linked to the Dandridges’? Did they want her in the house as an
extra pair of eyes and ears? Was she a sexual diversion; a way to
getting to know his secrets so they could get their hands on the
money in the safe?
    He
scowled at that thought, and felt his annoyance, and
disappointment, grow.
    Miss
Matilda Fenton was downright gorgeous, but even he wasn’t about to
be lured into sharing any woman’s bed; even this woman’s bed; while
the Dandridges’ lived under his roof.
    He
studied the parchment in his hand again, and tried to remember if
he had ever seen either of the Dandridges’ write. To his
consternation, he couldn’t.
    He
leaned back in his chair, and glanced across the desk at
Tilly.
    “ Would you do something for me?” he asked, and took a new
sheet of parchment out of the drawer. When she nodded, he