Tempting Miss Allender (Regency Rakes 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

then they shook hands. “I feel you should call me, Mathew, Lord Allender, as you did sit on my knee a time or two when you were a babe.”
    “I—” Patience began.
    “And I am Charles,” her brother said, interrupting her before she could stop the familiarity from blossoming.
    “And will you return for the second part of my talk next week, Patience?” Mathew then said, turning his green eyes to her now.
    “If time permits, then I would love to return. Thank you, my lord.” Not if she could help it, Patience thought. Spending too much time in his company was not good for her fragile defenses.
    “It is unusual to find a woman who likes cows and pigs.”
    “Patience spends all her days in the country, Mathew, striding about the land, tending to cows, pigs, and all the other animals.”
    “Does she, now?” Mathew said, looking at her as he answered Charlie.
    “You may not remember, but I have always liked animals, especially pigs,” Patience defended herself. “They are intelligent animals whose needs are simply met, unlike other, more self-indulgent species.”
    “The self-indulgent species concerned being man, or, more importantly, me, as I understand it?”
    “I was merely making a point, my lord. It was not directed at you.” Patience managed to keep her words light. She kept walking fast, dragging her brother with her.
    “Does your sister always walk everywhere at such a rapid pace, Charles?”
    Mathew kept pace with her easily, his longs legs out-striding hers.
    “Yes,” Charles sighed. “It was harder to keep up with her when I was ten, but now that I’m eleven I can manage, as I am nearly as tall as her.”
    “You are not,” Patience said, ruffling her brother’s hair just to prove she could easily reach it. She never missed the opportunity to tease her sibling when it presented itself.
    “Am so.”
    “Children, please,” Mathew said. “There is no need to argue.”
    “We love to argue,” Charlie said. “But Patience would rather we call it debating.”
    “If my memory serves me correctly, your sister loves to debate.”
    “I don’t believe I was alone in that,” Patience muttered as they reached the carriage. She and Mathew had spent hours gnawing over things in their youth, arguing, debating, and rarely finding success.
    “Good Lord, that is the ugliest pig I have ever seen!” Charlie pointed to the animal tethered a few feet away. “Come, Paul, we must inspect it.”
    “We will leave soon, Charlie,” Patience said as he moved away.
    “He has grown into a handsome young man, Patience,” Mathew said.
    “Yes, he is the best of brothers.” As soon as she said the words, she remembered Anthony. “I’m sorry, my lord—”
    “Patience, because I lost my brother does not mean you cannot talk about yours.”
    He took her hands in his as he spoke, and she could feel their warmth even through her gloves. It seemed to grow and slowly filled her body.
    “I need you to listen to me now, while I attempt to explain why I behaved as I did during your debut.”
    “There is no need, Mathew.”
    “There is every need.” He placed a finger on her lips as she started to open them. “I treated you as I did because every time I looked at you I was reminded of the happy times we had, and those included Anthony. With those memories came pain, and to my shame I pushed you aside rather than confront them. It was badly done of me, Patience.”
    “I understand,” Patience said. “But there really is no need to discuss this. Let us only move forward now.”
    “We cannot move forward with my behavior hanging over us.”
    “Yes, we can.” Patience tried to pull her hands free. “It was seven years ago, and I have no wish to remember that time of my life. Therefore, I would ask you to respect those wishes. Please, Lord Belmont,” she added.
    “Can you not call me Mathew?”
    “It would not be right.”
    “Why?”
     
    Mathew let the silence hang in the air between them after she spoke.