The Bride Wore Pearls Read Online Free PDF Page A

they be cursed with the Gift, thank God.
    No, her sons would never have need of a Guardian. It was a small blessing for which Anisha was deeply thankful.
    She must have sighed, for she realized that Sergeant Welham was staring at her across the depths of the carriage, his once-sparkling eyes now sharply focused, as if he had been ruminating over something and did not much care for the conclusion he had drawn.
    “That fellow on the corner,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “This whole business, really—it doubtless makes you wonder why your brother sent me, of all people, to fetch you. Indeed, I advised him to send someone else, but—”
    Almost without thinking, Anisha reached through the shadows to set a gloved finger to his lips, her expression lightly chiding. “But it is you whom he most trusts,” she said quietly. “And so it is you whom I most trust.”
    His answering smile was muted. “I believe, though, that Ruthveyn hopes you will take here in Town, Lady Anisha,” he said. “I rather doubt your being seen in my company will serve that cause—and I told him so.”
    “I beg your pardon? Take what?”
    He smiled again, but this time it did not reach his eyes. “Ruthveyn desires you to make the proper social connections,” he clarified, “and forge a new and happy life for yourself here in London. He is determined, I collect, that you will marry again, so my company is not ideally—”
    Anisha went perfectly rigid. “I beg your pardon?”
    Welham’s expression stiffened. “Sorry, I put that boorishly—I’m too plainspoken, you’ll find—but I daresay you’ll hear the same hope from his lips within the week.”
    Anisha drew a deep, steadying breath. “Shall I?” she said stiffly. “And tell me, sir—has my brother chosen this new husband as yet?”
    At that, Welham’s eyes widened. Then, as he apparently recognized her pique for what it was, his smile returned, the tiny lines about his brilliant blue eyes crinkling once again. “I believe, ma’am, that he does in fact have one or two candidates in mind,” he murmured. “And I can already see that you will be perfectly content to leave the matter in his capable hands.”
    “Oh, perfectly,” she said sweetly. “And I, in turn, shall be equally happy to assist him . Indeed, having scarcely laid eyes on the man in the last five years—and knowing absolutely nothing of his life here, nor of his wishes nor of his hopes or his dreams—I am utterly certain that his widowhood cannot suit him.”
    “Lady Anisha, forgive me.” His gaze sobered. “I ought not suggest—”
    “No, no, suggest away,” she cut in, her voice shrill. “I mean to do precisely that. Why, there must be at least two dozen simpering English roses willing to hang on every pearl of my brother’s wisdom, and tell him what a charming devil he is, all in exchange for a countess’s coronet and his fat fortune. And trust me, Sergeant Welham, I shall manage to ingratiate myself with each and every one of them should my brother dare fling me out into his so-called English society.”
    “Shall you, indeed?” he said.
    “Never doubt it,” she returned. “And then I shall bring them home in turn to dinner until hell freezes over. But whilst waiting for that happy occasion, I shall turn my attention to his bad habits. His womanizing. His drunkenness. His habitual use of opiates. No, Sergeant Welham, Ruthveyn’s secrets do not escape me. Indeed, I shall be perfectly relentless in my pursuit of his self-improvement. What do you think of that? Will it make his life happier, do you imagine?”
    But Sergeant Welham no longer looked quite so relaxed or sanguine upon his banquette. “Good Lord!” he murmured.
    “And what of yourself?” she asked, cocking her head to one side. “Perhaps you, too, could benefit by my help?”
    “Oh, I think not,” he demurred. “Though I thank you, ma’am, for offering.”
    “Quite sure, are you?”
    “Quite, yes,” he answered.