The Dark Affair Read Online Free PDF Page A

there . . .”
    “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” She smiled slightly. “And in a few months, after much work and when he is ready, all this unseemly questioning of his health will be of no matter.”
    The earl whipped around, his face tense. “You must understand how important this all is. He’s my only son. My heir. If he cannot care for himself, the line will die . . .”
    Was that the only reason the old man cared? The need to pass on a heap of rocks and a title as old as England itself? Perhaps that’s what he told himself, but she’d seen genuine emotion as well. The ways and coldness of the English were a mystery to her. They always would be. “All will be well, my lord. I don’t believe your son wishes to die or that he is truly ready to give up on himself. You must leave it to me.”
    The earl shifted uncomfortably, then pulled a silver cigar case from his pocket. Hands shaking, he slipped a slim stick free and tapped it against the back of the case. “There is something else I should like to ask of you.”
    “I am at your service.” She was proud of her work helping people, even if they were sometimes simply young lords who had lost their way. It had taken her years and the assistance of many war-torn and troubled lordlings to rise to a place in which she could command a fee that was enough to support herself and her ultimate mission, to send significant money home to St. Catherine’s Home for Orphans in Galway.
    Resolution seemed to shape the earl’s face and square his shoulders. “I—I want you to marry my son.”
    She gaped, disbelieving the words that had just passed such a powerful man’s lips. “My lord?”
    “I want you to remain with him always,” he said slowly, firmly. “To protect him.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “Why not?” he demanded. “You’re a lady of aristocratic birth. He needs a wife and an heir, and surely a husband of such means would give you more freedom to work at your causes.”
    She sought some articulate reason, but the proposal was so intensely shocking she had no idea how to formulate an argument. “I—I—”
    “I have thought everything through. No usual young lady can handle or manage my son.” The earl paused, a shadow crossing over his face. “History has proved this. But from all reports, and from my own impression of your character, you can. James didn’t cow you, unlike all the men I sent in to evaluate him.”
    The earl lit his cigar and then lifted it to his lips, appearing so remarkably calm given his demeanor a few moments before. It was as if he was finally on ground he understood. The ground of arrangement. “I don’t expect you to marry my son without proper motivation. So, in addition to having the power of a viscountess, I would set up funds and land entirely in your name.” He waved his hand, but there was a sharpness to his movements. “Here or in Ireland. I would ensure that after my son’s death, you had a portion entirely of your own. You’d be reliant upon none, not even in marriage. You could continue to help soldiers. I have no objection to such a noble undertaking, and then, of course, there is the money you can send home to your brother’s earldom. As I understand, the young earl is bankrupt, unable to look after his people, and travels in questionable political circles. I would be willing to offer him my support, giving him a stronger voice here in the House of Lords. The only conditions I have are that you keep my son in a state that allows him to retain the title and produce an heir.”
    Produce an heir
.
    The thought ricocheted through her head. She didn’t know Powers. The possibility of sharing his bed should have horrified her.
    It didn’t.
    More important, it suddenly hit her that the earl had given this extensive thought and had investigated her suitability not only as a nurse but as jailer-cum-broodmare.
    “I’m Catholic,” she protested, searching for any reason that might dissuade the