The Fairy Tale Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

given their present
situation. "I was never able to thank you for seconding Valentine
in the duel."
    The look in her eyes was even more dangerous
than that of a young woman determined to make herself his wife. He
had seen such a gaze before, in the eyes of his youngest, most
untried men. Dear God, the woman had a case of the hero-worships
for him.
    He half rose from his crouch at the fire to
protest, but she lifted the paring knife from the cheese wedge she
was slicing and waved him to silence. "Valentine told me all about
it, you know, even though Mama strictly forbade him."
    She lowered her eyes and sliced into the
cheese.
    "It was to be my punishment — to hear nothing
more of London. As if I cared." She pressed her lips together,
silencing herself as she took an apple and began slicing it,
wielding the knife with a stroke that cleaved the fruit cleanly
into halves, then quarters, then eighths.
    He was shocked. "Surely you had another
chance at a Season? Your reputation remained unmarked. Your parents
must have known you'd grow sensible enough for a second try?"
    "I don't know. They never said any such thing
before they died." With a quick shake of her head she added, "Then,
of course, there was no possibility of a Season. I had my sisters
to see to, and Valentine was too far away to be of use."
    "Surely you were not left to yourself to
provide for the family? Had you no uncle to step in?" Once again,
Simon wondered at Valentine's lack of responsibility, to leave a
young woman in charge of a badly out-of-pocket household.
    Her chin lifted and her gaze met his,
although her face was flushed with color. "I am quite capable, Your
Grace. Valentine never doubted my abilities to attend to things
while he was away."
    "I'm surprised you didn't set your cap for a
wealthy spouse, as he did."
    She shuddered. "Quite honestly, I was
determined to never marry."
    He nearly laughed aloud at the candor he
remembered so well from five years ago, but the subdued panic on
her face reminded him, suddenly, of the expressions of young
soldiers who had not yet gone into battle as they listened to their
more experienced comrades trade stories. "Indeed?"
    "Husbands are as bad as fathers. They believe
they have the right to decide how a woman will live her life — and
to beat her if she will not comply."
    There was scorn in her voice. For the first
time, Simon was certain that she had not set out to compromise him.
His curiosity rose. "Perhaps you should have conveyed that thought
to Emily. She might not have consented to elope with your brother,
then."
    Her chin lifted. "Valentine is different. He
is in love."
    "With a well-dowered woman,
conveniently."
    "With Emily. And he would love her, dowry or
no."
    "Then he will need to adjust his
expectations, and love her from afar, for he will never have
her."
    "Does that not break your heart? That anyone
must love from afar when both parties wish the match? It seems so
cruel." Her voice was low, and should not have squeezed the breath
from his lungs as it did. Her gaze met his directly. "Can you not
intercede? Convince your uncle of what a fine man Valentine is? He
is, I promise you."
    Simon admired her loyalty, though he wished
she didn't have the tenacity of a dog with a meaty bone. And how
had she turned their conversation from her own danger to the tricky
matter of broken hearts and star-crossed lovers? "Once he makes up
his mind, he never unmakes it."
    She sighed. "Yes. That's what Emily said when
she convinced Valentine to run for the border."
    Simon laughed softly. "The little minx. And I
always thought her so responsible — for a woman."
    Her eyes flashed with momentary indignation,
quickly controlled. "She wanted to help Valentine realize his
dreams. They talked of what use they would have for her inheritance
— Anderlin is in sore need of repair, and they wanted to invest in
the West Indies trade ... "
    "Well, if he wants such dreams to come true,
I'd say it is clearly Valentine's duty to