The Heiress Read Online Free PDF Page A

Berengaria said. “We shall dress you as an earthly prince, and the Maidenhall heiress will fall in love with you at first sight.”
    At that absurdity, Jamie threw his head back and laughed, and the piglet, now by Jamie’s wrist, looked up at him and began to laugh too.
    When Jamie looked about him, he was surprised to see that no one else in the room, now probably a hundred people (some of whom had obviously never had a bath), was laughing.
    â€œJamie, you are our only hope,” Berengaria said. “You could make any woman fall in love with you.”
    â€œNo!” he said, setting his cup down with a splash and nearly hitting the piglet’s tiny hoof. He was holding the stem of the cracked mug so hard he did not feel the piglet climb onto hishand and stick its face into the mug.
    â€œI will not do this! The woman is to marry another. Her father would never give permission.” He would have liked to have said that he meant to marry for love, but poor, landless earls could not afford such a luxury. But when he did marry, he wanted it to be in an honorable manner. He had no money, but he did have titles. Perhaps a rich merchant’s daughter …
    Which, of course, described the Maidenhall heiress perfectly. Not that many people had seen her to describe her in any way except as “rich.” She was as elusive as a lady in a fairy story. Some said she was as beautiful as a goddess. Some said she was deformed and hideous. Whatever she was, she stood to inherit millions.
    â€œI cannot. I will not. No. Absolutely not.”
    That’s what he’d said last night, but today he was being measured and fitted. He was
not
going to ask where or how his sisters and the villagers had obtained such extraordinary fabrics. He suspected that Edward’s coffers had been regularly emptied, and since he recognized some of the women as having worked in the manor house that had once been theirs, he figured the new owner was also missing some articles of clothing.
    But he wasn’t going to ask because he didn’t want to know.
    â€œMmed eig!” he said through the pins, his arms outstretched.
    Joby removed them. “Yes, dear brother?”
    â€œGet this damned pig out from under my feet!”
    â€œBut it loves you,” Joby said, everyone in the room trying to suppress their laughter. They all felt happy because they knew that Jamie would solve all their problems. How could any woman not love him? Six feet tall, two hundred pounds, with broad shoulders; a slim waist; huge, muscular thighs;and a face like a dark angel: beautiful dark green eyes, black hair, honey-colored skin, lips sculpted like those on a marble statue. It wasn’t unusual for women to be struck dumb at the sight of him.
    â€œThe piglet is
female,”
Berengaria said, and everyone released their pent-up laughter in shouts.
    â€œEnough!” Jamie roared above the people falling all over themselves in laughter, then gave a pull to the black velvet jacket that swathed him. With a cry of pain, he pulled back, two pins embedded in his palm, and waited impatiently as Joby removed the pins.
    Grabbing his own old, worn clothing from atop a chest, he started for the door, not bothering to dress, when the piglet ran under his feet and nearly tripped him. Angry, Jamie grabbed the animal up and started to toss it out the third-story window. But as he did, he looked into its eyes.
    â€œHell and damnation,” he muttered and slipped the fat creature under his arm. As he slammed the door behind him, he heard gales of laughter. “Women!” he muttered and practically ran down the ancient stone stairs.

Chapter 3
    A
xia neither saw nor heard the man before he threw one strong arm about her waist and a big hand across her mouth and dragged her to a secluded spot behind the hedges. With her heart racing, she told herself,
I must remain calm. At all costs, I must remain calm.
And in that flash of a moment she