The Hellion and The Heartbreaker Read Online Free PDF Page A

jacket.  Colin wouldn’t mind his slight dishevel of course, but
his valet would have been horrified.  Thankfully though, Thomas had
remained in London, and wasn’t on hand to witness the sorry state of his
appearance.  Ahh , he thought with pleasure, an entire week without
the tiresome ministrations of an exacting valet and the exceedingly stringent
dress requirements imposed by Society, just one of the many perks of country
life.
    Leaving
the footmen to see to the unloading of his bags, he quickly made his way to the
house and moments later the McPhearson’s butler was ushering him inside.
    “If you
would care to wait in the parlor, Your Grace,” he said courteously, “I shall
inform the earl of your arrival.”
    He nodded,
feeling an odd sense of deja vu.  “I’ll see myself in,” he said, hesitating
for a moment as he watched the silver-haired butler turn and make his way down
the hall toward Colin’s study.
     
     
    At
fourteen, Scarlett had long since moved past the crocodile tears and occasional
temper tantrums of preadolescence, but she was still very much accustomed to
getting her own way.  At present however, Colin was being annoyingly
unaccommodating and she was beginning to fear that the fiery temper she had
learned to control was about to ignite into full flame.
    “You are
getting too old to continue dressing like a lad and gadding about with the
stable hands,” he said, frustration evident in every word as he continued the
lecture he had been delivering for the past quarter hour.
    Scarlett
sat across from him in one of the large, overstuffed leather chairs that were
positioned in front of his desk, arms folded across her chest, long legs
jutting out in front of her, ankles crossed, the toe of her tall leather riding
boot twitching rapidly to and fro.  She was doing her best to remain calm,
but it was becoming increasingly difficult.  “They’re my friends,” she
countered indignantly, pointedly ignoring his remark about her choice of
attire.  She watched as her brother raked his fingers through his thick
red hair, clearly exasperated.
    “I realize
that, Scarlett, but you are a young lady now and it’s time you started acting
like one.”
    “Humph,”
she snorted, rolling her eyes.
    Colin took
a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.  “Briarwood is an excellent
finishing school.”
    “I don’t need to go to some ridiculous finishing school,” Scarlett retorted obstinately.
    “Think of
all the new friends you will make,” he said, his tone cajoling.
    “I have
friends.”
    “ Girls, Scarlett!  You need girl friends.”
    “Bethany’s
a girl.”  Bethany was the stable master’s daughter, and Scarlett’s one and
only female friend.
     “Yes,
Bethany is a girl,” Colin admitted.  “But she is hardly a proper
influence.  She spends nearly as much time in the stables as you do.”
    Not for
the reason you’re thinking, she wanted to say, but didn’t.  Bethany, one
year older than Scarlett, had recently developed a keen interest in certain
members of the opposite sex, and thus an increased interest in the stables, the
hub of male activity on the estate.
    “You need
to spend time with girls who, well… girls who do girl things.”
    She opened
her mouth to argue, but Colin cut her off, abruptly changing tactics.
    “Do you
honestly think mother and father would have allowed you to go about like this,
dressing and acting like a lad at your age?” he asked, gazing pointedly at her
breeches.
    Scarlett
ground her teeth at the mention of their parents.  That was a low blow and
it hit its mark, but even so, it wasn’t going to change her feelings about
going to Briarwood.  She knew that her parents most likely wouldn’t have
approved of her unconventional behavior, but the fact was they were gone, and
now all she had left were her brothers.  In truth, that was the primary
reason for her fierce aversion to Colin’s proposal.  She loved her brothers
more than anything in the