The Marriage Bargain Read Online Free PDF

quiet!” Beckett shouted.
    The dog hushed, but everyone else seemed to take it as a cue to pelt Beckett with questions, though Lady Thornby was still out cold.
    “—What is going on, sir?” said Livingston.
    “—Oh, m’lord, who is that lady? What shall we do?” said Martha.
    “—I demand to know who all of you people are!” shrieked the girl.
    “I said, quiet, all of you!” Beckett commanded. To his surprise, it worked. “Martha, would you take the young miss into my chamber and try to quiet her nerves?”
    “My nerves don’t need quieting,” the girl retorted, eyeing the cook distrustfully.
    “Come on, now, miss,” Martha said. “Just do what the master asks.”
    “He’s not my master,” she said haughtily. “He hasn’t even told me who he is.”
    “Lord Beckett Thornby, at your service,” Beckett said, and made a grand, sweeping bow.
    “That means nothing to me.” The blanket slipped farther down her shoulder, and she fought to pull it up.
    “How do I even know that you are who you say you are?”
    “I can vouch for Lord Thornby’s identity, madam,” Mr. Livingston said. “I am his solicitor, and have been for many years. He is of the utmost character and breeding, I assure you.”

    “I don’t care if he’s the regent himself. He has brought me here against my wishes, and now I want to leave.”
    “No one is stopping you, Miss…” Beckett prodded.
    She sidestepped the question. “You know I can’t leave. I haven’t any clothes—thanks to you, Lord Thornby.”
    “We shall procure you some clothes, then, posthaste. And then you may do as you wish. But I insist that you at least stay for breakfast. My reputation would be ruined if it became known I didn’t properly entertain my guests.” Beckett folded his arms in front of his chest and gave a wry smile. “Well? What shall it be, my dear?”
    She seemed to weigh her options, and Beckett felt a wash of relief when she nodded her agreement. He nodded to Martha.
    “A pot of strong tea for our guest, then, Martha. And whatever else she desires.”
    Beckett saw the girl look at him, then. It seemed the implication of his last comment was not lost on her.
    Still clutching the candlestick, she followed Martha from the room.
    “And you thought bringing her home was a good idea,” Alfred whispered into Beckett’s ear.
    “It seems I’ve made nothing but a mess of this.”
    “My thoughts exactly.”
    Beckett patted his thigh to summon Monty, who trotted over to sit obediently beside his master. Beckett crouched down beside his still-unconscious mother.
    “Fetch the doctor, Hartley.”
    “For the lady, sir?”
    “No, for me, after Mother comes ‘round.”
    Alfred chuckled.
    “I’m glad you find this amusing,” Beckett said, glaring at Alfred, and then at his solicitor. “Livingston, what exactly are you doing here, at this hour of the morning?”
    “My lord,” offered Mr. Livingston. “It is well past noon. I met Lady Thornby as she was coming to your door. It was then that I was able to share with her the good news.”
    “What good news, Livingston?”
    “Why, of your inheritance, my lord.”
    “I haven’t got an inheritance, man. That’s my whole problem.”

    “Oh, but you do, sir. Your mother’s cousin, the Earl of Ravenwood, has died without any heirs of his body, leaving you the next in line.”
    Beckett shook his head. “Lord Ravenwood has both a son and a grandson, Livingston. You are terribly misinformed.”
    “Actually, my lord, I am very well-informed. The earl’s son, Lord Haughton, was killed in a boating accident only days before Lord Ravenwood’s own death. Unfortunately, Lord Haughton’s only son was with him and also perished in the accident.”
    Mr. Livingston cleared his throat, as if to introduce his next announcement. “I have the honor, my lord, of naming you heir to the sixth earl of Ravenwood.”
    Beckett looked from Livingston to Alfred and back again. “Is this some kind of