The Marriage Contract Read Online Free PDF Page A

right?” he asked.
    She frowned. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
    Aidan laughed. He couldn’t help it. She appeared comical…and it was a sign of her temperament that she didn’t lash out at him as any number of people would. Instead, she held up a sheaf of folded papers she’d removed from the brown silk bag in her lap.
    He took them. “Do you need help up?”
    “Help would be nice,” she admitted dryly.
    Reaching down, he grabbed her offered hand by the wrist and easily lifted her to sit beside him. She was a mite of a thing. Average height, slender build, but with nice breasts. He’d noticed those almost immediately, although he hadn’t wanted to admit it, since it fell in line with Deacon’s suspicions.
    Deacon was overreacting. Aidan admired allwomen’s breasts…of course, he’d also noticed Anne’s fine gray eyes framed by long black lashes. Honest eyes. Intelligent ones. She was so refined, so sophisticated—so bloody English.
    Sitting cross-legged, he opened the documents. The first was a letter from Alpina. “Dear brother,” he read aloud, but then stopped and scanned his sister’s words silently. She was ill, she wanted his affairs in order before she died, she had chosen a young woman who was everything he could hope for in a countess…“Fondly, Alpina.”
    He glanced through the marriage contract. A proxy marriage. Who would have thought such things existed in this day and age? He would have assumed both parties would be required to approve or at least know of the alliance before the marriage could take place, but since the contract was signed by both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York—with the High Lord Chamberlain’s official seal for additional measure—he inferred his opinion had not mattered.
    He had to admire Alpina. She was thorough.
    Rolling the documents into a tube, he announced to the proud woman waiting anxiously beside him, “This is absolute nonsense.”
    “Your sister is very sincere.”
    “My sister is always sincere. It doesn’t mean she is right.”
    He expected her to fire back justification of some sort, but instead she asked, “Is it really true you were a scholar at All Souls College?”
    The change of subject caught him off guard. Then, he understood. “You have trouble believing it?” Grinning, he rubbed the blue paint on his face to emphasize the point.
    She lifted a critical brow. “Your scholar status would be more believable if you wore a touch more clothing.”
    Aidan enjoyed her discomfort. “You sound like a wife already.”
    His barb brought the blood rushing to her face. “That was not my intent. I was merely…curious.” She averted her eyes, suddenly interested in a piece of splintered wood beside her. “However, I believe I should tell you now that in spite of the unusual circumstances of our marriage—”
    “Marriage?” Aidan laughed. “Anne, my darling lass, you must forgive me if I don’t feel wed.”
    She stiffened, her gaze still intent on the splinter. “The clergy performing the rite in London suggested we have another ceremony here in Scotland after our marriage has been, well, you know,” she finished, suddenly shy.
    He leaned toward her shell-shaped ear. “No, I don’t know. Explain.”
    Her head snapped round. Her nose almost touched his, her fine gray eyes opened in surprise. Then they narrowed in suspicion. “You know exactly what I am trying to tell you.”
    “Do I?” Aidan stretched out on the coach, propping himself up on one elbow and smiled at her.“I’m not certain. You aren’t being exactly clear. Do you care to enlighten me?”
    Her lips twitched as she bit back a sharp retort. She knew he was toying with her. A lesser woman would have pouted or thrown a tantrum, but Anne apparently had determination and spirit. Two qualities he admired. It was almost a shame he would be sending her back to London on the morrow.
    Bravely, in spite of blushing furiously, she said, “I am talking about