The Price of Pleasure Read Online Free PDF

brother was gone. He didn’t want the earldom, had never aspired to a higher station in life than the one he occupied. He had been happy to let Jason take up the reins after their father’s death so Reed could continue his carousing.
    “How long has Jason been dead?” Reed choked out.
    “I’m not sure. I wasn’t privy to that information. But it must have happened after you were captured. British agents have been investigating your disappearance for several months, although I was just recently recruited to find you. I’d already removed two men from the prison, and Lord Porter thought you might be there when you couldn’t be located elsewhere. They had begun to fear you were dead.”
    Reed was still reeling from the news that Jason had died without siring an heir.
    While Helen, Jason’s wife, had never impressed Reed, Jason had seemed happy enough with her. It was Helen’s sister Violet whom Reed had tried to steer clear of. Violet had openly pursued him; that was one of the reasons he had welcomed the invitation to join Lord Porter’s group of spies and accepted the assignment in France.
    “Are you all right, my lord?” Fleur asked. “I truly hate to be the bearer of such bad news.”
    “The death of a loved one is never easy to accept,” Reed said. “I’m sure you felt the same about your husband.”
    Fleur gazed down at her clenched hands. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. “Pierre was too young to die such a violent death. His execution is the reason I am working for Lord Porter, though I have never met him personally.”
    “Will you ever return to England?”
    Fleur shrugged. “Perhaps one day, when my work here is done. My family is mostly gone. There is no one left but an aunt with whom I lived before marrying Pierre and settling in France.”
    “So your marriage was a love match,” Reed dared.
    Fleur looked away, her lips clamped tight.
    “I’m sorry; I have no right to ask personal questions.”
    “It’s painful for me to talk about Pierre. He was a sweet man who didn’t deserve to die.”
    “Do you have children?”
    Fleur shook her head and rose, effectively ending the conversation. “I’ll leave you alone with your grief.”
    Reed nodded. He did need to be alone. His brother had been a good man. Though health problems had plagued Jason all his life, he shouldn’t have died so young. Poor Grandmamma, Reed lamented. She had so wanted to live to see the future heir of Hunthurst come into the world. If setting up a nursery now was dependent on him, Grandmamma was going to be disappointed. Reed had no intention of looking for a wife when he returned to England.
    Being in prison had shown him just how precious life was, and he intended to make up for lost time. Settling down now was the last thing he wanted. There were too many willing women out there to be shackled to one. The Marriage Mart wasn’t for him. Jason had toed the line when it came to matrimony, but Reed wasn’t going to be caught in the parson’s mousetrap any time soon.
    Reed spent the next hours grieving Jason and recalling their times together. Theirs had been a happy childhood despite Jason’s frequent illnesses. If Fleur hadn’t shown up when she did, Reed would have joined his brother in perpetual sleep, leaving the earldom without an heir, except for a distant cousin from the French side of the family. In fact, he didn’t know if his cousin was still alive. To his knowledge, Gallard Duvall had never visited England. If Grandmamma kept in touch with the Duvall family, Reed had no knowledge of it.
    Feeling bereft and alone, Reed fell asleep, his dreams troubled. When he awakened, the sun was sinking below the horizon. He heard the click of the door latch and glanced up as Antoine entered on tiptoe.
    “It’s all right, Antoine, I’m awake.”
    “I found some clothes for you,
monsieur,
” Antoine said. “I can help you dress, if you’d like. The countess said you can join us in the dining room