The Proposal Read Online Free PDF

presence. It soon became apparent, however, that she had done some serious damage to her foot or ankle and that she was not going to be able to pick herself up and go on her way. She was young, he could see. And she was small and slender. Beneath the brim of her bonnet, blond tendrils of hair were blowing in the wind. He still had not seen her face.
    It would be churlish to remain silent.
    “In my considered opinion,” he said, “that ankle is either badly sprained or actually broken. Either way it would be very unwise to try putting any weight on it.”
    Her head jerked up as he climbed down onto the pebbles and made his way toward her. Her eyes widened in what looked like fear rather than relief that help was at hand. They were large blue eyes in a face of exquisite beauty even though she was no girl. He guessed her age to be close to his own thirty-three.
    He was irritated. He hated it when people were afraid of him. People often were. Even some men. But especially women.
    It might have occurred to him that a scowling countenance was not best designed to inspire confidence, especially in a lonely, desolate setting like this. It did not, however.
    He scowled down at her from his great height.
     
     
     

Chapter 2
     
     
    Oh!” she cried. “Who are you? Are you the Duke of Stanbrook?”
    She was a stranger to this part of the country, then.
    “Trentham,” he said. “You walked over from the village?”
    “Yes. I thought I would walk back across the headland,” she said. “The pebbles are far larger and more difficult to walk on than I expected.”
    She was unmistakably a lady. Her clothes were well cut and looked expensive. She spoke with a cultured accent. There was a general indefinable air of good breeding in her manner.
    He would not hold it against her.
    “I had better take a look at that ankle,” he said.
    “Oh, no.” She recoiled in horror. “That will be quite unnecessary, thank you, Mr. Trentham. It is my weak ankle. It will be fine in a moment and I shall be on my way again.”
    Ladies and their sense of dignity! And their denial of unpleasant reality.
    “I will take a look anyway.” He went down on his haunches and held out one large hand. She looked at it, leaned back on her hands, bit her lip, and gave no further argument.
    He rested her boot on his hand and felt her ankle with the other hand, careful not to cause her undue pain. He did not think it was broken, though he was reluctant to remove her half boot for a more thorough examination. The boot was providing some support if there really was a break. Her ankle was already swelling, though. Some damage had been done. She was not going to be walking back to the village or anywhere else today, not even with the assistance of an arm to lean upon.
    More was the pity.
    She was still biting her lip when he looked up at her. Her face was ashen and taut with pain—and perhaps embarrassment. He had bared her leg almost to the knee. There was a ragged hole in her silk stocking there, he could see, and her knee was grazed and even slightly bleeding. He reached into the pocket of his great-coat, where he had put a clean linen handkerchief this morning. He shook it out, folded it three times across the bias, and wrapped it about her knee before securing it with a firm knot below the kneecap. Then he lowered her cloak and stood up.
    There were splashes of color high on her cheekbones.
    Why the devil, he thought as he gazed down at her, had she not stayed down on the beach where she belonged? Or taken more care as she climbed the slope? But one thing was clear. He could not simply leave her here.
    “You are going to have to come to Penderris,” he said none too graciously. “A physician ought to look at that ankle as soon as possible and clean and bandage your knee properly. I am not a physician.”
    “Oh, no,” she cried in dismay. “Not Penderris. Is it even close? I did not realize. I was advised to give it a wide berth. Do you know the Duke of