The Six Month Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page A

the wardrobe,
but Mrs Green having told her that the dresses in the guest room were no longer
worn by Miss Emma, who was staying with relatives in Bath, Madeline finally
overcame her scruples. She looked through dozens of gowns, marvelling over the
pretty yet discreet styles. She finally chose a white muslin with a scoop
neckline and little puffed sleeves and laid it on the bed.
    As soon as the water arrived, brought up by a neat maid,
she washed the powder and paint from her face, feeling much better as soon as
she had done so. Then she began to undress.
    What help did
Lord Pemberton propose to offer her? she wondered, as her thoughts returned to
the hawk-like man below. She stripped off the crimson dress. Did his sister
perhaps need a companion, or . . . she blushed furiously as another, more
unwelcome, idea leapt into her mind. There was only one kind of proposal a man
would make to a young lady whose reputation was ruined – and she knew that,
having left her uncle’s protection, her reputation was ruined for ever. How
could she have been so blind?
    She sank down
on the bed feeling suddenly deflated.
    But why, then,
if that was the answer, had he treated her so respectfully in front of Mrs
Green and told her to change out of the crimson gown? She shook her head. It
did not seem to make sense. But whatever the reason she knew she would never
agree to becoming his mistress, no matter how strangely intoxicating she had
found his kiss.
    She pushed the
thought aside. It troubled her deeply to remember her response to his embrace,
and she preferred not to think about it.
    She stood up
and returned to the task in hand, putting on the white gown. It was a little
tight, and a little short, but the muslin was very soft, far softer than the
muslins she was used to, and it was very pretty, being trimmed with a satin
ribbon beneath the high waist.
    With the
change of clothes her self-confidence began to return. She sat down on the bed
and thought over her difficult situation. With her mind working clearly once
again, she decided what she would do. Once she joined Lord Pemberton downstairs
she would thank him for rescuing her, and then forestall his plan to make her
his mistress by asking him if he knew of any respectable family in need of a
governess. If she could only secure herself a position, preferably a long way
away from London , then she would be able
to support herself respectably. And, if her luck held, she would be able to
escape from her uncle completely so that she would never have to see him again.
    Noticing that
her hair had fallen loose she did her best to repair the damage before plucking
up her courage and going downstairs. She hesitated, wondering which way to go,
but a light was coming from under one of the doors. She went towards it.
Pushing it open, she found herself entering the library.
    A warm glow
met her eyes. Tall bookcases shone in the candlelight. The gilding on the
spines of the books threw out gleams of gold. Dark green curtains drawn across
the windows kept out the night. It was a room to be used, Madeline realised; a
room in which the Earl could write his letters at the large desk which was set
against one wall, or sit reading in one of the wing-backed chairs that flanked
the fireplace.
    She was
pleased to see that he was alone. She had half expected to see Mr Fellows, but
it seemed that Lord Pemberton’s guest had gone.
    Lord Pemberton
himself was standing with his foot on the fender, the candlelight playing over
his craggy face. She paused for a moment, studying his bronzed skin, his firm
chin and his fierce scar. How had he come by it? she wondered. But she had time
to wonder about nothing else as he turned at the sound of the door opening.
    He took his
foot from the fender and was about to speak when she forestalled him by saying,
‘Lord Pemberton. I want to thank you for your kindness in rescuing me from the
dangers outside, and to ask if you could help me to secure a position. If you
know of