The Wicked One

The Wicked One Read Online Free PDF

Book: The Wicked One Read Online Free PDF
Author: Danelle Harmon
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
face drained of color, and he nearly choked on the sweet.  Nerissa pounded him across the back, and turning his head, he spat the candy out onto the muddy ground.
    "Bloody hell," he swore.
    "Perhaps we should just set a date so he can't manipulate us like he did my brothers . . .  Wouldn't it be wonderful if I were the only one in my family he couldn't force into marriage?"
    Though her tone was light, cajoling, Perry felt as though someone had just iced his spine.  It wasn't that he didn't adore Nerissa, whom he had known since childhood; it wasn't that he didn't want to marry her.
    He just didn't to marry her now .
    He was only midway through his second decade; there were too many adventures to be had, too many seeds to be sown, for him to think about settling down and marrying!  And now Lucien, that master manipulator, that Machiavellian monster who had controlled so many other lives, was eyeing him and Nerissa as his next victims?  Oh, God and the devil, help us!
    He stared straight ahead as he turned the horse toward Blackheath Castle, unable to look into her eyes, so blue, so eager, so hopeful.  "I, uh, don't think we should act just yet," he said lamely.  "There is nothing your brother can do to force our hands.  Besides, I — well, I'm not yet ready to settle down . . .  I'm not ready for the demands of being a husband, being a father . . ."
    "Don't you love me?" she asked playfully.
    "Of course I love you, Nerissa."  He leaned over and kissed her even as he flicked the reins to get the horse to go faster; this was a conversation he was not inclined to have, and the sooner he got her home, the better.  "But I'm young.  You're young.  Marriage is a lifelong commitment and shouldn't be something two people rush into."
    "Young?  I'm nearly twenty, you're halfway to thirty, and you've been giving me the same answer for the last two years."  She lifted her chin and stared off over the downs, watching a flock of sheep grazing in the distance.  "Why, a woman could get tired waiting for you to have your fun, Perry.  A woman could decide that she, too, needs some fun , and start seeking it elsewhere."
    "And what is that supposed to mean?"
    Her smile was distant.  "Exactly what you think it means."
    Suddenly irritated, he pulled the phaeton up sharply before the castle's main entrance.  What was it with women, always pestering, always nagging, never happy until they had a ring on their finger?  Wasn't a promise good enough?
    "Listen, Nerissa, if you simply want to show off a ring for your friends, I'll go to London and buy you —"
    "Perry, you don't understand.  I don't want jewelry.  I want you ."
    "But Nerissa, I —"
    She looked down, pretending an interest in her fur muff.  "No, no, I shall not nag you, you've made it clear as crystal what your priorities are."
    "Dearest, you're just eager to get married because you've seen three of your four brothers wed, and you're feeling left out."  Her face hardened, and he heard his tone grow desperate.  "It's not that I don't love you, Nissa, I just need time to . . . well, to have my adventures before I settle down to a life of — of, well, boring domesticity . . .  Oh, hell —"
    She stiffened, looking straight ahead with a bleak expression in her eyes.  A footman approached and took the horse's head.  Perry, cursing under his breath, jumped to the ground, reached up, and helped Nerissa from the phaeton.  She merely slew him with a hurt look, pulled her gloved hand from his, and strode angrily toward the castle.
    "Nerissa!  At least let me see you safely indoors!"
    She paused only long enough to toss over her shoulder, "Good day, Perry.  Come back when you've had your fill of adventure ."
    She swept inside, leaving him gritting his teeth in frustration.
    Women!
    Neither of them noticed the slight movement of the drapes at the library window.
    ~~~~
    "More candles, Puddyford," murmured the Duke of Blackheath, as he stood at the window watching
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