Wicked Delights of a Bridal Bed Read Online Free PDF Page A

him.
    Mallory was free again and could be his, as he’d never before allowed himself to imagine she might be. Not only was she a grown woman now, he was no longer one step shy of the poorhouse.
    Roughly two years ago, he’d scraped together enough money to make a couple of investments with Rafe Pendragon, a man reputed to be a financial wizard. Jack had mentioned his own decision to give the man’s advice a try, and Adam had followed suit. Thank God he had, since the risk had more than paid off, garnering him what now amounted to a sizeable fortune.
    With money to spare, he was finally starting to undertake the improvements to his estate that he’d always longed to make. Reclaiming the land was his first priority, large numbers of fallow acres having been allowed to turn wild over the past twenty years of disuse. Next, he planned to build new houses, repair many existing ones and give his tenants the means needed to profitably work the land. The rents alone would provide him with a good income, allowing him to concentrate the rest of his funds on repairing Gresham Park and seeing the grand old property returned to its former glory. Even more, he wanted to bring laughter and love back to a house that had known far too little of either. He wanted to bring Mallory there as his wife.
    But first she would have to emerge from her grief, and while she did, he would have to continue being patient.
    I’ve waited for her this long, he mused with stoic resignation, as he reached for one of the starched linen cravats his valet had laid out for his use. I can wait a while longer. If necessary, I would wait an eternity to have Mallory as my own.
    Ignoring the ache of longing that settled in his chest and lower in his semiaroused groin, he turned to the mirror and began tying the cloth around his neck in an intricate knot.
    Earlier, when he’d made his remark about ravishing Mallory on her bed, he hadn’t entirely been joking. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to have locked them alone inside her room so he could kiss and caress her until she couldn’t think of anyone or anything but him. Stripping that black dress off her body would have been both a privilege and a pleasure. Yet another desire that would unfortunately have to wait.
    Admonishing himself for his wayward thoughts, he fixed a final knot in his cravat, then reached for his white waistcoat with its long row of mother-of-pearl buttons. A black evening jacket came next. Last he added a few extras—a pocket handkerchief, a gold watch he’d carried since his days at university and an onyx signet ring that had belonged to his grandfather.
    After a last glance in the mirror, he left the room to join the assembled company for dinner.

    Mallory slipped into the drawing room on silent feet, hoping none of the others would take notice of her arrival. Her luck held for exactly thirty seconds before her mother turned and caught sight of her.
    With a smile on her elegant oval face, Ava, Dowager Duchess of Clybourne, glided across the room, the bronze silk of her evening gown complementing her trim figure and soft chestnut hair. Were it not for the few, fine strands of silver in her tresses and the faint lines that fanned out near the corners of her clear green eyes, one might have imagined her to be a much younger woman. Even her own children agreed that she didn’t look old enough to have borne all eight of them, the eldest of whom was now four-and-thirty years of age.
    “Hallo, dear,” Ava greeted in a quiet voice before leaning over to dust a kiss against Mallory’s cheek. “I’m so glad you changed your mind about joining us tonight.”
    Mallory gave a murmur of assent, but said nothing more.
    “And don’t you look beautiful. That willow green gown is most becoming. I hope you won’t take it amiss, but it’s good to see you in something other than black.”
    Mallory held her tongue again, deciding not to mention the fact that she’d had help from an unexpected source in