Leslie Lafoy by The Perfect Seduction Read Free Book Online

slowly and she couldn’t tell whether the sound he made was wry laughter or choked-back tears. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that point,” he finally said, turning away from the window to face her. “The subject of my nieces is one, however, on which we will need to come to terms.”
    So very businesslike; he probably exhibited greater passion about the tailoring of his suits. “Are you willing to take them in?” she asked, silently resolving to be instantly gone with the girls if he so much as hesitated in offering assurances.
    “Only a heartless man would turn away children—family—in need.”
    It was certainly a declaration, but hardly the enthusiastically welcoming response she wanted to hear. “Do you have a heart, my lord?”
    Sera barely kept her jaw from sagging in amazement as he appeared to give the matter considerable thought. “Of a sort,” he said slowly, somewhat regretfully. “However,” he added with far greater spirit, “I am, at the core of it, a bachelor, Mrs. Treadwell. A happily and firmly ensconced-in-my-ways bachelor. My home is not a wholesome place for impressionable children. Especially little girls.”
    Yes, Seraphina silently agreed, so she’d initially surmised on her own. The hope of a loving aunt and cheerful cousins had been nothing more than wishful thinking. Unless, of course, Carden Reeves was willing to change the general situation for his nieces’ benefit.
    “More importantly,” he added, interrupting her speculations, “I have absolutely no desire to change the way I live. I know nothing of caring for children and I have no interest whatsoever in learning how it’s done.”
    Handsome. Arrogant. And incredibly selfish. “So you intend to provide for your nieces financially, but to have them reside elsewhere?” she summarized.
    “Yes. It’s the best solution,” Carden replied. The way she lifted her chin told him that she thought otherwise. If he had any good sense at all, he’d declare the matter settled and get on with the rest of the details. But, in just the few minutes they’d been alone together, he’d discovered that good sense had nothing whatsoever to do with the feelings she stirred in him. She didn’t shrink back from a contest as so many women did and he liked that. He liked that enormously. Almost as much as he liked the exotic accent of her speech—which became more pronounced when she was even the slightest bit irritated.
    No, no sensible man would pretend ignorance and ask, “Don’t you agree, Mrs. Treadwell?”
    “My lord, your nieces have lost the underpinnings of their world,” she replied, trying, he knew, to sound calm. She didn’t in the least; her o s had broadened and he knew that if she continued on, so would her a s. It was a fascinating thing to hear. And her eyes … Blue fire.
    “Their parents have died. They’ve had to live in poverty and then abruptly leave behind the only home they’ve ever known. I think it important that they have an opportunity to regain a sense of stability. You are the only family they have left. If you were to send them away, they couldn’t help but infer that they’re unwanted. They’re very intelligent girls.”
    If they were just half as intelligent as their nurse … “I’m a complete stranger to them,” Carden countered realistically. “I seriously doubt that Arthur ever uttered my name in their presence. I don’t think their little hearts will be permanently broken should I send them to live at the country house.”
    “To be cared for by servants?” she protested. “Is that your idea of what makes for a sense of family and a happy childhood?”
    No, that had been his childhood and it had been a miserably lonely one. He’d wish it only on his worst enemy. Nevertheless, despite his regrets over it, his past had shaped his present and destined his future; he wasn’t any sort of a family man and he knew it. His nieces would be far better off without him as a daily part of