Trondelaine Castle by April Lynn Kihlstrom Read Free Book Online

decadence, but you haven’t stopped to think that if I
hadn’t hired them, they might not have a source of
income. You can’t accuse me of holding wild, senseless
orgies of self-indulgence, you know!”
    Her voice was still quiet as she replied, “I accuse you
of nothing, Lord Richard. For one thing, I don’t know
you well enough. But I begin to think I have misjudged
you.,,

    His smile was ironic. “Do you? How nice. I wish I
could say the same about you.”
    Wendy flinched and replied coolly, “But then, you
don’t understand people very well, do you? Never
mind, I really don’t care what opinion you have of me. I
could bear anyone’s company for two weeks and once I
leave here, I need never see you again anyway.”
    Lord Richard merely stared at her a moment. When
he spoke, it was of different matters. “Pray tell me.
What does your fiance, Kevin, do for a living? Or is he
wealthy?”
    She pretended to contemplate her wineglass.
“Kevin? Oh, he works for Beckworth and Brothers,
also. General sort of executive work.”
    “I see.” The voice was casual.
    “I already told you that and I don’t see why you find
it of interest!” Wendy exclaimed.
    The Earl yawned. “One must speak of something.
And I can hardly be blamed for not remembering every
detail you told me. Besides, I was curious to see if you
would give me the same answer tonight.”
    Wendy’s immediate impulse was to leave the table.
But she was no coward and was determined not to be
driven away by this man. She stared at him
impassively, waiting.
    After a moment, he laughed. “I believe you would
dearly like to slap my face,” he said. “I will not,
however, give you the opportunity. This raises a
question I have asked myself before. Why are so many
women eager to marry me when I obviously have such
an abominable personality?”
    “Perhaps you overestimate their interest?” Wendy
suggested sweetly.
    He shook his head. “I have a number of written proposals in my desk and there have been as many
verbal ones.”

    “Then,” said Wendy calmly, “the women clearly do
not comprehend the essence of marriage. Or rather,
what marriage should be. It can be anything.”
    Lord Richard seemed amused. “You have, of course,
definite ideas on that subject?”
    She regarded him steadily, not amused. “Don’t you?
Shouldn’t one? I know what I want out of marriage. A
lifelong partnership with some man; and equal give and
take. I want to be a person to the man, not an actress
filling some well-defined role. And most of all I want
love.”
    Lord Richard’s face was impassive and for a
moment he did not answer. When he did, he asked,
“Children?”
    Wendy shrugged. “I want them… eventually. But I
don’t intend to stop translating. I’ll do it part-time at
home.”
    “Your ideas must limit the number of men who
would want to marry you,” said the Earl.
    “No doubt,” she replied coolly. “But then, those men
who can’t accept my ideas-well, I wouldn’t want to
marry them anyway. I’d rather be single than make the
wrong marriage. And since I’m quite capable of
supporting myself, I have that choice.”
    Watching her face in the candlelight, Lord Richard
had no doubts that he faced an excellent actress. He
wondered if she had written her own lines, or if
someone had coached her. If so, who? The only
mistake she had made thus far was to forget the
engagement ring. Or perhaps that was all part of her
subtle game.
    He smiled. The next few weeks might prove very
interesting, particularly since he was forewarned and therefore safe. He wondered what the report would
show. She seemed quite thorough and it was possible
she even had the job at Beckworth and Brothers. She
must have expected him to check on her. It was almost
a pity that he would have to make an example of her.

    Noting Lord Richard’s silence, Wendy grew uneasy.
Kevin often said she talked too much, and she
wondered if