Adam's Promise by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online

if he were finished not only with his dinner, but with her questions as well.
    She couldn’t help pressing him. “Animal husbandry, then? And hay?”
    â€œYes, Miss Oxley. Hay.”
    Adam turned his attention back to his dinner, and Madeline could see that he had no interest whatsoever in talking to her, nor any interest in even looking at her.
    She would have liked to call it indifference, but as she watched him and the way he looked about the room, the way his dark brows drew together in a frown, she realized with some annoyance that it was more than that. The man flat out resented her presence here at his table, for she was the reason Diana was not here, and he was obviously still angry about that. He only felt obligated to see to Madeline’s welfare because she was Diana’s sister and he didn’t want to jeopardize his future with her. Like Madeline herself,Adam was probably thinking that she could one day be the children’s aunt, and for that reason alone, he wanted to keep things affable.
    Adam’s continued silence for the rest of the meal forced Madeline to think more seriously about what she should do. She couldn’t live in a house where she was not wanted. She’d lived like that in her father’s house long enough. And worse, she could not stay here and watch Diana arrive and live happily ever after with Adam and his children.
    Madeline decided with firm conviction she would look for another situation as soon as she could. She would be long gone by the time Diana arrived to claim her prize.
    Â 
    Inside the barn the next day, Adam lifted a heavy sack of seed grain onto his shoulder and carried it to the wagon. He set it down with a loud thwack and mentally kicked himself for being so hard on Madeline during the past twenty-four hours.
    What was wrong with him? He used to be better with people, women in particular. He used to enjoy charming them and making them happy, and he had always presumed they were honest and forthright, for his mother, God rest her soul, had been a good, kind woman.
    That was before his break with Diana, and before his marriage to Jane.
    Unfortunately, Jane had taught him that not all women were what they seemed, and he had to be exceedingly careful. In the beginning, not long after Diana had married Sir Edward, Jane had been a rockof sensible wisdom and understanding, helping Adam through that painful time. Recently widowed and looking after her son, Jacob, she had shared her bed with Adam, and it was there where they both found comfort during difficult times.
    When they discovered she was with child, Adam had married her. It was only after the marriage certificate had been signed and they were living as man and wife, that she’d revealed her true nature.
    So here he was, presuming the worst about a gullible young woman who had trusted her father and crossed an ocean to become Adam’s wife, when he should be going out of his way to apologize for the situation and to ensure her comfort and happiness.
    On top of that, she was Diana’s sister, and if things worked out the way he hoped, he and Madeline might one day be brother and sister by marriage. He needed to guarantee that Madeline was safe and well-cared-for, and he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to cultivate a friendship.
    Slapping his hands together to brush away the grain dust, he heard a throat clearing behind him, and turned. There in the doorway stood Madeline, wearing a pretty blue-and-white-striped day dress, with a white lace scarf tucked neatly into her neckline.
    Lord, she’d grown into a lovely young woman, he realized suddenly. It was hard to believe he was looking at the same freckle-faced child he remembered.
    Adam blinked a few times, then found himself comparing Madeline to Diana. Madeline wasn’t lovely in the same way as her older sister. Diana wasindisputably beautiful. One knew it the first instant one saw her.
    Madeline, however, was more of an enigma. He