Because You're Mine by Lisa Kleypas Read Free Book Online

jovially, “what may I do for you? Is the shirt you wore last night still too short in the sleeves? I'll let them out again if necessary.”
    Logan didn't want to bother with small talk. “There's a new girl—Miss Ridley. I want to see her.”
    “Ah, she's a pretty slip of a thing, isn't she? I sent her out to the back with some baskets of costumes to be specially laundered. The silk on the gowns is too delicate to hang in the city air with all its soot, so the baskets will be taken to the country, and the washing and drying done there—”
    “Thank you,” Logan interrupted, having little interest in the intricacies of laundry. “Good day, Mrs. Lyttleton—”
    “After she takes the baskets to the laundry cart,” the seamstress said, “she's to go to your office with the costume sketches for Othello .”
    “Thank you,” Logan said through his teeth, experiencing a stab of annoyance—or perhaps alarm—at the notion of Madeline Ridley visiting his office. With the disasters that seemed to occur whenever she was in the vicinity, he would be fortunate if his office hadn't been reduced to a pile of rubble by the time she left.
    However, when he reached the small room he considered his sacred territory, he found it empty—and considerably cleaner than it had been in years. Books and stacks of paper had been consolidated into neat piles, shelves and furniture had been dusted, and his chaotically cluttered desk had been straightened and wiped clean. Logan entered the office and looked around bemusedly. “How the hell am I going to find anything now?” he muttered. His attention was caught by a spot of color in the room, a half-opened red rose that had been placed in a glass of water on his desk.
    Taken aback, Logan touched the velvety hothouse blossom.
    “It's a peace offering,” came Madeline's voice from behind him. He swiveled around to find her peeking around the door frame with a friendly smile. “Along with my promise not to cause you any further injuries.”
    Perplexed and silent, Logan stared at her. The curt dismissal he had been so eager to give her faded on his lips. He had thought himself far beyond any twinges of guilt by now, but the girl's sweet, hopeful face made him distinctly uncomfortable. Moreover, there was no way he could fire her without appearing to be an ogre in front of the entire company. He wondered if she were really as innocent as she appeared, or if she were a clever manipulator. Her large brown eyes gave no clue.
    For the first time Logan realized that Madeline Ridley was pretty—no, beautiful—with delicate features, skin like porcelain, and a mouth that was both innocent and sensuous. Her figure was slender and trim, without the voluptuous sleekness that he preferred in a woman, but attractive nonetheless.
    Logan sat in his chair and stared at her steadily. “Where did you get this?” he asked, gesturing to the rose.
    “At the Covent Garden flower market. I went there early this morning. It's the most remarkable place, with all the puppeteers and bird dealers, and such an amazing selection of fruits and vegetables—”
    “It's not safe for you to go there alone, Miss Ridley. The thieves and Gypsies would make short work of a pigeon like you.”
    “I had no trouble at all, Mr. Scott.” Her smile brightened. “It's very kind of you to be concerned about me.”
    “I'm not concerned,” he said flatly, tapping his fingers on the desk. “It's just that I've witnessed how trouble seems to follow you.”
    “That's not true,” she replied without rancor. “Until now, I daresay I've never caused any trouble for anyone. I've led a very quiet life.”
    “Then tell me why an apparently well-bred girl like you would seek a job at the Capital Theatre.”
    “To be near you,” she said.
    Logan shook his head at the shameless statement. Coming from a girl like her, it made no sense. Her innocence, her inexperience, couldn't be more obvious. Why did she want to have an affair with