Claiming the Chaperon's Heart by Anne Herries Read Free Book Online Page B

they—Miss Amelia in particular—had all she needed for her comfort and happiness...’
    ‘Ah, then we are in agreement,’ Jane said and smiled at him. He stared at her as though he did not quite know what had hit him. ‘Melia is my friend and—although it is not certain, she may one day be my sister. I believe my brother is fond of her and, if they find they suit, he intends to make her an offer of marriage....’
    ‘Indeed...’ Lord Frant went on staring at her. She thought he looked shocked and felt quite sorry for him. Jane suspected that he had come spoiling for a fight, and something—she had no idea what—had pricked the bubble of anger, leaving him drained like an empty balloon. ‘I am glad to hear she has prospects. It was—and still is—my intention to settle five thousand pounds on her. I intend to do the same for her sister. Ten thousand pounds is more or less the sum I shall receive once I sell the Bellingham estate, and I have no wish to profit from any of it.’
    ‘It is your intention to sell then?’ Jane appraised him with her clear eyes. ‘I had thought perhaps you had come home to live?’
    ‘Yes, perhaps I have,’ he said, seeming to come back to himself all at once. He smiled and she saw that his mouth was soft and sensual, not at all hard or harsh as she’d first thought. ‘I have not decided; it will depend on various things...’
    ‘Well, I see we have reached a happy agreement,’ Jane said, realising she had quite misjudged him. ‘I shall send Melia down to you so that you may talk in private.’
    ‘Oh, no,’ he said quickly. ‘Pray send your servant to fetch her, ma’am. There is nothing I wish to say that you may not hear...’

Chapter Four
    ‘W e have an engagement for the theatre tomorrow evening,’ Paul told Adam when they met at the boxing club that afternoon. ‘Please keep the evening free, dear fellow. I want you to escort my ward, while I entertain her chaperon.’
    ‘Do you mean Lady Moira?’ Adam asked, reluctant, for he had not liked the lady Paul had chosen for the task when she called at the house.
    ‘Oh, no, that is all changed,’ Paul informed him in a blithe tone that made him arch his brows. ‘Lady March will be accompanying us. Melia is happy with her and there seems no point in taking her away from where she is settled. Besides, it was all arranged on the spur of the moment. I did ask Viscount Salisbury—Lady March’s brother—to accompany us, but he was engaged to play cards that evening.’
    ‘So you thought I would oblige?’ Adam gave him a clear look. ‘I suppose Miss Bellingham looks like a horse?’
    Paul gave a shout of laughter. ‘I think her quite pretty. Of course she cannot hold a candle to Lady March... She is lovely, Adam. Truly lovely...’
    ‘Good grief, if I did not know better I would think you smitten,’ Adam said and his eyebrows rose higher as he saw the expression on Paul’s face. ‘Are you? Is she more beautiful than Annamarie?’
    ‘Completely different and utterly wonderful...’ Paul shook his head as he saw the astonishment in his friend’s eyes. ‘Yes, you may stare. Such a letter she wrote me! I thought she must be some old trout and went there prepared to put her down—but one look from those eyes and I was floored. I just stood there and couldn’t speak for some minutes. I have never experienced anything like it, my dear fellow. She took my breath away when she smiled.’
    ‘You have got it bad,’ Adam said drily, still hardly believing that he was hearing those words from Paul’s mouth. ‘In India you could have had any woman you wanted...including the daughter of an earl, but you barely spared any of them a look.’
    ‘Wait until you see her,’ Paul said. He grinned at his friend. ‘If you value your life, please do not fall in love with her. She’s mine...’
    ‘Prepared to fight to the death for her, are you?’ Adam teased, thinking he was merely jesting, and then caught his breath as he