Devil's Bargain by Jade Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

“You visited the grandmother,” he pressed. “Was the curate there?”
    “No. The grandmother and I were alone. We shared tea, and I gave her what comfort I could.”
    “You prayed over her.” Clearly from his tone, theviscount was not a religious man. Lynette stiffened at the implied insult.
    “Whether you believe God hears or not, she most certainly did, and the prayers gave her comfort.”
    He bowed slightly. “My apologies. I am sure your visit cheered the woman immensely.”
    Lynette shrugged. “I am not entirely sure. She died three days later.”
    “Then no doubt your prayers eased her travels to Heaven.” She studied his face, but Lynette could not detect any mockery in his manner. “Please continue,” he urged.
    “Very well,” she said, rushing her words as she recalled what happened next. It was not difficult. She had relived the experience countless times, wondering over it, pondering it. “I was leaving through the back meadow. It was a shorter distance that way. The curate, Tom—he was just coming for a visit as well, and I’m afraid I was not attending because I was in a hurry.”
    “Fleeing the sickroom?”
    She shook her head. “No. I went for a special tea to ease her cough. I had the leaves at the church, but I would have to run there for the herbs, deliver them, then return home for dinner.”
    “What a busy creature you were.”
    She shrugged. “Time hangs when one has nothing to do.”
    “That it does,” he agreed. “That it does.”
    Lynette paused to study his blank expression. Did he sometimes find himself alone with hours stretching endlessly before him? It was such a rare event for her, she couldn’t help but view it as a wonderful luxury.
    “Come now.” He interrupted her thoughts. “What of Curate Tom?”
    Lynette folded her hands together to keep her fingers from worrying at her gown. “There is not much to tell. I fell into his arms. Literally. I tripped, you see. And as I was speaking my apologies, he leaned down and kissed me. I was so startled, I just gaped at him.”
    “Did you return the kiss?”
    She frowned. “Return it? My lord, I had stumbled into his arms only to have his…his face swoop down upon mine. He was not quite on target, and his hair tickled my cheek. Then, suddenly, he disappeared into the parishioner’s home.”
    The viscount’s chuckle was a low, mellow sound, but it stung as smartly as a wasp. “He abandoned you?”
    She stiffened. “He most certainly did not! I am quite capable of handling myself in such a circumstance.”
    “A first kiss?” His laughter had faded, but his smile had not. And she could still sense the humor rippling beneath the viscount’s words.
    “No! In my village.” She shook her head. “My lord, you are deliberately confusing me. It merely seemed as if he disappeared, but in truth we looked at one another for a moment.”
    “And what did you see?”
    She shrugged. Indeed, what else could she do? “I saw Tom—a man of God with an overly passionate nature. He has a handsome face, though it was quite red at the time. And he was trying to apologize.”
    “For kissing you?”
    “I suppose. It likely was not because I had tripped and fallen into him.”
    “No, not likely,” the viscount agreed.
    Exasperated, Lynette rushed to end the conversation.“He was as embarrassed as I. One does not go about kissing the minister’s daughter behind barns. Or anywhere, I suppose.”
    “And how old was young Tommy?”
    “Twenty-nine.”
    “Older than you. Larger as well? Stronger?”
    She nodded. “And broad. His shoulders, that is. Broad shoulders.” She did not realize her expression had softened into a dreamy smile until she noticed the viscount’s smirk. Then she hastily straightened, bringing her wayward body into a semblance of modesty.
    “Did you see him again?” he asked. “Perhaps when you brought the tea herbs?”
    She clutched her fingers tightly, trying to sort through her thoughts, her confusion.