First Sinners by Kate Pearce Read Free Book Online

house. “This is a fascinating house.”
    “It is quite old. Our family was staunchly Royalist during the Civil War. This house was even under siege for a week or so.”
    “I can well imagine it.” His appreciative gaze swept the crenellations that graced the entire length of the roofline. “Did they have cannons up there and boiling oil?”
    “They did have cannons. There are records of them in the library archive.”
    “No boiling oil?” He turned back to her, his black hair curling around his beautiful, austere face, his dark eyes alight with mischief.
    “No,” she said repressively.
    “What a shame.” He offered her his arm. “Shall we go?”
    She ignored him, looked straight ahead, and started walking in the direction of the cliff path. He fell in beside her, his gloved hands clasped behind his back.
    “I suspect there will be a storm. I can taste it in the air.”
    “I believe you are correct, my lord.”
    “Oh, we’re being formal this morning, are we? You’ve shocked yourself with your carnal appetites and now you are feeling as remorseful as any well-brought-up Englishwoman should.”
    “I’m not feeling guilty about that at all.” She kept her gaze on the treacherously slippery path that led toward the cliffs. “I’m simply trying not to break my neck.”
    “If you’d taken my arm, you’d feel much safer.”
    “I’m not an invalid.”
    “But you are in rather a dark mood. Tell me, has your sister been nagging you again?”
    “No, I haven’t seen her since last night. It’s—” She stopped speaking and grabbed hold of his arm. “Hide!”
    With a speed and compliance she hadn’t quite anticipated, he whisked her behind a hawthorn bush into a small copse of trees. He retained hold of her arm as the sound of hoof beats approached them and went by.
    After a few more moments of straining to hear another sound, Faith let out her breath. “I think he’s gone.”
    “Who’s gone?”
    She stared up into Lord Westbrook’s brown eyes, from which all traces of amusement and laziness had been erased. To her astonishment, he had a small pistol in his hand.
    “I’m not sure.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “Then why are we hiding?”
    “ Because I’m not sure.”
    He continued to look down at her and she sighed. “When I went into the stables to retrieve my walking boots this morning, I overheard someone arguing.”
    “About what?”
    “About something that should’ve been delivered and hadn’t been.”
    “What was so peculiar about that? I’m sure the kitchen receives plenty of deliveries on a regular basis. Perhaps something went astray.”
    “That’s the thing,” she said slowly. “It didn’t sound like the servants talking. In fact, I didn’t recognize one of the voices at all.”
    “Possibly a new tradesman who has already proved unworthy of his commission?”
    “Possibly.”
    She studied him again. She didn’t feel right sharing her suspicions with him until she’d at least found out more. She was convinced that one of the men she’d heard was one of her father’s guests. But she had no idea why he would’ve chosen to meet with anyone in the stables. Her faint sense of unease might have more to do with the man standing beside her than any real issue within the house. She managed a little laugh.
    “You’re right, that was probably just the new fishmonger riding off in a huff. I’m being overly dramatic about something silly, aren’t I?”
    He didn’t smile back. “You’ve never struck me as silly, Miss Pelly. If you are worried about something, please feel free to confide in me.” The hard note was back in his voice, and his gaze was commanding.
    She lifted her chin. “I’ll certainly consider it, my lord. Now, shall we move on?” To encourage him, she tucked her gloved hand into the crook of his arm and quickened her pace. As they approached the cliffs, the sound of the sea pounding against the rocks became a relentless, rolling roar. She had to raise her