If the Slipper Fits by Olivia Drake Read Free Book Online Page B

Milford was wrong. It’s a pity you were misled, but that is none of my concern.”
    She stared at him. “You’re sending me away, then?”
    Those eyes . They were wide and blue, beseeching him.
    “Yes,” he stated. “Although considering the bad weather and the lateness of the hour, you may tell the housekeeper to provide you with a room for the night. Now go on, you may leave.”
    Miss Quinn made no move to depart. She clasped her hands beneath her bosom and took a tiny step forward. “My lord, if I may please be allowed to speak on one more point. You see … I’ve a proposition for you.”
    All the blood in his head rushed to his loins. His gaze locked to hers, and he leaned forward slightly as if she’d pulled him by a string. “A proposition,” he repeated.
    She nodded. “In spite of our misunderstanding, I remain convinced that I can be of service to you. If you’ll just hear me out.”
    “Go on.” His fevered mind was already picturing her naked in his bed. He wanted to see all that glorious hair spread out on the pillow. He wanted to watch her eyes darken with passion …
    “Thank you.” She hesitated as if gathering her courage. “My lord, I would like to suggest a trial period, perhaps a fortnight—or longer if you desire. During that time I would accept no payment for my services until you are completely satisfied with my performance.”
    A trial period to be his mistress? He stared at her in befuddlement. “Without payment.”
    “Precisely,” she said with a nod. “That way, you’ve nothing to lose in allowing me to stay because you won’t be paying my wages. At least not until you can see for yourself that His Grace has benefited from my guidance.”
    Nicholas. She was speaking of his nephew. Simon had never felt more brainless—or more frustrated. He crossed his arms and hoped she had no notion of what had been going through his mind. “I thought I’d made it clear that you’d disrupt his schedule.”
    “I won’t, I give you my solemn vow. I’ll be most accommodating to his tutor and the other servants. Please, he’s just a little boy who needs a mother. And I—I would very much like to have this chance to prove my worth.”
    The hint of desperation in her eyes grabbed at him. He knew nothing of her background except what Clarissa had mentioned in the letter, that Miss Quinn had been employed as a teacher in Yorkshire. Now he found himself inordinately curious. Was she just another impoverished woman like thousands of others? Or had something else happened in her past to make her look so desperate?
    Too bad. It wasn’t his responsibility to save every lost soul in the world.
    Nevertheless, Simon found himself abandoning his better judgment and saying, “Fine, I accept your proposal. Just stay out of my way. Both you and the boy.”

 
    Chapter 5
    Following the housekeeper through a maze of dark corridors, Annabelle quelled the urge to skip and dance. She had done it. She had convinced Lord Simon to hire her as governess—at least temporarily. The bargain would cost her a bit of income, but the sacrifice of half a month’s wages was preferable to being summarily dismissed from the castle with no prospects. At least now she’d have a roof over her head and the opportunity to prove her worth.
    And by the heavens she would prove herself. That disagreeable, arrogant, condescending nobleman would soon wonder how he’d ever managed without her on staff.
    Mrs. Wickett, a dour woman with salt-and-pepper hair and a ring of jangling keys at her waist, stopped outside a closed door. The oil lamp in her hand cast monstrous shadows over her plain features. “’Tis the nursery,” she said. “’Ee must be quiet lest we disturb His Grace.”
    “Is he already asleep, then?”
    “At six sharp he takes his dinner, then at six-thirty he reads fer a bit. At seven, ’tis lights out.”
    “That seems rather early for an eight-year-old.”
    “’Tis the master’s wishes.” Mrs.