Jaded Moon (Ransomed Jewels Book 2) by Laura Landon Read Free Book Online Page A

hearing them…yet inexplicably hoped for them as well. The flush of heat inside her signaled a warning of its own, making the Marquess of Rainforth more dangerous than she’d ever imagined.
     
     
     
     

Jaded Moon
by Laura Landon
Ransomed Jewels Series Book Two

CHAPTER 4
    Ross followed the narrow lane that wound through St. Stephen’s, then across the border onto Clythebrook Estate. If he continued onto the main thoroughfare, the lane would go east through neighboring Lindville Grange, then onward until it merged with a more well-traveled road that would eventually find its way to London.
    It had been nearly a week since his confrontation with Miss Foley. Six days and nine hours to be exact. And during that time, he’d spent every minute going over the estate books. He had a child now, a child that—because of its illegitimacy—could never inherit any of the entailed Rainforth property. But that child could inherit St. Stephen’s Hollow.
    Ross knew what the books indicated and if he wanted to ensure St. Stephen’s would always be profitable, he needed to make improvements to accomplish it.
    He’d come up with a plan that would not only make St. Stephen’s more financially rewarding, but would also give him access to the land overlooking the caves used by the smugglers. The idea had merit, but if there was a drawback, it was that it would be necessary to include a rather large section of Clythebrook Estate.
    After considering every aspect of the venture, then talking it over with Virgil Thompkins, his steward, Ross was more convinced than ever that his plan would work. Not only would his venture make St. Stephen’s and Clythebrook independently wealthy, but it would also, as Thompkins pointed out, provide an abundant bounty for the orphanage—a benefit to which Miss Foley could hardly object.
    He remembered his confrontation with the children’s caretaker a few days earlier and was certain she wouldn’t refuse anything that would help the children. This understanding of her very complex and confusing personality led him to map out his plan very carefully.
    He’d already discovered making demands of her didn’t accomplish anything. The more he tried to intimidate her with the power and influence afforded those of his station, the more determined she was to keep his child from falling into his lecherous hands.
    She’d already figured out that Carrie had been his mistress, and that she’d had a child by him. It was his character she objected to and his most damning black mark was that she assumed he’d banished Carrie to St. Stephen’s to get rid of her. This was why Miss Foley considered him the worst rake in all of England. Well, he thought with a wry sense of humor, he hardly cared what she thought about him. The child was his and he wasn’t about to let her keep it from him.
    Ross considered his idea with renewed determination. His plan was good and as he traveled across Clythebrook Estate, he noticed several other glaring facts that told him the added income from the venture he intended to propose would be more than welcome.
    Although the tenants’ cottages seemed in relatively good repair, the same could not be said of the outbuildings on the small plots of land where they lived. Neither could it be said of the crumbling stones on the bridge that spanned the dry creek or the condition of the lanes and byways leading to and from Clythebrook Manor. Even the stone wall once built to keep the earth on the hillsides from eroding stood riddled with huge, gaping holes.
    Ross urged his mount forward. The road in front of him, if a road you could call it, was no wider than the span of a wagon in spots and in desperate need of repairs in others. He made a mental note to hire a crew to see to its improvement. The ruts were so deep from the last rain it was barely passable now, and would be a quagmire of sticky mud if nothing was done before the next downpour. Perhaps once he explained how his venture would