Jo Beverley - [Rogue ] by Christmas Angel Read Free Book Online Page A

assure you, Mrs. Rossiter, you will do yourself no harm by at least discussing this matter with Lord Charrington. He is in earnest and his plan offers you many advantages. Let us be frank. You are poor, and poverty is unpleasant. It will make life very difficult for your children. Marriage to the earl would change that dramatically."
    "Too dramatically. I'm no fool, Lady Arden, and there must be a price to pay."
    Beth shrugged. "I would feel exactly as you do, but I think you should at least let him speak. Perhaps he can make the price clear. Perhaps it will not be too high to pay."
    Thus Judith Rossiter found herself within the hour anxiously awaiting the Earl of Charrington in the library of Hartwell.
    It was a small room, for Hartwell was a small house, though many times larger than her cottage, and had a pleasant, lived-in feel to it. The carpet was even worn in places, and the leather chairs had the shine of long use. Many of the shelves were slightly disarranged and missing a volume. Three books lay on a mahogany table looking as if they had recently been opened and enjoyed.
    A fire burned in the hearth. Judith went over and held her hands out to the heat, more for comfort than for warmth. She didn't know what to do.
    She had allowed Lady Arden to persuade her to this appointment. The marchioness had brought her back in the carriage, insisting that the children come, too. Bastian and Rosie were now being entertained by the marquess and marchioness in the stables, and Judith wasn't at all sure this wasn't a subtle form of pressure.
    Bastian's eyes had shone at the mere thought of being around horses again, for his pony had been sold on Sebastian's death. Judith couldn't ignore the fact that as Bastian's stepfather the earl would surely provide him with another one. For that, almost any sacrifice seemed worthwhile.
    But she wouldn't allow herself to forget that there was always a price to pay, and it might not just be herself who paid it. If she married Lord Charrington she would be putting herself and her children in his power, and he was undoubtedly powerful. If things went wrong they could end up in an even worse situation than at present, and perhaps with more children to be hurt....
    The door clicked open and she whirled around.
    He halted, hand still on the knob, expression very serious. "My dear lady, I cannot have frightened you so badly, can I?"
    Judith pulled herself together. "Of course not, my lord. You just startled me."
    He closed the door and came over to join her. "That was only too obvious."
    She knew he referred to the day before, not the present, and felt color in her cheeks. Her reaction had been entirely reasonable, but she feared she had ranted like a fishwife. She had no intention of apologizing. She glanced at him, trying to study him without being ill-mannered.
    "Please," he said, extending his hands gracefully. "Look your fill. It is only natural."
    That hardly helped her compose herself, but she raised her chin and did exactly that.
    He was only a little taller than she. His build was slim, but his shoulders were wide, his legs strong, and she had noticed that he moved with lithe ease. His face had a fine-boned elegance, but no remarkable feature except his eyes, which were of a bronzish color and caught the light. Set a little deep under elegantly curving brows they had the power to capture the attention.
    In looks he was not extraordinary, and yet he had presence. He seemed like a creature from another world, more so even than the marquess. Lord Arden was very handsome and had the air of the haut ton, but he was somehow comfortably English. Without ever having met a foreigner, Judith sensed that Lord Charrington was foreign.
    He also appeared to be completely in control of the situation. The impetuous young man of the day before had gone, and in his stead was this polished aristocrat.
    "I am twenty-five years old," he said calmly, "wealthy, of equable temperament, and with no particular vices.