Love's Price (Lord Trent Series) by Cheryl Holt Read Free Book Online Page A

house. It was as if they’d been together since they were babies, and with their golden-blond hair and striking green eyes, there was no question as to their being siblings.
    She’d known her father, Charles Sinclair, Earl of Trent, for a few months, too. He was a renowned debaucher of innocent maidens, and his sexual exploits were legendary.
    At age forty-six, he was an amazingly handsome man who exuded sophistication and charm. He had a manner of looking at a female that made her feel unique and cherished. His lovers all assumed that the look was original, that it was bestowed on them alone, and it never occurred to any of them that he gazed at every woman the same way.
    He couldn’t help it. His seductive appeal seemed as ingrained as his need to breathe.
    Fanny’s own mother had been a naïve debutante who’d fallen under the earl’s spell, then died in childbirth. Before Phillip had introduced Fanny to her father, she’d intended to not like anything about him, but he’d been so amiable that she found it difficult to detest him. She wanted to, but she couldn’t.
    “Let’s knock and see what we can learn about them,” she said. “What are their names again?”
    “Helen and Harriet.”
    Phillip went to the door of the country manor where they’d stopped. A butler answered, and they were shown into a parlor and informed that their host, Nigel Stewart, would attend them shortly.
    “Are you nervous?” Phillip asked.
    “Yes,” Fanny admitted. “Do you suppose they’re here?”
    “I don’t have any idea, but we’ll soon find out.”
    Phillip was their father’s oldest, though illegitimate son, and it had become his life’s quest to locate Charles’s cast-off children. He was especially apprehensive about Charles’s daughters.
    There were at least six girls sired the year Charles was twenty-five—Fanny being one of them. Phillip was determined to confer with all of them, to be certain they were safe and secure. If not, Charles had agreed to see them situated in better circumstances.
    Fanny hadn’t met any of her other half-siblings, and as they waited for Nigel Stewart, she was consumed with equal parts curiosity, excitement, and concern.
    Were her half-sisters aware of the identity of their father? Would the revelation be welcomed or discounted? Would Fanny’s visit be a blessing or a curse?
    Footsteps sounded, and a dapper, attractive gentleman entered. Fanny had been expecting someone older, but he appeared to be her age of twenty-one. He was thin and slight, with white-blond hair and bright blue eyes.
    He was dressed appropriately, and he seemed cordial and gracious, but Fanny didn’t like him. She couldn’t have described why, but her initial instinct was to not trust him.
    “Hello,” he said, smiling, “I am Nigel Stewart.”
    They stood, shook hands and bowed all around, then he motioned for them to sit.
    “A viscountess!” he gushed in a fashion Fanny loathed. “My goodness! Our humble abode will never be the same.”
    “I’m recently wed to Viscount Henley,” she explained, “so it’s a new title, and I’m still not used to it. I’d be happy if you would call me Fanny.”
    “I would be honored, and you must call me Nigel.”
    “I will. Thank you.”
    “My butler informs me,” he said, “that you’re actually here to speak with my cousins, Helen and Harriet.”
    “Are they at home?” Phillip asked.
    “No. They haven’t lived at Brookhaven for several years.” Nigel’s smile slipped and worry creased his brow. “I hope they’re all right. You haven’t come with bad news, have you?”
    “No.”
    “I’m so relieved to hear it.”
    “Do you know where they are?” Fanny inquired. “Do you know how we might contact them?”
    “No.” Nigel’s cheeks flushed. “It’s a bit of sad family history, I’m embarrassed to say.”
    “Perhaps it’s best that they’re away,” Phillip said. “Is your father here? Might we talk to him?”
    “My father passed away