Married By Midnight by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online Page B

heavy skirts.”
    “ What a morbid thought,” she replied as she looked down as well and imagined it for herself. “Surely your brothers would come to our rescue?”
    “ I am sure they would.” He glanced up at the lake house.
    Garrett seemed rather lost in thought and though Anne shivered in the cold, she made no suggestion that they go inside.
    “ Do your brothers know about your boat?” she asked.
    “ No,” he replied, “and I would appreciate your discretion in that regard, especially with Father. He might think I’ve brought on another curse, and for the first time in my life I am enjoying being in his good graces.”
    Anne rubbed her hands together inside her muff where it was toasty warm. “You were a naughty child?” she asked with a hint of humor and mischief, hoping to lighten the mood, for it had turned rather dark. “I would never have guessed it.”
    For a long moment he didn’t answer, then he squinted up at the bright sky. “Not so much naughty as unwanted, but that is a story for another day. Are you cold, Lady Anne? Shall we go and have some hot cider?”
    Wishing he had not suggested they join the others at this intriguing juncture, she nevertheless took his arm when he offered it, for she had promised to keep her distance and it would be best to hold true to that promise instead of risking all and caring too much. Yes. That would be a dangerous mistake to make.
    “ That would be lovely,” she replied as she skated off the ice with him.
     
    * * *
     
    The following night after dinner, while Anne sat at the table chatting with Charlotte, Garrett found himself watching her, entranced by her dark, ethereal beauty. She was unlike any other woman he’d met before. She was very open and unashamed about her past transgressions, yet at the same time there was something pure and unworldly about her. He found it difficult to believe she could have earned the slightest stain on her reputation.
    But she had. She’d admitted it openly.
    Bloody hell, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He was forced to remind himself a number of times during dinner that it was a physical attraction best left unexplored, for he and Lady Anne were in a contractual relationship together, and the terms of their union had been laid out very clearly by the solicitors at Mason, Morrison, and Sangster.
    He was to marry Anne Douglas by Christmas Eve; then he would be free to leave England with no further responsibilities toward her. All the financial arrangements for her future annuities would be administered by the same team of solicitors—the very firm that was handling his father’s will, which stated that if all four brothers were not married by Christmas, the family’s entire unentailed fortune would be bequeathed to the London Horticultural Society.
    And it was more than a substantial fortune. The Pembroke estate was one of the wealthiest in the country. With it, the Horticultural Society would be able to cloak the entire south of England in a blanket of tulips and roses from now until the end of time.
    At the image of tulips and roses, Garrett’s attention returned to his lovely fiancée seated across the table.
    She raised her wine glass to her lips and regarded him over the rim for what seemed a sweltering moment. All at once he found himself uncomfortably aroused and wondered what would happen if he entered into a flirtation with her during these two weeks at Pembroke.
    She was not a virgin. Perhaps she would enjoy a brief amour . There was nothing in the contract that prevented it. They were, in fact, required to consummate the marriage.
    But not until the wedding night of course.
    He raised his own wine glass to his lips and met her enchanting gaze a number of times throughout the evening. All the while, he had to fight to keep thoughts of bedding her at bay, for he could not possibly deserve such pleasures.
    He was here to do what he must to make amends for the accident—of which he had not told the whole