My Fair Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren Read Free Book Online

important so long as you and Maris are safe and well. The two of you are all I truly care about in this world. Just be a good steward of your legacy and lead the family with pride, that’s all I ask.”
    Harry grinned, then returned to collapse onto his chair. Reaching out, he grabbed up her square of cold toast and slathered it with strawberry preserves from a nearby pot.
    “Hmm,” he said as he bit in and swallowed. “My appetite has returned. Do you think Cook could make me some breakfast?”
    “I’m sure she could.” Julianna crossed the room to ring for a servant.
    “So, where are my vowels?” Harry asked casually.
    “Pardon?”
    “My vowels. I.O.U.s, don’t you know. The Dragon must have returned them when you paid him. It’s customary when clearing a financial obligation.”
    His vowels. Dear Lord, she’d never thought about that!
    “Hmm, well, yes,” she dithered. “Of course he gave them to me, but I…I burned them.”
    “Burned them!”
    “Yes. The debt is paid, and I thought it best to put the whole dreadful affair in the past. You are to think on it no more.”
    Please, she prayed, please, think on it no more.
    He frowned for a long moment, then reached for another slice of toast. Gradually, his expression cleared. “I guess you are right. Best to forget it ever happened and start afresh.”
    “Yes,” she murmured dully, her stomach churning to remember that she didn’t have such a luxury. For her, the indenture was only just beginning.

Chapter Four
    R AFE CLICKED OPEN the engraved cover of his gold pocket watch and checked the time.
    Ten minutes to one.
    He snapped the watch closed again and tucked it into his vest pocket, then settled back on the drawing room sofa to wait, his long legs stretched out in front of him.
    He tossed an idle glance around the room, eyeing the red brocade draperies with distaste. It’s what came, he supposed, of using acquired properties, such as this house, for his own purposes. If he were going to keep the place, he would make some changes to the decor, such as replacing several of the older, heavier pieces of furniture with lighter, more modern ones. But for now, the house was comfortable and well suited to his immediate needs.
    Assuming he continued to have such needs, he thought ruefully.
    He’d give Lady Hawthorne to the top of the hour as agreed, and perhaps ten minutes more. After that, he’d ride home and begin preparations for collecting the young earl’s debt.
    It was growing ever more obvious that Lord Allerton’s sister wasn’t going to show. And to be perfectly honest, he hadn’t really expected she would. Despite all her pleas and protestations on behalf of her sibling, she’d obviously had second thoughts concerning the bargain she’d struck.
    And justifiably so.
    Her scapegrace brother had plunged himself deep into the abyss, and by rights, he ought to be the one forced to claw his way out. A tragedy, though, that the earl would need to put Davies Manor on the auction block.
    The estate was a fine property with a grand house, a thriving tenantry, and two hundred acres of prime farmland situated in the heart of the Kent countryside. Perhaps he would bid on it himself, Rafe considered. With a trustworthy manager to tend to the day-to-day details, the estate had the potential to generate a nice, steady income. If that had not been the case, he would never have agreed to extend financing to Allerton in the first place. Truly, Julianna Hawthorne was doing him a favor by reneging on their agreement.
    So why do I feel so vastly disappointed ?
    He sighed, suddenly annoyed by the desire humming in his blood, merely the notion of having Lady Hawthorne in his bed enough to bring him to a state of partial arousal. Normally, he wasn’t the sort of man to let lust cloud his mind, but where this particular lady was concerned, there was no fathoming his reactions. The logical, reasonable part of him still marveled that he’d proposed such a bargain