Prince Charming by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page A

taking a deep breath. The feeling was welling up inside him again. London was rapidly turning into a prison in his mind and all he could think about was breaking free.
    Lucas pulled out his timepiece, flipped open the latch, and noted the time. Twenty minutes until midnight. He could last, he told himself. He had promised to stay until midnight, and twenty more minutes wouldn’t kill him.
    â€œHow I wish I could go with you to your valley,” Hampton suddenly blurted out.
    Morris looked appalled. He squinted up at his friend through thick glasses. “You can’t be serious. You have responsibilities here. Do your title and your lands mean so little to you? I don’t believe you really mean it, man. No one in his right mind would give up England and all she has to offer.”
    Morris was gravely offended by what he considered to be extreme disloyalty to his homeland. He hurled himself into a lecture meant to shame his friend Hampton. Lucas wasn’t listening. He’d just spotted the son-of-a-bitch heir across the hall. William Merritt III was the legitimate firstborn son. Lucas was three years younger. He was the bastard. Their father had visited America when he was a young man, and while he was there, he swept an innocent country girl off her feet and into his bed. He gave her his pledge of love, bedded her every night of the month he spent in Kentucky, and then thought to mention he had a wife and a son waiting for him back in England. The son had grown up to be just like his father. He was a self-indulgent demon who thought only of his own pleasures. Loyalty and family values held little meaning for him. Because he was the privileged firstborn, he inherited the land, the title, and whatever funds were left. His father hadn’t bothered to make provisions for his other legitimate sons, and his firstborn wasn’t about to share the wealth. Jordan, Douglas, and Kelsey weren’t just left out in the cold. They’d been thrown there.
    Jordan was the first to track Lucas down and ask him for help. He wanted to come to America and start a new life. Lucas hadn’t wanted to get involved. Jordan and his brothers were strangers to him. He felt disconnected from the world of privilege they lived in. He was an outsider, and though they shared the same father, he didn’t feel any kinship to his half brothers. Family was a concept altogether foreign to him.
    Loyalty, however, was another matter.
    He couldn’t turn his back on Jordan, and he refused to take the time to figure out why. Then Douglas came along, and by then it was too late for Lucas to change his mind. When he traveled to England and saw how Kelsey was being treated, he knew he wouldn’t be finished with his duty until he’d found a way to free the youngest from bondage.
    The price Lucas had had to pay was well worth his own freedom.
    The waltz ended with a crescendo of sound just as Morris finished his spontaneous lecture. The men in the orchestra stood up, then formally bowed to the sound of thunderous applause.
    The clapping was suddenly, inexplicably cut off. Couples still lingering on the dance floor turned to the entrance. A hush fell over the guests. Lucas was intrigued by the behavior of the crowd. He turned to see what attraction held everyone so spellbound just as Morris nudged him.
    â€œNot everything in England is tainted,” Morris announced. “Have a look, Lucas. The proof of England’s superiority stands at the entrance.”
    From the enthusiasm in his voice, Lucas didn’t think he would be surprised to find the queen of England standing there.
    â€œHampton, get out of his way so he can see,” Morris ordered.
    â€œLucas is a good head taller than every other man here,” Hampton muttered. “He can see well enough. Besides, I can’t take my gaze off the vision long enough to even consider moving anywhere. God love her, she showed up,” he added in a whisper, the