Rescued By a Lady's Love (Lords of Honor, #3) by Christi Caldwell Read Free Book Online Page B

household?” The questions flew from her lips, all the more damning for the lack of a simple “No, I will not help you”, there.
    By the ghost of a smile, he’d detected her weakening. “You will have access to that household and a resourceful woman such as you can likely ingratiate herself with the beast through that pretty smile. Or...” He dropped his gaze to her décolletage. “Other ways.” Another chill raked her spine. He expected her to whore herself if she must. Again. Only now, this act, this was the level of duplicity that would land a person in Newgate. He must have sensed her waning for he pressed ahead with his defense. “Your actions within that household will be largely unobserved. The man is a monster who cannot even keep a staff beyond a butler and a handful of servants who bow to his bidding.”
    Guilt warred with the rational age-old yearning to survive. She searched for proper thoughts. “And how will I correspond with you?”
    “You are not to contact me,” he said brusquely. Ah, of course. He’d have no link to the woman committing a theft in his name. “You needn’t know the details.” A black grin formed on his cruel lips. “I will find you when I need you.”
    Numbed by the proof of her own vileness, Lily turned away and strolled to the window. She peered out as the rain drove down in torrents, harkening back to a long ago, but never forgotten, black night. That night represented the death of dreams and respectability—and happiness. It also marked the death knell of happiness. Her blank expression reflected back at her in the lead panel.
    “Well, Miss Benedict?”
    Words hovered on the tip of her tongue, a desire to send him to the devil with his ugly request. She slid her eyes closed, warring with herself. This was the family who’d ruined her. Destroyed her. They had made her what she was. Lily drew in a slow breath and then opened her eyes. “I will do it,” she said, stiffly.
    Holdsworth raised his glass in salute. His exultant laugh echoed around the room as with her silence as confirmation, she sold the remaining sliver of her soul.
    It seemed she was a whore with less honor than she believed, after all.

Chapter 3
    R ap. Rap. Rap.
    It would stop.
    Rap. Rap. Rap.
    Because his goddamn butler could not be so blasted stupid—
    Rap. Rap. Rap .
    So damned foolish, as to...
    “Your Grace?” His butler’s voice sounded from the other side of that wood panel.
    He cursed roundly. So the man was a blasted lackwit to gainsay Derek’s wishes—
    Rap. Rap. Rap .
    Again . “What the hell do you want?”
    Which, by the creak of his office door, constituted an “enter” to the man.
    Derek whipped fully around, exposing his black satin patch. Even with but one eye and the dark of the room, he detected the muscles of the young butler’s throat work with the force of his nervous swallow.
    “It is the child,” the butler said on a rush.
    He didn’t make any attempt at pretending to not know of whom the other man spoke. The child. As in his sister’s sole living offspring; a girl of seven or eight years. A girl who’d not been born yet when he’d gone off to fight and who now resided in his home.
    “Your Grace,” the butler prodded with a hesitancy in his tone.
    “What of her,” he seethed.
    The butler cleared his throat yet again. “Er, yes. Right. It is just that Flora ,” Derek would have to be deaf to fail to hear the slight, reproachful emphasis placed on that name. “The girl is sliding down th-the bannister.”
    “Then tell her damned governess,” he snapped. “I am not her nursemaid.” He rubbed the knotted muscles of his leg. No, he was just the man his fool of a sister had named guardian. He tensed his jaw. Damn Edeline for thrusting this on him.
    The young servant took another tentative step closer. “Y-yes, well, that is what I’m here about, Your Grace. Lady Flora has been hanging over the edge of the stairwell.”
    Hanging over the edge of the