The Earl Claims a Bride by Amelia Grey Read Free Book Online

he’d thought long and hard about not coming at all. There was another option available to him. He could have left the country, but that idea had no appeal. After his brother had married Maddie and she had their son, Harrison had spent two years traveling from the Americas to India and almost every country in between. He had no desire to see any more of the world.
    Thornwick was his home now. He wanted to rebuild it, protect it, and preserve it.
    For as long as he could remember, he’d lived the life of an unrestrained scoundrel. He had no obligations to anyone, no responsibilities for anything. That had changed when Thornwick and all it entailed had become his. His penchant for drinking, gambling, and staying out all night had ceased. Learning about Thornwick was his only passion.
    Marrying and having a family hadn’t been something he’d spent much time thinking about, either, until Mr. Hopscotch had arrived and given him the ultimatum to marry Miss Rule or go to prison for dueling. Harrison had concluded there was probably only one way to prevent either of those things happening and that was to select his own bride, marry, and produce the heir the Prince so desperately wanted. It was something he would have done eventually. The Prince’s declaration had just accelerated the inevitable.
    He was warming to the idea of having sons to watch grow up and play on the grounds of Thornwick as he and his brothers had. At the moment, he just wasn’t keen on having a wife to produce those sons. When his friend Bray was born his mother had moved into her own house and she and Bray’s father never lived together again. Harrison didn’t see any reason why that type of situation wouldn’t work for him if need be.
    It was unfortunate for him, and a damned nuisance, too, that now that he had decided he needed to seriously consider having a son, he must first choose a bride.
    And that was why he’d decided to make the journey to London and attend the Season. That was why he was at the ball early and why he had already danced with three young ladies very much like the one he’d just left.
    Fate had given him Thornwick. It was now up to him to produce an heir, and not leave the task for his cousin Guilfoyle to fulfill. Harrison had decided he wanted to do that for himself. If it would please the Prince and keep him out of prison, all the better. Not that Harrison thought for a moment a French sympathizer could do much damage in England’s Parliament, but if the Prince did, Harrison would try to oblige him.
    Looking around the room, Harrison hoped to spot Bray. Perhaps Bray would have some ideas on how Harrison could stay out of Newgate and out of the parson’s mousetrap, too, long enough to choose his own bride.
    Harrison took a sip of champagne, and from over the rim of his glass caught sight of a striking golden-brown-haired young lady standing near the entrance of the ballroom. His stomach contracted as he brought down the glass. His gaze traveled swiftly over her at first and then went back for a slower look.
    She wore an alabaster-colored gown trimmed in wide gold braid at the high waist and cuffs of her sleeves. The scooped neckline draped low enough to give a hint of the gentle swell of full, tempting breasts. She was tall, slender, and looked as beautiful as the paintings and statues he’d seen of Venus. She had the strong, capable appearance of the goddess Athena. But this young lady was not cold, hard stone. In fact, all she needed was a pair of wings on her shoulders to look like an angel. He knew she would be warm, soft, and delectable in his arms.
    As he watched her, it seemed to him that she was intently searching the ballroom. Her gaze quickly flitted from one gentleman to another like a butterfly checking all the flowers on a bush before selecting just the right one to land on. Harrison’s breathing increased as he watched her attention draw closer and closer to where he was standing. Would her eyes hesitate or