Read Online To Bed or to Wed by Sandra Sookoo - Free Book Online Page A

didn’t try hard enough.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “It matters not. I had his heir, though Jamie is somewhat of a disappointment.”
    “Ah, you cannot manipulate him well due to the fact his will is strong?” It had to be if he was willing to flout convention.
    “Not until he understands his responsibility.” She narrowed her eyes. “Until then, I shall hound him.”
    Poor Alexandra. “Do you know he’s told me he wishes me to have a marriage contract drawn up between him and Starkton’s sister?”
    “What a farce that will be. From what I understand, dearest Jamie isn’t remotely interested in the fairer sex. Starkton’s sister will need to turn a blind eye when Jamie goes chasing the man instead.”
    He couldn’t contain his grin. “This is true. However, since you are so fond of position, perhaps we should seriously consider his request. A veil of propriety will go a long way into furthering his career.”
    “Perhaps.” She tapped a finger against her cheek. “It will all fall into place. I want influence so I might be able to find him a better connection.”
    “And my marrying Lady Sophia will give you this?” He despised how shallow his sister had become. Had their childhood made her into this woman or had losing Grantley squelched her higher ideals?
    Again she rolled her eyes. The hazel, so much like his, caught the light and glowed more green than brown. “Once you wed Lady Sophia, she has promised to introduce me to Captain Mackelroy, who’s just returned to England, which in turn will put me in a prime position to make nice with General Averitt. The man commands a sizable fortune as well as influence in the Caribbean and America.”
    “Ah, then England has grown too stale and small for your appetite?”
    Avarice glinted in her gaze. “To my way of thinking, owning land and acreage across the globe and tapping into trade markets is much better than dangling after men here who oftentimes have an old, tired title but not the influence of funds.”
    Nathan’s attempt to stifle a groan was a dismal failure. The old, familiar anger rushed through his chest in a hot wave. “God, Alexandra. Stop being such a grasping female. It’s not attractive.” He stalked to the door, pausing in its frame. “I refuse to be your bit of cheese before a rat and will not further your ambition. Good day.”
    Perhaps hiding from everyone for the remainder of the house party would be in his best interests. Knowing Lady Sophia only showed an interest in him for his title left a bad taste in his mouth. Part of him wished his life was different, but then he shoved the twinge away. None of it mattered for he would never marry. The title was his lot. He’d known this for many years.
     

     
    Nathan hunched deeper into his greatcoat as he walked into the wind. The weak sunshine couldn’t compete with the winter temperatures, but he gloried in the brisk air. He’d lasted all of thirty minutes in his bedroom before boredom overtook him. Normally , when he spent time in the country, he took long morning walks or rode his horse through the wilderness. However, with Jamie and his friends underfoot, no place was sacred—save one. There was a spot near the hedgerow at the back of his property where he often went when he wished to be alone. There, tucked away from the world and mostly shielded by evergreen trees, he could be alone with his thoughts and convince himself he wasn’t the man his father had been. In the warmer months, the gentle babble of a meandering creek gave him back a modicum of calm his life stole from him. Today, the water would be frozen, but meditation wouldn’t have changed.
    As the sound of his boots crunching through the snow kept time, he concentrated on the nip of the cold at his ears beneath the brim of his hat and the puffy pattern of his breath on the frosty air. Charlotte remained uppermost in his mind, along with his terrible treatment of her. Perhaps I am my father’s son after all