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

and there’s no escaping it. Nathan frowned. His father had been a horribly strict man who ruled his home, family, and holdings with an iron fist. Beatings were common for him and his sister, although Alexandra’s discipline was different than his. Often, Father would lock her in the cellar or a cupboard off the kitchen instead of marking her with a rod. Only his mother’s pleas to not damage their only daughter spared her the physical abuse.
    A sick feeling churned in the pit of his belly as it did every time he thought of his formative years. Mother had succumbed to pneumonia when he’d been sixteen. Alexandra had just been married. Perhaps his parent had thought he could fend for himself against his father, and since Alexandra was out of the house, she could let go and give up on her own life. Oh, Nathan had been angry when she passed. He’d blamed his father for driving her into such a deep depression she could only escape with death. The late marquess had grown darker without his wife, and Nathan had borne the brunt of the rage if only to spare the servants or tenants.
    It had been a blessing of sorts when his father died after an ill-timed jump over a weak spot in the back hedgerow. Nathan had come into the title on his twenty-sixth birthday and gladly buried himself in the task. Had his father done his work too well in rearing him? Nathan shook his head to dislodge the worrisome thought. Yes, he possessed a temper, and though it wasn’t nearly as bad as his father’s had been, most of his tenants and servants were afraid of him.
    Some of the stories had gotten so out of hand that the locals had spread the rumor he was a wolf and when he fell into a temper, and that he changed into the animal and prowled the land. Those he ignored. Small minds invented large tales. None of it mattered as long as he didn’t hurt people as his father had. To date, he’d never laid a hand on anyone in anger. It must stay that way, and it would the longer he kept people away. He had acquaintances in Parliament and in London, but no close contemporaries. He strove to leave a situation before anger could grow or consume him.
    When the opportunity to serve king and country by fighting the French in Spain had come up, he’d accepted with alacrity, but his detainment had done him no favors and only provoked the rage he strove to keep in check, especially after the betrayal of his closest friend.
    The cry of a hawk shattered the stillness around him and yanked Nathan from his dark musings. He glanced at the pristine sky, so blue and deceptive , and then blew out a breath. Returning to his familial manor house soothed him like nothing else. Perhaps he would survive his life after all, though remaining unattached was imperative. Besides, what sweet, loving woman would want to show a romantic interest in a flawed man like him? And if she did, he didn’t know if he could shield her from his dark side when some days it was a struggle not to put his fist through a door. He couldn’t live with himself if he harmed a person and a woman at that.
    Time spen t alone was a most welcome prospect.
    As Nathan pushed between two fir trees, snow fell from the branches to his shoulders. He brushed it off then sucked in a breath. He froze. Charlotte sat, perched on a fallen tree, facing the near-frozen creek . She looked fetching in her sapphire coat and with the scarf over her hair. Despite the fact every one of his acquaintance knew to never invade his sanctuary, he wasn’t annoyed she did. In a way, it made sense she’d found it; hadn’t they started their friendship with her butting in where he didn’t want her?
    “What a pleasant surprise.” He forced himself forward until he stood before her though Charlotte’s back was to him. What did one do in a situation like this when, once again, he was most inappropriately alone with a woman , and one who had the capacity to drive him mad?
    She startled, sprang to her feet , then turned so quickly her