Read Online Love's Peril (Lord Trent Series) by Cheryl Holt - Free Book Online Page B

common fact that Hedley was spoiled and reckless, but apparently, she’d had no idea. If Bramble Bay was lost, where would she go? Where would Sarah go? What would become of those who depended on the place for their incomes and survival?
    Tears welled into her eyes. She wasn’t a Teasdale, but Bramble Bay had always been her home. The beautiful spot had been forfeited over a stupid card game? How could Mr. Hook be so cavalier?
    “Stop them!”she demanded.
    “I can’t.”
    “Make Mr. Sinclair give it back. Make him.”
    “It’s out of my hands, Caroline.”
    “You’re his friend. You could dissuade him if you wanted to.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t want to. I’m determined that Hedley and Mildred get exactly what they deserve.”
    “Get what they deserve ? What are you talking about?”
    “It’s not my story to tell.”
    “Whose story is it?” He was stoically silent, and she said, “It’s Mr. Sinclair’s?”
    He didn’t reply, which told her all she needed to know.
    She whipped away and ran into the house, shouting for Sarah.
    * * * *
    “You didn’t come down to supper. I was hoping you would.”
    Sarah smiled at Sheldon who’d been invited to dine as he frequently was. They were chatting in the main parlor. Since she was a baby, he’d been a constant fixture in her life. He was their neighbor, Patrick’s father, and her father’s friend.
    He was sixty, boring, steady and dull, but rich and settled, his estate as fine as Bramble Bay.
    He was bald as a ball, short and stout, his body plump from ease and affluence. His round face was covered with a bushy mustache and shaggy muttonchops. As a young man, he’d quickly outlived three wives who’d died from various causes, so he’d declared himself unlucky and gave up wedded bliss.
    But age and inheritance issues were spurring him to try again. At Mildred’s urging, he’d been pressing the topic with Sarah, but she couldn’t make herself consent. Particularly not after Caroline had described marital duty.
    Sarah simply couldn’t envision removing her clothes, watching as Sheldon removed his, then letting him touch her all over. It sounded tawdry, as if she’d be letting her own father do those things to her.
    She kept delaying her answer, kept praying an alternative would present itself, but it was silly to dither. She had no dowry, so there was no handsome suitor who would ride up the drive and rescue her.
    Sheldon was the only one who had offered. He was the only one who was willing to have her. Why couldn’t she say yes ? What was wrong with her?
    “I’ve been avoiding the supper table,”she explained. “Would you think I was horrid if I confessed that I don’t care for Mildred’s guests?”
    “I didn’t much enjoy them either.”
    “I stay away so I don’t embarrass myself by being rude.”
    “That Sinclair fellow was all right, but Mr. Hook was odd and disconcerting. He looked utterly dangerous. And Miss Dubois, well, the less said about her, the better.”
    “I agree completely.”
    “Why are they here?”
    “Mr. Sinclair claims he’s viewing property in the area.”
    “With an eye toward buying?”
    “I guess.”
    “They might eventually be our neighbors?”
    “I wouldn’t want to speculate, but it seems likely.”
    He chuckled. “The annual Christmas dance at the church would certainly be more lively with those three in attendance.”
    Sarah chuckled, too. “It certainly would be. If Miss Dubois sauntered in, the vicar would have an apoplexy.”
    They snickered, then quieted, Sheldon sipping his nightly brandy. He always had precisely one glass after supper, but Sarah didn’t join in. He didn’t countenance women imbibing of spirits, and even though Sarah rarely drank, his prohibition made her eager to grab the bottle and down the contents—just to spite him.
    “Have you thought about our last conversation?”he said, and her heart sank.
    She’d hoped to slog through the evening without marriage being