Read Online Midnight Bride by Barbara Allister - Free Book Online Page A

sister?"
    "More than a few minutes, sir."
    Charles winced. "Let me know when she comes down, Jeffries. I'll be with Carstairs in his office." He turned to walk out the door to the back garden, but then he paused for a moment. His house party had been disastrous since the rain began.
    For a minute the room was silent as Charles thought about the turmoil of the last few days, wondering how he could gracefully suggest that his guests return to their homes. Then, remembering the attention span of most of them, he smiled wryly. "Jeffries, spread the word that I have been thinking of challenging the record from here to London. And have Porter make a fuss asking for my trunks to be brought down from the boxroom ."
    "It will be my pleasure, Mr. Beckworth ." The butler allowed the slightest smile to cross his face as he thought of the scurrying that this news would cause. He watched as his master crossed the yard.
    "Good morning, sir." Carstairs stood as Charles entered his office. Then he sat behind the desk as Charles took a seat, stretching his long legs out before him, staring seemingly at his boots' brilliant shine. "How may I help you?"
    "Tell me about the wretched girl, what's her name?"
    "Susan," Carstairs said dryly.
    "That's the one. Did you get her off?"
    "Yes, sir. But she is the kind to make trouble. Even with the paper I had her sign, she may not keep quiet." Carstairs looked at him steadily, not sure he liked the changes he could see in the young man. Already he could see signs of dissipation. If only the young man's mother would pay some attention, he thought restlessly. Well, he had done what he could.
    Charles frowned. "What kind of trouble, Carstairs ? She was the one who offered."
    "That is not the story she tells. And you know how gossip spreads. I instructed the man I sent with her to put her on the stage to London. Maybe there she will find a wider market for her wares."
    "My sister said something about paying her off. Did you?"
    "That's why I had her sign the paper. She can read, you know. Your sister gave her a full year's wages. I was against it, of course. She is setting a precedent, I am afraid." The agent shook his head. He held out the document to the young man.
    Charles took it and looked it over. "Did you explain this to Susan?"
    "Yes."
    "Then I am certain she will be quiet. She admits her plotting here." Charles leaned farther back in the chair, smiling. "How are the repairs coming on those fields?" For the next half hour or so they discussed the problems the tenants were having replanting. Then a messenger from Jeffries arrived and Charles left.
    He walked back to the house. "Where is she?" Charles asked as soon as he had found the butler.
    "In her morning room."
    "Tell her I wish to see her."
    "She told me she did not wish to be disturbed until half past eleven," Jeffries said apologetically.
    Charles frowned. "Tell her I will be in the library. And don't let her put you off." He walked down the hall, his face serious. The talk with his agent had been more sobering than he had expected.
    When he entered the library, Charles found Hartley sitting there, recent newspapers in front of him. "You are up early, Sebastian," he said sardonically.
    "I might say the same of you," the man said, his mouth curled into a slight sneer. The morning had not gone as he had planned. "What is this I hear about your returning to London? Jeffries told me you had told your valet to pack." Hartley put the paper down on a table near the comfortable chair in which he sat. His eyes narrowed dangerously.
    "My friends have done enough damage here. I cannot afford any more incidents," Charles explained, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead.
    "I hope you are not including me in that group," Hartley said coldly.
    "Of course not. I told Carstairs the girl had made advances to you, not the other way round. Besides, she's gone for good, I hope. She left this morning,"
    "Susan was an eager piece. I'll be sorry to see her go." His