Read Online My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth - Free Book Online

strangely, she wanted to impress. Slowly she lowered her eyes to the paper in front of her.
    Brent observed her closely as she hesitantly started to work. She turned the pages quickly, moving through the ledger with such incredible speed that for a while he was convinced she wasn’t taking him seriously. But as he watched her chew her bottom lip, her face contorting with furious thinking, he realized this was something she actually enjoyed doing, and she hadn’t used the pen even once. She was calculating mathematical equations and multiplying several large numbers using nothing but her mind. It was truly unbelievable.
    Finally she looked up, eyes sparkling. “You’ve made a ghastly mistake, Brent,” she whispered. Then she started to giggle.
    That irritated him. “If it’s such a ghastly mistake, why are you laughing?”
    She sobered a little. “Look what you’ve done here.”
    She motioned for him to move closer, and he slowly stood and walked around to her side of the desk.
    “See right here? You multiplied by three instead of three hundred. You didn’t carry your zeros, silly man.” She met his eyes, her lips curled up in delight. “I think we have quite a bit more money than you first thought.”
    He looked at her sharply. “You discovered this using only your head?”
    The smile died on her face. “It just comes naturally to me,” she said cautiously.
    He was quiet for a moment, then sighed. “It has never come naturally to me. I don’t trust bailiffs, and taking care of the books has always been my least favorite chore. From this moment on, I’d like you to see to it. Naturally, I’ll need to continue dealing with my banker regarding payments made on my accounts, but I’d like you to keep track of the money. You’ve a marvelous talent, Caroline. It should be used.”
    She blinked, incredulous. “You mean permanently? Month to month?”
    “Of course I mean permanently, and I’ll need you to start right away. I’ve almost completed repairs on the stables, but some of the weather damage inside was greater than anticipated. I’ll need to know the exact amount I can spend to get things running smoothly, since I’d like to start breeding again next season.”
    She shook her head, dazed. “Breeding…horses?”
    He looked at her strangely. “It’s what I do, Caroline. I breed, show, and sell Arabian horses. I don’t have the time or patience to keep my finances in line, so I’d like it to be one of your duties.” He paused. “Do you mind?”
    Slowly she smiled in wonder. “You trust me with this?”
    He touched the back of his hand to her cheek and grinned devilishly. “If I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t have asked. And besides, if you did try to abscond with all the money, I’d find you sidetracked at my neighbor’s house pruning his petunias, which are now to the point of overrunning the property.”
    Caroline thought she might explode from elation. He believed in and trusted her abilities. No one, not even her father, had ever done that before.
    “I’d be delighted to take this tedious chore off your hands,” she finally acknowledged in a voice filled with joy.
    “Good.”
    He turned, but before he could move, she grabbed his arm, pulled herself up, and with only the briefest hesitation, wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
    “Thank you,” she whispered against his chest.
    He reached up with his palm to stroke the silkiness of her hair, but before he could even think to embrace her, and without looking at him, she quickly pushed herself away and returned to the chair.
    He stood silently, watching the side of her face for another minute, then turned and walked to the door.
    “I’ll see you at dinner,” he softly said.
    Caroline, however, was oblivious to everything but the financial computations in front of her.

Chapter 5
    C aroline dressed in a pale peach evening gown, tied her dark-brown locks loosely at her nape with a small white ribbon, and