Read Online Rumors Among the Heather by Amanda Balfour - Free Book Online Page A

much
rather read about battles and shipwrecks, or pirates,” Ian said
with a sparkle in his eyes.
    “To be well-rounded
you must be well-read in many different topics. Besides, when
you’re older and find a special girl, you will thank me.”
    Ian made a face, which
said he did not believe Julie, but he picked the book up and began
to read.
    “ Come live with me
and be my love / And we will all the pleasures prove…”
    He lacked enthusiasm,
but he read beautifully.
    While Ian continued to
read, Julie moved to the window seat and looked out, lost in her
own thoughts.
    “ The shepherd swains shall dance and sing / For
thy delight each May-morning: / If these delights thy mind may
move, / Then live with me and be my love.”
    Startled, Julie came
back to earth at the sound of Matthew’s deep, smooth voice. She
spun around to look into his amused eyes.
    Not one to be outdone,
she countered with Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the
Shepherd.”
    “ But could youth
last and love still breed, / Had joys no date nor age no need, /
Then these delights my mind might move / To live with thee and be
thy love .”
    “Bravo, Miss
Hastings,” Matthew said as he clapped his hands. “Spoken like a
true woman. From the purest virgin to the most experienced
courtesan, there are always conditions set on love.”
    “It’s also true for a
man, you know. He asks you to love only him, when he loves where he
finds it. He goes off on grand adventures and asks you to wait for
him and be a constant lover, but he does not always return. Years
later, when he chances to come your way, he is married with a
family, and he can’t understand why you waited, but if you did not
wait, and he came back unmarried, he would feel he was the one
wronged. Love has its own restrictions put on it equally by men and
women,” Julie said passionately.
    He walked over to
where she sat. “Tell me, Miss Hastings, would you be a constant
lover? Would you wait for this wandering man to return?”
    She felt her face heat
in spite of herself. “There’s no demand for constant lovers, your
lordship. Once I would have, but I’ve been out of the classroom for
some time, and I know better,” she said, looking him in the eye
defiantly.
    Matthew said nothing
but continued to stare at her. Finally she tore her gaze from his
and looked out the window. Unable to control his impulse, he
reached out with two fingers and turned her to face him. He knew it
was unwise, but he only wanted to see those flashing emerald eyes
again. She looked up at him like a caged animal and tried to look
away.
    He let his fingers
drop.
    Shocked, he realized
he wanted to taste her kiss—to feel the fullness of her delicately
molded lips. He wanted them warm and open and pliant against his
own.
    When he remained
motionless, Julie spoke. “No. Please, Lord Bonnleigh, this is an
unwise conversation to have. Ian and I have lessons to complete.
I’m sure you understand.”
    Without waiting for
him to say anything, Julie moved past him quickly and stood beside
Ian. As if finding safety in his small presence, she calmed her
trembling hands and picked up another book. Matthew left the room
quickly.
    I must be in my
dotage to let a slip of a girl do that to me .
    Matthew tried to put
Julie out of his mind. She was under his protection and alone in
the world. He knew he should not take advantage of her, but he knew
he could easily cross the line he had drawn. He had acted in an
imprudent manner, and he chastised himself, but that did not
prevent the unaccustomed feeling he experienced nor the unfamiliar
flutter of his heart whenever she passed by him. She showed a
gentle side with Ian, and there was a soft light about her in
unguarded moments. Yet when she looked at him, a curtain shuttered
her face. He did not understand why it mattered so much to him.
    Usually, he did not
have any trouble with any woman he desired. If his looks did not
turn their heads, then most certainly the size