Read Online Seeking Philbert Woodbead ( A Madcap Regency Romance ) (The Fairweather Sisters) by Anya Wylde - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anya Wylde
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frowned.
A sudden
thought struck her. Perhaps it was better to learn some of his secrets. After
all, he knew hers, and in case he decided to blackmail her again in the future,
she would have something to protect herself with.
But to
ensure that he did tell her the truth she would have to behave like a
simpleton. Inwardly grinning she let her shoulders relax, her chin slightly
tilt up and her eyes grow large. A soft smile played on her lips.
His dreamy
expression faded and his hooded lids sprang up, his entire body going into
alert mode.
“Tell me,”
she asked, a single finger making concentric circles on the wooden desk. “Why
don’t you want to go home?”
He gazed at
her as if he had never seen her before. “I don’t want to be the ninth Earl of
Devon. My father threw me out of the house and I had to make my own way in the
world. Now that I have found my place he wants me back because it is convenient
for him.”
She eyed him
sympathetically. This time her emotions were genuine. “Your pride and honour
are holding you back.”
He turned
his back to her. His voice was cheerful when he said, “Can you see someone like
me becoming the Earl of Devon? Being responsible for an estate and human lives?
My brother has been groomed since the moment he was born. He is the heir.”
“Are you
afraid?”
“Yes, I am
afraid of becoming the earl and living a life of utter boredom until my dying
day.”
“But why do
you want to stay here at the Blackthorne Mansion? It can’t be amusing. You
don’t know any of us, and surely you have friends all over England?”
He sighed
and came and sat down next to her. “I did tell you to ask me anything.”
She nodded.
“It has to
do with my last occupation. Before I was summoned to England by my father, I
was apprenticed to a Pirate.”
Chapter 10
“A pirate?”
Celine asked intrigued.
“Yes,”
George replied. He took out a cigar and lit it.
“And before
that what did you do?”
“I was in
partnership with a highwayman,” he said, smoke curling out of his mouth.
“Was his
name Jimmy?”
“No, not
the Falcon. How do you know the Falcon?”
“Penny
knows him well. I met him during the wedding. Nice fellow.”
“I see. I
was working with a highwayman who you may know as the White Tiger. I had to leave
when I realised that too many highwaymen were sprouting up all over England and
the magnanimity of the job had become diluted. I then became an apprentice to
the Black Rover.”
“Good
lord!”
“Have you
heard of him?”
“No, but he
sounds frightening.”
“He is
intimidating. Six feet five inches, long black hair streaked with silver which
is constantly whipping around in the roaring ocean wind. His jet black eyes are
like the darkest part of the night, and his fine velvet clothes always smell
like the freshest and finest fish in the ocean.”
The two of
them became silent out of respect for the Black Rover.
He cleared
his throat and continued, “He has a mother. She sails with him. She is an
excellent cook or so I heard from the Captain. The crew calls her Sordid Sandy.
She owns a large treasure chest filled with recipes that she has collected over
the years. I stole one.”
“Stole
what?”
“A recipe.”
“You did
not.”
“I did.”
“You
couldn’t have.”
“Are you
trying to annoy me?” he asked testily.
She shook
her head, “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did
you steal a recipe? If you had to steal something, then shouldn’t you have
pinched something more exciting, like say … a jewel filled treasure chest or a
solid gold statue, that sort of thing?”
George
leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingertips together. His head tilted
slightly to the right while his eyes took on a faraway expression. “It was a
beautiful cloudless night. The Desperate Lark sat bobbing in the sea a
few miles off the coast of England. The black flag with skull and bones had
been replaced by a cerulean flag depicting a fig leaf. We
A sudden
thought struck her. Perhaps it was better to learn some of his secrets. After
all, he knew hers, and in case he decided to blackmail her again in the future,
she would have something to protect herself with.
But to
ensure that he did tell her the truth she would have to behave like a
simpleton. Inwardly grinning she let her shoulders relax, her chin slightly
tilt up and her eyes grow large. A soft smile played on her lips.
His dreamy
expression faded and his hooded lids sprang up, his entire body going into
alert mode.
“Tell me,”
she asked, a single finger making concentric circles on the wooden desk. “Why
don’t you want to go home?”
He gazed at
her as if he had never seen her before. “I don’t want to be the ninth Earl of
Devon. My father threw me out of the house and I had to make my own way in the
world. Now that I have found my place he wants me back because it is convenient
for him.”
She eyed him
sympathetically. This time her emotions were genuine. “Your pride and honour
are holding you back.”
He turned
his back to her. His voice was cheerful when he said, “Can you see someone like
me becoming the Earl of Devon? Being responsible for an estate and human lives?
My brother has been groomed since the moment he was born. He is the heir.”
“Are you
afraid?”
“Yes, I am
afraid of becoming the earl and living a life of utter boredom until my dying
day.”
“But why do
you want to stay here at the Blackthorne Mansion? It can’t be amusing. You
don’t know any of us, and surely you have friends all over England?”
He sighed
and came and sat down next to her. “I did tell you to ask me anything.”
She nodded.
“It has to
do with my last occupation. Before I was summoned to England by my father, I
was apprenticed to a Pirate.”
Chapter 10
“A pirate?”
Celine asked intrigued.
“Yes,”
George replied. He took out a cigar and lit it.
“And before
that what did you do?”
“I was in
partnership with a highwayman,” he said, smoke curling out of his mouth.
“Was his
name Jimmy?”
“No, not
the Falcon. How do you know the Falcon?”
“Penny
knows him well. I met him during the wedding. Nice fellow.”
“I see. I
was working with a highwayman who you may know as the White Tiger. I had to leave
when I realised that too many highwaymen were sprouting up all over England and
the magnanimity of the job had become diluted. I then became an apprentice to
the Black Rover.”
“Good
lord!”
“Have you
heard of him?”
“No, but he
sounds frightening.”
“He is
intimidating. Six feet five inches, long black hair streaked with silver which
is constantly whipping around in the roaring ocean wind. His jet black eyes are
like the darkest part of the night, and his fine velvet clothes always smell
like the freshest and finest fish in the ocean.”
The two of
them became silent out of respect for the Black Rover.
He cleared
his throat and continued, “He has a mother. She sails with him. She is an
excellent cook or so I heard from the Captain. The crew calls her Sordid Sandy.
She owns a large treasure chest filled with recipes that she has collected over
the years. I stole one.”
“Stole
what?”
“A recipe.”
“You did
not.”
“I did.”
“You
couldn’t have.”
“Are you
trying to annoy me?” he asked testily.
She shook
her head, “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did
you steal a recipe? If you had to steal something, then shouldn’t you have
pinched something more exciting, like say … a jewel filled treasure chest or a
solid gold statue, that sort of thing?”
George
leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingertips together. His head tilted
slightly to the right while his eyes took on a faraway expression. “It was a
beautiful cloudless night. The Desperate Lark sat bobbing in the sea a
few miles off the coast of England. The black flag with skull and bones had
been replaced by a cerulean flag depicting a fig leaf. We
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