Read Online Taming The Bride (Brides of Mayfair 2) by Michelle McMaster - Free Book Online Page A

reason you would expect…
    Lord Weston had gone to the card room, she thought. Heading for the hallway, Prudence fairly walked right into him, stopping just short of slamming into the same broad chest that she had been pulled so closely against only hours before.
    Lord Weston looked down at her with dark, penetrating eyes. “Miss Atwater. Are you enjoying yourself?”
    “No,” she said, trying to pull him out of the doorway. “I need to speak with you, my lord. At once.”
    He paused, then said languidly, “About…?”
    “You know very well what about!” she hissed in a whisper. “About settling my debt to you.”
    “Oh,” he replied, calmly. “That.”
    “Yes, that!” Prudence said, looking around to see if anyone had noticed them. “I beg you—”
    “I must say, I like where this conversation is going,” he said, grinning devilishly.
    Prudence’s hands balled into tight fists at her side. It was all she could do to keep them still, and not flying at his face.
    “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I would ask that we go somewhere private—”
    “A very good idea,” he intoned.
    “To discuss your price!”
    He shook his head, saying, “You could never afford me.”
    She glared at him and stretched up on tiptoe, so that they were almost nose to nose. “I pity the woman who could.”
    Lord Weston chuckled softly, amusement sparkling in his coal-black eyes. Indicating the hallway, he said, “Shall we, then?”
    He led her into a library. Prudence found the familiar smell of books comforting. She turned to face the man who had infuriated and confounded her since the first night they’d met.
    Standing as tall as she could, Prudence looked him in the eye, and said, “My lord, I demand to know the price you would have me pay. I will not spend one more day with this vile thing hanging over my head. Whatever it is, I would pay it and be done with it. Now tell me what it is you want from me.”
    “In truth,” he said, “I had not yet been able to turn my mind to it.”
    “A convenient answer, my lord,” she replied, “but I’m afraid it won’t do. Though I admit my actions on the night we met injured both your person and your family name, I cannot abide this waiting. So for those reasons, as well as your promise to keep the truth from Lady Weston in exchange, I wish to make amends as quickly as possible.” She took a deep breath. “If you would just fix a price.”
    “I see that you will not be dissuaded,” he said, finally. “And I must say, I am happy to see you so eager to do my bidding. So, in that regard, I shall endeavour to please you with an answer.”
    Lord Weston smiled down at her like a cat making friendly with a mouse. He reached out and took one of the curls that dangled next to her face, rubbing it gently between his fingers.
    Strange how he wasn’t really touching her, and yet Prudence felt her skin heat at such blatant intimacy. She should have been bristling at his touch—ripping his hand away from such a bold move.
    And yet, she did neither.
    “All I can tell you, is that you shall know by tomorrow. The rest,” he said languidly, raising her hand and pressing his lips to her skin, “is a surprise.”
    * * *
    Alfred sat back in the plush wing chair and sipped his brandy. The fire blazed warmly in the hearth. He took his feet out of his slippers and wriggled his toes in front of the glowing logs.
    He and Great-Aunt Withypoll had arrived home hours ago, but he was still awake in his chamber. That was why he’d decided on the brandy.
    Still, he would need more than brandy to get Miss Prudence Atwater out of his head.
    Damn, but the chit irked him!
    Defied him, patronized him, and frustrated him beyond belief.
    And aroused him….
    She’d looked like a Greek goddess tonight. Aphrodite couldn’t have done better.
    Damned if she wasn’t the most prattling, pig-headed little baggage that he had ever had the misfortune to meet. She was most certainly