Be Mine Tonight Read Free Page A

one evening about a year ago when, tired of parties and craving something familiar to distract her, she had stumbled upon a leaflet advertising Marcus’s talk on Grail lore. Having grown up in the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, Pru considered herself well acquainted with Grail legend. At one time she had entertained the notion of becoming something of a historian, or perhaps an archaeologist, but those dreams had fallen by the wayside with so many others.
    Marcus brought back the excitement she always felt when the Grail was involved. He offered facts and documented cases, not just ideas and theories. He gave everyone in the lecture hall reason to believe the Grail truly existed, and he gave Pru something even more. He gave her hope. It was then that what had once been a historic fascination became a personal obsession.
    Prudence approached him after the lecture. They talked about Arthur, the Grail and Tintagel, and when Pru mentioned the ruins not far from her father’s estate where she and her sisters had played as children Marcus Grey became very interested, especially when she told him that before an underground passage collapsed, she had found what appeared to be artifacts from centuries before. Over the course of the next few days, whenPru wasn’t in the company of the esteemed gentlemen hired by her father, she spent her time with Marcus, and by the end of the week, both of them were convinced that the ruins might be worth investigating further.
    So, like everything she did, Pru threw herself into the project with all the determination and strength she could muster. Her father bought the land without much pleading. He always indulged her and perhaps some part of him shared her enthusiasm.
    She had also thrown herself at Marcus, mistaking their friendship for something more. He had been too much of a gentleman to take advantage of her after a passionate kiss. For a long time Pru wondered if her “condition” was to blame for his refusal, but now she saw what he had seen. They were incredibly well suited as friends, but not as lovers. Marcus was like the brother she’d never had. Thank God he had known how to behave better than she.
    Marcus also handled the “Catholic situation” better than Pru would have. Marcus didn’t want strangers poking around their project any more than Pru did, but he thought it better to cooperate and be charitable. All the church wanted— apparently —was access to whatever they found in the ruins, and of course something as important and powerful as the Holy Grail was better in the hands of people who would respect and protect it.
    They were welcome to the Grail once Pru had a chance to use it. One sip, that was all she asked, then they could take it and lock it away.
    However, she was curious about how the Vatican had found out about her little project. It wasn’t as though she’d advertised the fact that she was on a hunt to find a cup that could cure the ill and grant eternal life.
    “Well?”
    Pru’s gaze jerked back to her sister. “What?”
    Caroline rotated her wrist, making a wheel-like motion with her hand. “Do you like him or not?” She let Pru fill in the rest for herself.
    Holding up her hands, Pru seated herself on the sofa. “Not in the way you mean, no.” She could claim it without guilt, as it was completely true.
    Caroline opened her mouth to continue, but was prevented from saying any more by a knock on the door. It was a maid with their tea, and hot on her heels was the man himself, Marcus Grey.
    At twenty-eight Marcus was a charming mixture of poet, scholar and adventurer. He was tall and trim, his shoulders broad, his hips narrow and his legs long. His thick dark hair was usually wind-blown, his cheeks rosy from spending much of his time outside. Despite all its efforts to age him, the sun had succeeded in nothing more than giving his complexion a healthy glow. His wide gem-blue gaze was bright as it settled on Pru. “I hope I’m not