Taming His Scandalous Countess Read Free Page B

perusing the estate's stud books.
    Now to find her. His valet had
discovered Isabelle was lodged in an older wing of the house, well away from
everyone else. That was a little odd, but perhaps the lady had requested some
degree of privacy. Snow followed Cheem's instructions, passing from the library
to a central passage which led to the old hall, its furnishings covered with
white sheeting. He walked under an elaborately carved minstrel's gallery,
through a narrow door, and into another passage beyond. Here the age of the
original building was apparent, with stone-flagged floors and low ceilings.
Several doors opened along the passage, all empty. The door at the end was
locked. He knocked softly, but hearing no response, he turned the key,
purloined by Cheem from a helpful maid, and opened the door.
    The room was dim and cold. Isabelle
sat by the sole window, chin on her fist as she stared outside.
    "Lady Croucher.
Isabelle."
    She turned with a start. "Lord
Snow! What are you doing here?"
    "I wanted to see you and you
weren't at breakfast."
    She smiled wistfully. "I am
never at breakfast, or any other meal. Last night's dinner was the first time I
had eaten with them in two years."
    "Do you find company so
distasteful then? I know you were in mourning."
    "You still do not understand,
Lord Snow. I am a prisoner here."
    He looked around the room, at the
shabby furnishings, and the lack of ornaments or pictures, save a well-stocked
bookshelf. Isabelle was clothed as before, in a drab, shapeless gown of some
thick stuff. Her hair had been braided tightly and pinned up, like some prim
governess. But no amount of unbecoming dress could disguise the curve of her
full lower lip or the beauty of her deep blue eyes.
    "I don't understand why your
brother would treat you like this."
    Her lips trembled. "There was
a scandal, a terrible scandal and he brought me here, to save the family
reputation, and to save me."
    "I know your husband
died..."
    She looked desolate. "Charlie
was murdered, stabbed. John arrived at the house to find him dead, and me
unconscious. The servants were gone, so John cleaned me up and brought me here.
The murder was ruled unsolved, a burglary gone wrong by an unknown
culprit."
    There was something she wasn't
saying.
    Snow lifted Isabelle's chin gently.
"And what really did happen to Charlie?"
    She looked away. "I believe
sometimes John thinks I killed him."
     "Did you?"
    Her anguished gaze swung back to
him. "I don't remember. I've tried, God knows I've tried."
    She wrenched away from him and
leapt to her feet, to pace back and forth across the narrow room.
      "Perhaps I picked up the
knife when I came into the room after, after..."
    "After he was dead?"
    Isabelle shrugged. "I don't
know."
    "Were you injured?"
    Her hand rose, pushing her hair
back from her brow. "There was blood, everywhere, on my face and..."
She stretched her hands out, as if examining them for stains. "I hurt,
there were bruises on my arms...I don't remember," she said, voice rising
in agitation. Her breasts heaved against the stiff fabric of her bodice.
    "Hush, Isabelle, it's all
right. You can't remember and it's no wonder." He bent towards her, to
comfort her, but she pushed him away.
     "It's no use. John will never
let me go."
    "Leave your brother to
me."
    Isabelle eyed him with suspicion.
"Why would you help me?"
    Snow cleared his throat. "I
thought, I hoped, I could persuade you to come to London with me."
    Her eyes narrowed. "How
benevolent of you, Lord Snow. And in return? You'll expect me to warm your bed
until you tire of me?"
    An image of a naked Isabelle
reclining on his bed, hair tumbled over her shoulders, eyes warm with welcome,
stirred his cock. Yes, that was exactly what he expected, what he desired. And
increasingly, what he yearned for.
    "And once you are finished
with me, what then? You'll toss a few baubles my way and I'll be left with no reputation
and nowhere to go. Or perhaps I'll find a new protector and continue my