The Wild Child Read Free

might help her become normal.”
    “Surely after so many years, that’s unlikely.”
    “I suspect that Amworth’s secret wish is for Meriel to have children. He was very close to his sister—this might be his way of trying to get her back, or at least continuing her line.”
    Dominic repressed a shiver of distaste. “I suppose that makes sense in an unwholesome way, but why the hurry? If you’re the selected stud, a few weeks’ delay shouldn’t make much difference.”
    “There is a complication. Her paternal uncle, Lord Grahame, is opposed to the idea of Lady Meriel being wed. He considers it a travesty, a sin against nature.”
    Dominic agreed with that wholeheartedly. “So Amworth wants the deed done before Grahame finds out. It appears that you risk becoming involved in what could become a nasty scandal.”
    “Lady Meriel is twenty-three. No court has declared her unfit, so technically she doesn’t need her guardians’ permission to wed.” Despite his smooth explanation, Kyle looked uncomfortable as he continued, “Amworth assures me that Grahame will accept a fait accompli as long as the girl seems content with the result. Since Grahame is traveling on the Continent, Amworth wants his niece wedded and bedded before he returns.”
    “Why do you want this match, Kyle? There are other heiresses, most of whom would provide you with a more acceptable relationship. Surely you can’t have fallen in love with a mute madwoman.”
    His brother’s face hardened. “Lady Meriel is my preference. We will both benefit by the marriage, I believe.”
    It still sounded like a devilish bad bargain to Dominic, but he and his brother saw things very differently. Their own parents had lived largely separate lives, and apparently Kyle wished to do the same. “I still don’t see how a substitution could be done successfully. Oh, I could certainly play a convincing Lord Maxwell for people who don’t know you, but I can’t live at this estate for weeks, then have you step in without the difference being noticed.”
    “Lady Meriel lives with a pair of vague old cousins and a household of servants. No one who matters. Simply keep to yourself, avoid becoming intimate with anyone, and spend enough time with the girl so that she is comfortable in your presence.”
    “She most of all is likely to notice a substitution,” Dominic said, exasperated. “Even our dogs and horses could tell us apart instantly.”
    “She… doesn’t notice people. I made a brief visit to Warfield.” Kyle fell silent for a moment. “At dinner, she glanced at me once and returned to her soup. I doubt she’ll see the difference between you and me.”
    Dominic tried to imagine a wedding night with a girl who behaved like a wax doll. “This sounds more like rape than marriage.”
    “Damn you, Dom, I didn’t come to listen to your objections!” Kyle exploded. “Will you help me, or not?”
    The whip-crack words made Dominic recognize what he should have known the minute his brother walked into the room: Kyle was suffering. Under his arrogance something was terribly wrong. A love affair so unhappy that he literally didn’t care who he married? Once Dominic could have asked, but his brother would not answer, not the way things stood between them now. Equally clear was how desperate Kyle was to get Dominic’s cooperation. Granted, someday his brother would be an earl and Bradshaw Manor merely a minor holding, but the estate was still a huge payment for a few weeks of work.
    Despite the friction between them, Dominic didn’t like seeing his twin so upset. As much because of that as for the potent lure of acquiring his own property, he said, “Very well. I’ll do as you ask.”
    Kyle sighed with relief. “Good. I’m expected at Warfield on Monday, so there isn’t much time to prepare you.”
    “So soon?”
    “Do you have business so urgent that you can’t leave town right away?”
    No, blast it, he didn’t. He’d have to cry off a couple