Wed Him Before You Bed Him Read Free Page B

letting him help her.
    After losing his fight to save Sarah from herself, he refused to watch another woman drown because of his mistakes. He couldn’t in good conscience let Charlotte lose her school, her only source of income, in a trap of his making. That meant persuading her to see sense. Knowing Charlotte, that would be bloody difficult.
    Especially with her staring at him as if he’d just sprouted horns. “Why would Sarah want you to oversee the building of the new school?” she asked.
    â€œHave you forgotten my interest in architecture?”
    â€œIt is one thing to have architecture as a hobby, sir. It is quite another to design an entire building.”
    Her dismissiveness made him bristle. “What Sarah knew—and you don’t—is that my interest in architecture is more than a mere hobby. I worked very closely with architect John Nash in the building of my town house, and I was responsible for most of the renovation of Kirkwood Manor. You wouldn’t recognize it now.”
    â€œI am sure I would not,” she mumbled, with a fetching blush that staggered him.
    As easily as that, he was catapulted back to the summer of his parents’ house party and a handful of damned sweet kisses. Good God, if she continued blushing like a school-girl whenever he alluded to their past, he’d have trouble keeping his hands off her.
    He stifled a curse. He would have trouble with that regardless. She was still a beauty and after all this time,his blood still raced at the sight of that softly bowed lower lip and that wealth of red curls. Even her mature face and figure only made him want to throw her down on her desk and ravish her.
    But he was still in mourning for a wife he’d chosen badly, still drowning in the guilt of his own mistakes. An affair with Charlotte would only make that worse. He’d stupidly given her his heart once—he wasn’t fool enough to do so again.
    Not that he had much of one anymore. He’d survived these past few years by packing it away, and he wasn’t about to pull it out so she could stomp the dry-rotted thing into dust.
    â€œThe point is moot, in any case,” Charlotte went on, jerking him back to the matter at hand. “I can’t build a new school on property that doesn’t belong to me.”
    â€œThen buy property elsewhere and build the school there.” He held his breath. He had advised that in letters, but she’d ignored him. So he’d refrained from writing, praying that once he reestablished their connection and convinced her to trust him, she would more easily turn to him instead of her “cousin.”
    He had to convince her to move the school before she was evicted. She didn’t know how close that danger was. And he couldn’t tell her, or his whole house of cards would come tumbling down.
    â€œYou assume I could afford such a thing,” she said. “Even with the bequest—”
    â€œDidn’t you raise a nice sum at that charity event last spring, where that magician performed? If you couple that with a reasonable mortgage and Sarah’s money, you can purchase property and have plenty left over to build a new place.”
    She arched one eyebrow. “Have you any idea how much it costs to build near London these days?”
    â€œIt doesn’t have to be near London,” he said irritably. “There are schools all over England.”
    â€œYes, but none with this one’s reputation. And I don’t want to leave Richmond. My friends are nearby, and having the girls near town means better opportunities for education. Unless Mr. Pritchard’s vile choice of a tenant puts me in a situation where I have to move, I intend to continue here.”
    She wouldn’t continue here long, because the property didn’t belong to Cousin Michael. It belonged to Pritchard. David had a secret lien on it that allowed him to collect the rents, but the lien ran out in