A Baron for Becky Read Online Free Page A

in
sight.
    “Sarah, run for
the hedge and hide under it until the carriage comes,” she said,
before scurrying along the edge of the summerhouse, picking up the
bundle, box, and basket.
    She checked
both ways again before running to join her daughter. Just in time.
Tiny rounded the house and started down the path, calling for the
man at the back gate.
    Moments later,
the carriage came slowly up the lane. Aldridge opened the door and
leapt down to toss first Sarah, then Rose, then all of their
baggage, up into the carriage. He swung in behind them, swiftly
shutting the door.
    “Stay down,”
his cousin said to Rose, who was trying to pull herself up from the
floor. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”
    Rose sat at the
earl’s feet, propping herself against the seat, taking Sarah into
her arms.
    The coachman
must have had instructions to spring the horses once all the
passengers were aboard, for the coach suddenly lurched forward, and
Rose had to brace herself with her feet and one arm.
    Aldridge, from
the seat opposite his cousin, said, “I expect them to check on us,
but they won’t follow us to the Court. You’ll soon be safe,
ladies.”
    “We have
perhaps fifteen minutes until we are on my land,” the earl told
her, “and then a further ten to the Court.” He raised his brows at
Aldridge. “Time enough to tell me your story, cousin.”
     

     
    The brief
explanation they gave, all they were prepared to say in front of
the child, clearly didn’t satisfy Rede. But he said nothing, even
after they were met at the Court by Rede’s countess, the lovely
Anne. But as soon as Aldridge delivered Mrs Rose Darling—a working
name if ever he heard one—and Miss Sarah Darling into Lady
Chirbury’s hands, Aldridge heard the command he’d expected.
    “Aldridge, I’ll
see you in my study.”
    The courtesan
had been subdued in the carriage, but he’d caught a speculative
look in her eyes from time to time. Eyes of cornflower blue, in a
face that fulfilled the promise he’d glimpsed in the night’s
shadows. And her body brought his to instant, quivering
attention.
    He hoped her
mind was drifting in the same direction as his. Rede’s house had
many inviting nooks and crannies to provide cover for a couple in
search of privacy.
    “Aldridge!”
Rede’s voice cut through Aldridge’s lazy speculation about Mrs
Darling’s treasures.
    Aldridge
followed Rede, who went straight to a row of decanters in the
spacious study. “Brandy? It’s early, but you look like hell, old
chap.”
    “Please.”
    Now that the
crisis was over, Aldridge’s headache had returned full force, and
he was having trouble focusing his thoughts. Perhaps his lies about
being drugged were closer to the truth than he’d thought.
    Rede waved him
to a chair. “You are planning to offer Mrs Darling carte
blanche , I assume. Very well. The lady has to make a living.
But while she is a guest under my roof, you will not bed her—or tup
her anywhere else. Nor will you offend my wife with lewd talk or
innuendo. I’ll have your promise before you leave this room.”
    Aldridge didn’t
have the energy to be offended at Rede’s poor opinion of his
manners. Besides, he had intended all of those things. Except for
lewd talk in front of Rede’s countess, obviously.
    “I didn’t come
down to see her,” he said. “I didn’t even know she existed. How
does it happen that you’ve heard of The Rose of Frampton, and I
haven’t?”
    A two-pronged
distraction, and thankfully, Rede picked up one of the lures. “If
you didn’t come for Mrs Darling, what were you doing in her
garden?”
    “I have no
idea, Rede. Last I remember, I was at a house party just outside of
Bath. What’s the date?”
    “The date?”
Rede raised his eyebrows, but answered. “The 17th of October.”
    “Really? The
last day I remember was the 14th. I went to bed on the 14th of
October, and woke up in the early morning of the 17th twenty-five
miles away and in the garden of a