If You Were Mine Read Online Free Page A

that they expected
him to find himself a suitable wife and establish his nursery
without delay.
    When he
was eventually able to accept Peter’s invitation, he was stunned to
discover Peter hadn’t done his sister any justice at all. He hadn’t
described her rosebud lips, the teasing glint in her periwinkle
blue eyes, or the delicate curls in the luxurious mass of jet-black
hair she usually tried, and failed, to keep confined in a bun at
the nape of her slender neck. Her gentle, somewhat eccentric nature
and infinitesimal charm made her without doubt, the most
captivating woman Dominic had met for some considerable time. Her
slightly wilful nature had intrigued rather than offended him,
until he found it increasingly difficult to be parted from her for
any length of time.
    Thankfully, her brother Peter hadn’t been averse to Dominic’s
interest in his sister and although not outwardly encouraging a
union, had ensured the couple had been allowed sufficient time
alone together to get to know each other. Dominic had remained at
Willowbrook with Peter and Isobel for several weeks, before the
pressing need to return to his own estate in Melton had driven him
to take his leave. It had been somewhat surprising to him to
discover how much of a wrench it was to leave her behind. It had
been even more of a shock to learn how miserable he was without her
sunny smiles and gentle humour to brighten his day. Once at Melton,
he had held out for as long as possible before he had sought an
excuse to make a return journey to see her.
    Over the
course of several months, Dominic had visited Willowbrook, and
Isobel numerous times with an eagerness that had grown rather than
diminished. When the occasion didn’t warrant a visit to
Willowbrook, Dominic had sought excuses to visit his uncle who
resided a few miles away. Luckily this put him in the same locale
as Isobel, and meant that he could afford her the time she needed
to get to know him, and become accustomed to their growing
relationship, hopefully without the need for him to throw himself
upon his knees at her feet to beg for her hand.
    If only
he had known then what he knew now. He should have thrown himself
upon his knees and begged for her mercy at the first opportunity.
He should have sought her acceptance of his proposal before leaving
her for Norfolk. Instead of following the dictates of his mission
for the Prince Regent, he should have waited even a couple of days
and rushed through a hasty marriage before leaving her within the
safe confines of Havistock Hall under the protection of his staff.
If he had, she would most certainly be alive now, and would not
have spent the last weeks of her life at the hands of her
merciless, despot uncle.
    In a
cruel twist of irony, the certain knowledge that if they had only
been a few weeks earlier, she would have been alive, lay like a
heavy weight in his heart. She would not have been driven to run
for her life, into the darkness of the night, to face God knows
what.
    As he
sat helplessly beside the grave of the woman who owned his soul,
Dominic cursed fate and Rupert Davenport for the cruel grief they
had played upon him.
    “ You have to get on with your life Dominic,” Peter muttered,
swiping at the mixture of tears and raindrops upon his own face.
“You cannot allow this to make you bitter.”
    Dominic
looked askance at his friend, and shook his head
regretfully.
    “ My life now, such as it is, is with her,” he nodded towards
the darkened earth at his feet. “Rupert cannot and will not get
away with this. Not while I have breath in my body Peter. I have to
have vengeance.”
    Grief
settled its deathly cloak around his shoulders as he stood beside
the simple grave in the quiet of the rural graveyard. Silence
settled between them, Dominic’s tears mingling with the gentle
pattering of icy raindrops as he gave in to the bleakest emotions
of bitterness and regret he had ever experienced in his life.
Devastation threatened to suck him