Love's Tangle Read Online Free

below made her jump back and flatten herself against the corridor’s wood paneling, but it was only Mr. Jarvis chivvying an idle footman. She let out her breath; she had been so gripped by her exploration she hadn’t known she was holding it. The scare had been a reminder, though, that she needed to proceed a deal more cautiously. Swiftly she retraced her path, intent on regaining the servants’ hall as quickly as possible.
    “Are you lost, Nell?” It was the butler who materialized at her side as she regained the bottom stair.
    She tried to keep her voice calm. “I must have taken a wrong turning, Mr. Jarvis.”
    “This part of the house is out of bounds to any but house servants and then only between certain hours.” His voice was coldly severe, punishment if not dismissal lurking in every syllable. She waited to hear her fate but rescue was to come from an unexpected quarter.
    “Jarvis, where are those damn deeds? They need to be with the lawyers—now!”
    Gabriel Claremont erupted into the hall from a room at its furthest end, his hand combing an agitated path through already rumpled hair. Close fitting fawn breeches and glossy top boots were his sole concession to formality. A waistcoat of blue embroidered silk was left unbuttoned to reveal the frilled white shirt loosely cloaking his powerful frame. In his half-dressed state, he looked little more than a boy, she thought. A small jolt disturbed the measured rhythm of her heart.
    The butler’s severity vanished and harassment took its place. “Hannah took them to the study, Your Grace, and placed them on your desk. She found them in the library while dusting.”
    “Dusting!” Gabriel’s voice bounced off the flagstones. “Important legal papers—and they are to be at the mercy of a housemaid’s cloth!”
    “The documents were found beneath the family bible, Your Grace. There is a deal of paper stored in the room and the book had been used as a weight.”
    Gabriel strode furiously towards him. “A deal of paper which that rascally bailiff was supposed to organize months ago. Where is the villain?”
    “Mr. Joffey is visiting Hurstwood to oversee renovations, I believe.” If the butler was trying to soothe the situation, it did not appear to be working. Gabriel’s expression was unrelenting. “The property your late uncle left to Mr. Roland?” Jarvis added hopefully.
    “I know what Hurstwood is, dammit, and I’ve no interest. Meanwhile I’m left poking around this mausoleum trying to find deeds which will allow Pargiter to buy the fields his family has been renting for centuries. It’s not good enough.”
    “No, Your Grace. I quite see that. Allow me to search your study.”
    “You’ll be wasting your time.”
    “A minute only, Your Grace.”
    Gabriel shrugged his shoulders in irritation and began to retrace his steps when he became aware of Elinor standing silently beneath the portraits of Charles and Louisa.
    “Nell? Nell Milford? Are you not a little far from home? Or were you intending to set up a dairy in my hall?” He moved closer and she felt the warmth of his body filling the space between them.
    He looked up at the portraits hanging above her head and grimaced. “Or is it perhaps that you are transfixed by my family history?” He made an expansive gesture with his right arm, “Allow me to introduce you, Nell. I give you Uncle Charles and Aunt Louisa.”
    She followed his glance and a shudder traced its way down her spine.
    “Terrifying, aren’t they?” he asked genially. “But not half as terrifying as they were alive.”
    She did not know how to reply since her menial position made it impossible to express her true feelings. “They are…uncompromising,” she managed at last.
    “And you are a diplomat, Nell. But be honest. How would you like that pair hanging in your house? You should be thankful you have no hall in which to hang your ancestors.”
    “I have no ancestors either,” she replied composedly, “at least