Pale Moon Stalker (The Nymph Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Shirl Henke
never have believed it possible for the lithe, slim Englishman. He turned to her then with a harsh smile.
"I didn't thank you for shooting at the second thief." He looked at her reticule as she dropped the Derringer into it. "Do you always go to dinner armed, Lady Ruxton?"
"Always," Sky replied in a flat voice. She did not smile.
Chapter Two
London daunted Sky from the moment they arrived. New York was large and bustling, but raw and new, filled with the frenetic energy of a young nation. This magnificent ancient city was far larger, the very center of the greatest empire the world had yet seen.
"Nervous?" Max asked as the driver drew in the reins and stopped the carriage at the front entrance of the Ruxton City house, a lovely three-story edifice constructed of pale aged brick replete with ivy tendrils trailing like green lace across the front. "The servants will adore you, especially Baldwin, the butler. He's the one who's really in charge of the household."
Sky swallowed for courage. "Yes, to be honest, I'm more frightened now than I've ever been—even when I walked into Miss Jefferson's Academy my first day at age fourteen."
"No one here bites," he said with a grin.
She smiled. "Lucretia Mottly did, quite viciously, as a matter of fact."
"Why is it that I suspect you gave as good as you received at Miss Jefferson's?" he asked dryly.
"I didn't bite her back, if that's what you think," she replied in mock indignation. "I put a large black spider in her bedcovers. She all but screamed the dormitory down!"
He grinned at her self-satisfied chuckle. "I detest spiders. Remind me never to bite you," he said.
The double entendre was not lost on her as he slipped easily from the hack and offered her his hand. She could feel the thrill of contact the moment she placed her fingers in his palm, in spite of the fact they both wore gloves. "A number of the girls at Miss J's bit and did other things far more heinous than I could ever have imagined," she said, attempting to cover her reaction to his touch.
"Henderson, my uncle's cook, had a dog when I left for America. Smart mutt was known to take a nip or two when he disliked someone—but his only victim was my cousin Cletus."
"The one you dislike so?" she asked, but before he could reply they were interrupted.
"Welcome home, m'lord," a small, frail looking man said as he climbed down the front stairs. He was amazingly spry, possessed of a booming bass voice...and completely bald. His shrewd gray eyes crinkled at the corners with pure joy as he looked Max over from head to foot. "America has certainly agreed with you, if I may be so bold as to say."
"So happy for your approval, Baldwin, although I know you wish I'd never left 'civilization.' "
"But then, m'lord, you'd never have found such a lovely lady," the butler replied with a cheeky grin. He bowed handsomely to Sky while Max made the introductions.
She had worried about the welcome she might expect from the longtime retainers of Harry Stanhope, Max's beloved uncle. This warm greeting was a good omen. Although she did have to stifle a tiny smile at the shiny-pated man's name. "You are most kind, Baldwin. I feel welcome, in spite of the sad circumstances that have brought us here."
A fleeting expression of deep sorrow crossed the old man's face, but was quickly banished as he replied, "His lordship will be sorely missed. He was a fine man who lived a long and full life."
"Baldwin was with my uncle for most of it," Max said as they entered the foyer, where a line of servants stood expectantly on the polished marble floor.
Sky took in her surroundings, feeling like those first Native American chieftains must have when summoned to the Great White Father's "lodge" in Washington D.C. A staircase wound upward to the second floor, and a glittering chandelier of breathtaking crystal hung suspended from the twenty-foot ceiling. Vases of fresh cut flowers were placed about the large space, their summer fragrance
"I didn't thank you for shooting at the second thief." He looked at her reticule as she dropped the Derringer into it. "Do you always go to dinner armed, Lady Ruxton?"
"Always," Sky replied in a flat voice. She did not smile.
Chapter Two
London daunted Sky from the moment they arrived. New York was large and bustling, but raw and new, filled with the frenetic energy of a young nation. This magnificent ancient city was far larger, the very center of the greatest empire the world had yet seen.
"Nervous?" Max asked as the driver drew in the reins and stopped the carriage at the front entrance of the Ruxton City house, a lovely three-story edifice constructed of pale aged brick replete with ivy tendrils trailing like green lace across the front. "The servants will adore you, especially Baldwin, the butler. He's the one who's really in charge of the household."
Sky swallowed for courage. "Yes, to be honest, I'm more frightened now than I've ever been—even when I walked into Miss Jefferson's Academy my first day at age fourteen."
"No one here bites," he said with a grin.
She smiled. "Lucretia Mottly did, quite viciously, as a matter of fact."
"Why is it that I suspect you gave as good as you received at Miss Jefferson's?" he asked dryly.
"I didn't bite her back, if that's what you think," she replied in mock indignation. "I put a large black spider in her bedcovers. She all but screamed the dormitory down!"
He grinned at her self-satisfied chuckle. "I detest spiders. Remind me never to bite you," he said.
The double entendre was not lost on her as he slipped easily from the hack and offered her his hand. She could feel the thrill of contact the moment she placed her fingers in his palm, in spite of the fact they both wore gloves. "A number of the girls at Miss J's bit and did other things far more heinous than I could ever have imagined," she said, attempting to cover her reaction to his touch.
"Henderson, my uncle's cook, had a dog when I left for America. Smart mutt was known to take a nip or two when he disliked someone—but his only victim was my cousin Cletus."
"The one you dislike so?" she asked, but before he could reply they were interrupted.
"Welcome home, m'lord," a small, frail looking man said as he climbed down the front stairs. He was amazingly spry, possessed of a booming bass voice...and completely bald. His shrewd gray eyes crinkled at the corners with pure joy as he looked Max over from head to foot. "America has certainly agreed with you, if I may be so bold as to say."
"So happy for your approval, Baldwin, although I know you wish I'd never left 'civilization.' "
"But then, m'lord, you'd never have found such a lovely lady," the butler replied with a cheeky grin. He bowed handsomely to Sky while Max made the introductions.
She had worried about the welcome she might expect from the longtime retainers of Harry Stanhope, Max's beloved uncle. This warm greeting was a good omen. Although she did have to stifle a tiny smile at the shiny-pated man's name. "You are most kind, Baldwin. I feel welcome, in spite of the sad circumstances that have brought us here."
A fleeting expression of deep sorrow crossed the old man's face, but was quickly banished as he replied, "His lordship will be sorely missed. He was a fine man who lived a long and full life."
"Baldwin was with my uncle for most of it," Max said as they entered the foyer, where a line of servants stood expectantly on the polished marble floor.
Sky took in her surroundings, feeling like those first Native American chieftains must have when summoned to the Great White Father's "lodge" in Washington D.C. A staircase wound upward to the second floor, and a glittering chandelier of breathtaking crystal hung suspended from the twenty-foot ceiling. Vases of fresh cut flowers were placed about the large space, their summer fragrance
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