Sheikh's Mail-Order Bride Read Online Free Page B

shareholder is therefore extremely well versed in such matters.’
    â€˜Ah, you mean this man is a merchant of the East India Company?’
    â€˜Yes. Mr Gilmour Edgbaston.’
    â€˜A relative?’
    â€˜Not as such. Mr Edgbaston and I are— We are— The fact of the matter is that I was on my way to India to marry Mr Edgbaston,’ Constance said faintly. ‘And now when Captain Cobb arrives he will have the sad task of informing my future husband that his bride has drowned at sea.’ She swallowed a bubble of hysterical laughter. ‘You can have no idea, Your Highness, how convenient that would be if it were true.’
    * * *
    Having absolutely no idea at all what to make of this last remark, Kadar studied the Englishwoman in some consternation. When he had first spotted it on the list of those who had perished, Lady Constance Montgomery’s name had conjured up an image of a very proper middle-aged matron. He could not have been more wrong. The rough peasant’s tunic she wore was far too big for her slim figure. Her hair, a deep glossy brown, tumbled down over her shoulders in wild waves. There was a roundness to her cheeks, a fullness to her lips quite at odds with the rather fierce brows. Her brown eyes were wide-spaced, fringed with thick lashes. Her gaze was direct and intelligent, a striking contrast to the vulnerability of her softer features and one which Kadar found unexpectedly—and most inappropriately—beguiling.
    â€˜You cannot mean that you wish yourself dead,’ he said, wondering if the raw pink scar on her forehead had deranged her mind.
    She shook her head slowly. ‘No, no, of course I don’t mean that literally only—oh, I don’t suppose you will understand. Being a prince, I expect you are accustomed to arranging your life exactly as you wish it, but...’
    â€˜You are mistaken,’ Kadar answered with some feeling. ‘I had a great deal more freedom when I was not a prince.’
    â€˜Oh?’
    Her gaze was curious. He was oddly tempted to explain himself, which was of course ridiculous. Instead, he found himself contemplating Lady Constance’s feet. They looked vulnerable, her dainty little toes peeping out from her tunic. But he should not be looking at her toes, dainty or otherwise. ‘You were telling me why you wished yourself dead.’
    â€˜I was telling you that I don’t truly wish that. Only that I wish— Oh, it sounds silly now. I wish I could have remained undiscovered. Missing presumed free, so to speak.’ She gave a wry little shrug. ‘My marriage was arranged by my parents. I’ve never met Mr Edgbaston, and know very little about him at all, save his name, age and circumstances. When I left England, I thought I had resigned myself to making the best of the situation but I’ve had the whole sea voyage to—to reconsider.’
    â€˜And while you were—what did you call it?—undiscovered you could pretend that it would never happen, is that it?’
    Lady Constance nodded. ‘As I said, it was silly of me, but...’
    â€˜But understandable,’ Kadar said, with feeling. ‘Bad enough that you are being forced into a marriage to a man you have never met, but to have to travel halfway across the world, to leave behind all your friends, all your family, your most intimate acquaintance a woman you met for the first time on the day you boarded the ship, it is outrageous.’
    â€˜When you put it like that, I rather think I would be better off dead.’
    â€˜I apologise, I did not mean to upset you. It is merely that I—’ Kadar broke off, shaking his head. ‘My words were quite out of turn,’ he said stiffly. ‘I have no right at all to comment on your personal situation.’
    None! And no right to express his own feelings on the matter. He was a prince. How many times must he remind himself of that fact? It did not matter what