Sybill Read Online Free

much gold in the Hampton household, her father had been sure all they possessed was of the highest quality. Until his shocking death, she had not questioned how it was paid for when there was little money to buy from the food peddlers in the street. “Lord Foxbridge, I must tell you I appreciate you opening your home to a stranger.”
    He chuckled as he sat in a chair covered with light green velvet. “Stranger? You are hardly that, my dear child. After all the wonderful letters you have written to me in the past year.”
    â€œAll? There were only two or three,” she corrected. She tried to recall what she had said which would make him think he knew her. Little in the stilted missives reflected the true Sybill Hampton.
    â€œI enjoyed them and reread them so often, it seems impossible there could be that few.” He waved aside the topic. “It does not matter, for you are here now. My guest as I have been your guest in the past.”
    Her answer was halted by the door opening. Although her smile faded, she could not keep her eyes from savoring the handsomeness of Trevor Breton. From his position in Lord Foxbridge’s household, it would seem his intelligence matched his outward appearance. If he had not been so uncourtly, she would not have minded having a friend like Mr. Breton to keep her mind from becoming dull in this wasteland. Her greatest enjoyment had been the spirited, witty conversation at her father’s table. She wondered if she would find any like that in this wilderness. When he looked in her direction, she lowered her eyes. The moment their eyes met, she had seen his revulsion.
    Iciness filled his voice, as he said, “As you requested, m’lord. Here is the wine. Do you wish me to pour?”
    Lord Foxbridge asked, clearly baffled, “Is there a problem, Trevor?”
    â€œNone that I know of, m’lord.”
    â€œVery well. Pour three glasses and join us. I know you will want to have a chance to become better acquainted with Foxbridge’s newest lady.”
    The wine splashed onto the linen tablecloth. Trevor looked up in dismay, but the lord and his pretty, young guest were talking as if nothing was wrong. Perhaps that was the way they saw it. Especially Sybill Hampton. Nothing could be wrong for her if the lord was set to announce she would become the lady of Foxbridge Cloister.
    As he dropped a damp cloth over the stain, he asked himself why he should be so surprised. Before the woman arrived, he had overheard talk among the servants about why Lord Foxbridge would invite Sybill Hampton here. No one could be unaware of what her father had been, and there was a great deal of snickering behind hands.
    More cautiously he finished filling three goblets with the blood red wine. With Lord Foxbridge’s son determined to drain every coin from the estate to waste in the brothels and playhouses of London, they had no need for another of the same type. Lord Foxbridge was not making any effort to hide his enchantment with her, so it would be Trevor’s job to rid Foxbridge Cloister of her.
    Loathing the circumstances which forced him to be polite, he held out a goblet to Sybill. “Miss Hampton?”
    â€œThank you, Mr. Breton.” She was careful her fingers did not brush his. If she touched him again, she did not know what the result would be.
    Lord Foxbridge chuckled. “How formal you are! Sybill, you must feel free to call my aide by his Christian name. You don’t mind, do you, Trevor?”
    â€œOf course not.” He smiled, but his skin felt as if it was being stretched too tightly. The insult was clear. He was to allow her to use his given name, but the compliment was not to be returned. Never in his years at the Cloister had he been reminded in this manner of his yeoman status.
    Sybill noted his reaction to Lord Foxbridge’s unthinking words. Trevor Breton did not seem like a man who would take such treatment lightly. For her,