The Earl's Desire Read Online Free

old man refused profoundly, but when Merrick pointed out they’d need it for medical care and to buy food, the man finally accepted the help, showering the young man with blessings of good fortune.
    “ Sir, sir!”
    Merrick turned to see Tyson calling him.
    “ I thank you for saving my sis—huh!” He clasped his mouth with both hands to shut himself up. Then he lowered his face and looked at his dirty boots. “Um, brother and for bringing him home,” he mumbled.
    Merrick chuckled and tousled his hair. “Look after him well, won’t you?”
    Little Tyson looked up, his eyes large and twinkling as he gazed at the great man. “Oh, I will. Don’t you worry,” he said, smiling.
     

 
     
     
     
    TWO
     
     
     
    Christine’s delicate, shapely back jerked as it was bathed clean with steaming hot water. Mrs. Smith stared long and hard at the hot red wounds crisscrossing along the length of the slender back. She could almost hear the slashing sound of the strap striking.
    “ There, ’tis done,” she said as she helped Christine turn over. “Oh, dear,” she muttered.
    Christine felt pain within her heart as she watched tears flowing down her beloved grandmother’s cheeks. Already, the woman had suffered enough through her life of hardship. Why Christine had gone and gotten herself beaten, which added more burden on her grandmother, was beyond her. She felt so awful that she wanted to throw up.
    “ Grandmamma,” she began, her voice shaky, “I’m so sorry, and really, I’m all right.”
    “ No, my dear, you are not all right. We shouldn’t have let you take on that job,” Mrs. Smith muttered, shaking her head.
    “ Grandmamma, please don’t cry. You know Grandpapa is getting too old and can’t find enough money to keep us all,” Christine said logically.
    “ Why did I ever allow this to happen to you?” the woman muttered, arranging the blanket around the girl as she got into bed.
    “ Grandmamma?” Christine said hesitantly. “I… I will have to find another job.”
    Mrs. Smith frowned. “My dear, let your grandfather find the work.”
    “ But Grandpa is too old, and he has done enough for me. ’Tis up to me to support the family,” Christine said.
    “ My love,” Mrs. Smith protested. “It has been five years. You must stop. What if somebody found out you’re a girl. I couldn’t stand that. They might do something terrible to you. I won’t allow it,” she muttered, shaking her head in disgust.
    “ Don’t worry, I will be fine. Nobody will find out, and if someone did, what could any of them do to me except beat me? And after all, I’ve managed to survive this last one and several others before.”
    “ I don’t want you to do any more men’s work. Perhaps if you could find women’s work to do,” the grandmother suggested.
    “ It would make it too easy for them to find us. You said yourself I look too much like Mama. They’d recognize me, wouldn’t they?”
    “ Oh!” Mrs. Smith sighed. “There is no hope, is there?”
    “ Grandmamma, I will be very careful.” Christine reached for Mrs. Smith’s hand. “It’ll work out.”
    She yawned, and her grandmother sighed. “’Tis getting late and you must rest. We’ll talk of it another day.” She kissed her granddaughter’s forehead and snuffed out the candle, Christine falling asleep even before the door was closed.
    Mrs. Smith walked into her bedroom and stared at her husband’s sleeping form. He looked very peaceful, and she wished she could feel the same. With a heavy heart, she sat on the edge of the bed and gazed out the window at the crescent moon. She tried not to think about the past because it was too painful. She knew they were safe for now. But for how much longer?
     
    * * *
     
    Her surroundings were hazy, as though she were in a dream. Christine fluttered her eyes open and tried to think where she was. Blank. Nothing. Then she realized that she wasn’t sleeping in her own bed. Shifting her gaze to her right,