The Mysterious Governess (Daughters of Sin Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

and have changed, you can toss down your poor ruined dress. I promise I shall return it to you by tomorrow evening in pristine condition. If anyone can work miracles with clothing, my landlady can.”
    ‘No!” Lissa gave an emphatic shake of her head. “I am permitted no followers, Mr. Tunley. Besides, I’ve only just met you and that gown is worth a pretty penny. I’m quite capable of managing to do what must be done in order to rescue it from total ruin.”
    To her astonishment, she choked on the final word, stumbling against the low railing of the neighbor’s house as a great sob wracked her body. Good Lord, what was wrong with her? She was not one to succumb to displays of emotion, and she wasn’t even afraid.
    Well, not really.
    “I hope it wasn’t something I said.” Mr. Tunley looked alarmed. “I was just trying to offer a helpful solution.”
    Lissa tried to draw in a breath but there seemed to be some blockage. “I know you were, and it’s not you,” she managed, realizing that the sobs that were suddenly choking her must be due to the kind of shock that afflicts one after a terrible event has befallen them. The same thing had happened unexpectedly when she’d fallen off a horse once. She’d thought she was fine at the time, only to succumb to the vapors half an hour later.
    When she glanced up, she saw the happy smile had been wiped from the poor young man’s face. He was standing, uncertainly, as if he didn’t know whether to take off, fearing she might be mad.
    Lissa pulled herself together and managed to stammer, “Little wonder you look like you’d rather be running a mile in the opposite direction. First, you’re so good to me, helping me out of the carriage, seeing me safely home, and then offering to salvage my poor ruined dress so I don’t lose my job. And what do I do? Behave like a cry-baby.”
    He gripped her hands and helped her to stand straight. “You mistake me. You’re suffering from shock but I don’t want to appear to take liberties. You have every reason to shed tears, Miss Hazlett. I’m surprised you didn’t before. You’ve been lucky to escape a horrible accident with just a scratch. You’re probably half frozen to death, and if I weren’t a gentleman who’s already given you my coat, I’d offer you the warmth you need right now.”
    He looked suddenly abashed, as if he wished the pavement would swallow him. “Pardon me, that came out terribly wrong. I meant I wish I had a decent abode close by with a blazing fire where you could warm yourself but of course, even if I had, I couldn’t, for I really am a gentleman, and I’d never dream of sullying your reputation by getting closer than is seemly—well, except to rescue you from a crushed carriage, that is.”
    Lissa continued to tremble, though she smiled at his little speech. “You have been very kind, and yes I am very cold, though I will have to give up your coat in a minute.”
    “No, no, I insist, you must keep it.”
    Lissa shook her head. “I shall throw it down from the window, then. With my dress. I’ve decided I do trust you, after all. And since we’ve gone this far, and I am so beyond the pale, I will allow you to very quickly put your arms around me so that I may warm you , for you are trembling from the cold and, shocking as it may be, I am not in my ordered mind, but it’s all I can offer as my thanks for taking me this far so safely.”
    His irrepressible grin lit up his face as he wasted no time in stepping forward and, in a gentle yet quite firm embrace, he held her to him for a second.
    A charge of such warmth seemed to fill Lissa’s veins that she gasped. He was not tall and broad-shouldered, yet he felt dependable, and he smelled of almonds and coffee overlaid with tar, perhaps some concoction he used on his thatch of brown hair.
    It was the briefest of hugs, already he’d dropped his arms and stepped back, but his expression perhaps mirrored hers for he looked as if he too had been