The Princess and the Pauper Read Online Free Page B

could only speculate on what the old miser wanted from
him.
    Inevitably, his thoughts turned to Emily.
He wondered whether her father had grown suspicious of his feelings
for her. Grey hadn’t spoken to her in two weeks, not since the
night in the music room, and she in turn had ignored him,
concentrating instead on finding a husband. It was the way their
relationship should be—should have always been—and yet he was more
irritable than ever. He hoped the self-absorbed Wright hadn’t
finally noticed.
    T he front doorbell rang again—the eighth in
the last hour! Grey stiffened at the galling sound. Since Emily had
returned from school, suitor after suitor had descended on the
house every afternoon during visiting hours. He tried to ignore the
thought of so many men calling on her, but the wretched bell toll
would not let him forget it.
    “ I’ve called you in here to
discuss our arrangement .” Wright finally looked up from his desk, his
dark eyes focusing on Grey. “I am terminating your indentured
servitude.”
    An unseen weight crashed down on his
head. “But the debt isn’t repaid.”
    “ I am forgiving the remainder of
the debt.” He wrote in his open account book, to the right of his
papers. “There. A zero balance. The debt is repaid in
full.”
    Silence.
    “ Have you nothing to say,
Rees?”
    The man was expecting gratitude, but Grey
couldn’t offer it, his breath trapped in his throat.
    “ You have been here five years,”
Wright went on, dismissing the silence. He folded the paper in
front of him. “Here is a letter of reference. And since you’ve
received no wages in all that time, here is a banknote in the
amount of ten pounds. Both will help you establish yourself in a
new venture.” Wright held out the letter and draft. “You’ve been a
good worker, Rees, and you’ve honored your grandfather.”
    Head spinning, Grey stepped forward and
accepted the papers. “Thank you,” he returned, his voice
strangled.
    “ You’re welcome,” said Wright.
“You are free to leave.”
    Strange how he had longed to hear
those words, and now that they had been spoken, he hadn’t the
strength to carry himself out the door.
    “ May I know the reason for your
generosity?” he finally asked.
    “ You may.” Wright stood up from
his chair and rounded the desk. “I will be obtaining a new
residence.”
    “ I can work for you at your
new residence.”
    The words escaped his mouth before he had
time to think about them.
    “ I’m sure you’ve better ambitions
for yourself. You have your grandfather’s blood, and I admired his
entrepreneurial spirit.”
    . . . so long as he paid his
rent.
    It was pure business with Wright. He had no
soul. Not like Emily.
    “ When will you and Miss
Wright be leaving?”
    “ I alone am leaving, just as soon
as she is married.”
    Grey’s heart stopped. “She is
engaged?”
    “ Soon to be, I’m sure. She is
this season’s treasure. I intend to gift her and her husband this
house. It’s in the most fashionable district in Town and will be
the center of their social lives. She will need a new staff, her
own, not one inherited from her father. And a widower, like myself,
requires a more modest abode, so I will be keeping a smaller staff
at my new residence.”
    “ I see.”
    Wright offered his large hand. “I wish
you good fortune, Rees.”
    He returned the handshake. “Thank
you.”
    ~ * ~
    Grey didn’t have much to pack,
just some
clothes and toiletries. And letters. Emily’s letters. He placed the
bundle of papers into his luggage and secured the leather straps.
He then looked around the small room that had been his home for the
last five years and felt a moment of nostalgic regret. He and Emily
had become friends in this humble place. He remembered her haughty
airs and rude quips and her eventual, begrudging, brave admission
that she needed him—both his music and his
companionship.
    He picked up the suitcase and
his violin. For the first time in his life he