The Virtuous Ward (Sweet Deception Regency #5) Read Online Free

of books Max sent as a suitable present. She found amusement in his choice of self-improvement books and chuckled at their reading.
    Aside from the Christmas books, never once in the last eleven years had she received a letter, a gift or a visit from her guardian. All instructions as to her care and education were sent to Mrs. Dimwittier, the housekeeper, and thus to the current governess who passed on what information she thought proper to Amity. At first Amity had been hurt but, never prone to self-pity, she eventually realized that a young man would have little in common with a child. Yet it would have been nice if he had taken just a little bit of an interest in her.
    "What a time to sleep, Muffin. I could use someone to talk to," Amity muttered in exasperation.
    The recipient of these words, lifted sleepy lids for a brief moment, then sighed heavily and drifted off again. The young girl made a moue of annoyance and returned to her examination of the rolling countryside.
    Once Amity realized there was no one who cared for her, she had taken control of her life. She no longer expected love so she was free to make friends without fear of rejection. She was surrounded by servants and she talked with them, unfettered by the conventions and taboos of society. She made friends in the village and over the years met nothing but kindness. Innately curious and impetuous, her days were happily occupied with studies, reading and friends on the estate or in the village.
    Only in her dreams, did she yearn for a different life. She desired a real home with a husband and a child of her own. And she dreamed of Max. She did not blame him for leaving her at Beech House. She understood that he was too busy to be bothered about her but she wished it had been otherwise. For years Amity dreamed that he would return and rescue her from her bleak existence. A knight on a ferocious, white charger saving the damsel in distress.
    Amity snorted at her ridiculous fancies and felt a return of the nervous flutter in the region of her stomach at the thought of her journey's end. She listened to the rhythm of the carriage horses, fearful that one of the beasts might be going lame, but the noble cattle drew her towards her new home and a guardian she had only seen once.
    "Come on, Muffin, you lazy slug. Wake up," Amity muttered, elbowing her companion. When this tactic had little effect, she leaned over and whispered. "I'll help you look for cats. And maybe even a rabbit."
    Thus tempted, Amity's companion, an enormous brown dog of unknown and highly suspect origin yawned, his great tongue arching upward between neat rows of white teeth. He stretched all four legs and emitted a low rumbling moan before he turned his head toward his mistress. Muffin's eyelids raised and he stared at Amity through soulful pools of brown.
    "What a lump you are," Amity said as she hugged her friend, nuzzling one floppy ear. "Ever since we got in the coach this morning you've been sleeping. Besides we're almost there. Coachman said it would be another half hour."
    Thus reminded of their imminent arrival, Amity bit her lip, feeling the jolt of her accelerated heartbeat. She pushed the huge dog off her lap and brushed at the clumps of dog hair left behind. Then reaching up, she untied the blue ribbon that confined her hair at the nape of her neck. As usual a cloud of the bright red curls had escaped and were billowing around her cheeks. She raked her fingers through the shimmering mass of waist-length hair and retied the ribbon.
    "My reticule! My gloves!" she wailed, searching the carriage.
    She found the reticule at last beneath the plain poke bonnet, which she jammed on her head, but after a hurried hunt, could not find her mittens. She remembered removing them at the last stop and accepted the sad fact that she would have to arrive at her destination with bare hands. The reticule was dusty and she grasped the strings and smacked it against the squabs sending up clouds of dust.