ToLoveaLady Read Online Free Page B

followed behind the pair, her ample figure bearing down on the intruders like a sea cutter.  
    “We must see Lord Silsbee.” The young man’s East London accent reminded Charles of home. That, and hearing his proper title made him stand, his back rigid.
    The couple stopped in front of him. The young man doffed his cap and made an elaborate bow, while the woman sank into a curtsy. Charles stared at them, aware that the eyes of every man and woman in the place were focused on this little scene. He didn’t have to ask himself who was responsible for this embarrassment. Only one person would want him badly enough to send servants to fetch him.
    “Lord Silsbee, sir,” the man said.  
    “Who are you?” Charles demanded.
    “Nick Bainbridge, m’lord. If you’d be so kind to come with me, m’lord.”
    “What do you mean, interrupting me this way?” Charles effected his most aristocratic tone of voice, mimicking his father perfectly. “Who sent you?” As if he didn’t already know the answer to that question. Did the earl mean to bodily drag him back to England?
    Bainbridge frowned. He glanced at the crowd around him and took a step toward Charles. “Excuse me, m’lord, but perhaps it would be best if we talked in private, like. If you’ll just come with me –.”
    Two men moved forward, as if to seize Bainbridge by the collar and toss him out. Charles waved them away. “I do not intend to go anywhere until you answer my question. What is your purpose here? Who sent you?”
    Bainbridge looked distressed. “Lady Thorndale sent me, m’lord,” he said. “She’s in need of your assistance.”
    “Lady Thorndale? Lady Cecily Thorndale?” Charles eyed the young man warily. Was this another of his father’s tricks? “Surely her ladyship did not send you all the way from England to personally fetch me.”
    “Of course not, m’lord. Her ladyship is here.”
    Charles faltered. “Cecily is here? In Texas?”
    “In Fairweather, m’lord.”
    “What is she doing here ?” If Cecily was here, then that meant Lord Marbridge was here as well, with no telling how many retainers. Perhaps Marbridge and the earl had colluded to bring him home – and Cecily had been brought along in order to complete the marriage bargain right away, thus sealing his fate. He scanned the room, searching for the nearest exit. If he had to, he’d make a run for it. He wouldn’t be forced into his father’s mold so soon.
    “She came because of the letter, m’lord.”
    “The letter?” Charles frowned.
    “The letter you wrote to her, m’lord,” Bainbridge prompted.
    Charles’ frown deepened. That letter. The one in which he’d proposed putting off their wedding yet again. His plan had been to stall until Cecily received a better offer, as no doubt she soon would, as long as he kept himself halfway across the world, out of the picture. Apparently, Marbridge intended to make him complete the engagement if it meant sailing to Texas to do so. Charles would have to find a way to put him off. “Tell her ladyship I’m busy at the moment. I’ll call on her and her family tomorrow.”
    Bainbridge coughed. The woman beside him looked as if she might faint at any moment. “Lady Thorndale is not here with her family,” the footman said. “And I’m afraid she cannot wait until tomorrow. She requires your assistance at once.”
    Charles glared at the man. “Cecily is traveling alone?” Delicate, sheltered Cecily, traveling by herself across the wilds of Texas. It was unthinkable!  
    Bainbridge stiffened and raised his chin. “Her ladyship is in the company of myself and Miss Rogers, her lady’s maid.”
    The maid bobbed another curtsey. Charles recognized her now, from his visits to the Thorndale estate. A sick feeling congealed in his stomach. “Has Lord Marbridge gone out of his mind, letting a woman like Cecily travel all this way in the company of two servants?” He struggled to control his voice. No wonder Cecily required his