With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

rake to happy family
man. But obviously, he was not a man Blanks wanted to emulate. If
Gregory Blankenship did not know his own heart, Glee most certainly
thought she did. With the right woman, he, too, could put to
pasture his irrepressible quest for amusement. He, too, could
become the son his father had wanted him to become. He could settle
at Sutton Hall, have children, and continue to steer the thriving
estates as his disciplined father had done before him. Glee was
convinced she knew Blanks' heart better than he. In time, she could
bring about the changes in him. With true love to bolster him, his
smiles could be windows to his soul, not screens covering his
torture.
    For she instinctively knew Blanks was
tortured, but she knew not why. George said Blanks had been the
most popular lad at Eton. He excelled in sport. He grew bigger and
stronger than his classmates—and far more handsome. His income was
enormous, and as the first son, promised to be extravagant. What in
his life could have caused him to shun love and commitment?
    "George had to meet with his steward this
morning," Blanks continued. "He plans to work me in this afternoon.
We had decided on billiards if it were raining, but now that's it's
sunny, we'll shoot."
    "I confess I've enjoyed having you all to
myself, but I suppose it's been far too tedious for you—since you
obviously think of me as a silly chit."
    He scowled at her. "A lady does not use the
word chit ."
    "Then you think of me as a lady—and not a
little girl?"
    "Of course. I realize, too, that were we in
Bath, you and I would be prohibited from riding alone
together."
    "Thanks heavens we're not in Bath!"
    Once they had ridden through the glen and
came upon a small pond she asked if they could stop for their
picnic.
    They rode to the edge of the shimmering
green water, then Gregory dismounted and helped her from her horse
before unloading his saddlebags of their luncheon fare. There were
hard eggs and newly churned cheese and bread that had been still
hot from the oven when Cook packed it. Gregory had seen to it that
a bottle of Bordeaux had been stashed in the saddlebag, too. As he
tethered the horses, Glee spread out their repast.
    He watched as she gracefully sat beside the
food and removed her hat. Her magnificent tresses had come loose
and twirled along the slender marble column of her neck. His breath
caught, and he had to remind himself Glee was no temptress but
George's little sister.
    It was difficult. With her fragile porcelain
beauty and that glorious head of hair, she was quite possibly the
most beautiful creature he had ever beheld. And though she was
small, he noted that her figure curved pleasantly in the right
places.
    She poured his wine and silently handed it
to him as he sat down. His fingers brushed across her delicate
hands, and he fought the urge to envelop her hand in his, to settle
his lips on her rosebud mouth. Good lord, what had he been thinking
to steal her away without benefit of a chaperon? A moron could
determine that Glee Pembroke was a lovely young woman whom no man
could resist.
    And Gregory was indeed a man. Despite that
he had vowed to never sully a lady. For George's sake—and for
Glee's—Gregory would honor that vow.
    He watched as Glee spread soft cheese on a
chunk of bread. When she finished, she looked up at him, dazzling
him with deep green eyes framed with long, dark lashes. Had the
scamp colored them?
    "Is anything as good as fresh country
cheese?" she asked, offering him the bread in her hand.
    He took it, bit in and agreed heartily with
her as she prepared another piece for herself. They ate all they
had brought and languidly finished the wine.
    His belly full, Gregory dug his dusty
Hessians into the brittle grass, leaned back on his elbows and
allowed the sun to warm the length of him.
    "You know, Blanks, I've been thinking about
your problem," Glee began. "Your father was a positive ogre to
raise you to vast expectations, then withdraw them once