Bad Brides Read Online Free Page B

thinking that her sentiments were fully returned, that it was a love match; when the truth had eventually dawned on Belinda,
she was trapped, not only married but pregnant with the heir to the throne. The general view among the upper classes was that Oliver had behaved very badly by deceiving her. After all, many
aristocratic young women would have been more than happy with the bargain he had to offer, a complaisant husband and a royal crown awaiting them.
    But that was not how Edmund intended to treat Brianna Jade. No deception, no trickery. They were both going into this with their eyes open.
    Hers were indeed wide as he gazed down at her, but not with surprise or indignation. She was listening intently to every word he said, hands clasped in front of her, lips slightly parted to show
her extraordinarily perfect American teeth, a string of pearls behind her velvety pink lips.
    ‘I honestly think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,’ Edmund said. ‘But you’re also very quick, and curious, and spirited, and funny, and I truly
enjoy spending time with you. Goodness knows if you feel the same about me—’ he grinned self-deprecatingly – ‘I know I can’t possibly be the most handsome man
you’ve ever met! But I do have all this to offer you.’
    He gestured around him, encompassing not just the gazebo and the illegally looted Greek statuary but the entire sweep of Stanclere Hall.
    ‘You would make a wonderful mistress of the Hall,’ he said. ‘And of course, a wonderful Countess of Respers. But you’ve got to decide if this really is what you
want.’
    Her smooth tanned forehead crinkled into the faintest of lines as she looked up at him: clearly, she was baffled by this suggestion.
Of course I want it!
her expression said.
I’m standing here waiting for you to propose, aren’t I?
    ‘I know this is what the Fra— your
mother
wants for you,’ he clarified. ‘But I do think it’s crucial that you’re free to make your own decision. Your
mother can be very – um, err . . . your mother has a wonderfully vibrant and decisive personality, and of course she only wants the best for you—’
    Brianna Jade wasn’t frowning any more; in fact her lips had parted further into a lovely smile, her teeth flashing in a ray of late afternoon sun.
    ‘You can call Mom bossy if you want,’ she said cheerfully. ‘She is! But she loves me way too much to push me into something that would make me unhappy.’
    It wasn’t exactly a passionate declaration of love, but neither was his, and it certainly told Edmund that Thunderbirds were Go. He sank to one knee, simultaneously bringing his right arm
round in front of him, so that it ended up just above his eye level. Should he have opened the box first? Probably, but then the ring might have fallen out. He really should have rehearsed this;
but then, he’d wanted to be authentic, honest, not over-polished. Luckily, regular winter skiing meant that he had decent enough balance to stay on one knee without wobbling while he held up
the box with his right hand and opened it with his left.
    ‘
W
ow
,’ Brianna Jade breathed out on seeing the ring, a long, slow exhalation of sheer delight.
    ‘Brianna Jade,’ Edmund said, ‘will you do me the very great honour of becoming my wife?’
    ‘I
will
!’ she said, her eyes sparkling now as brightly as the enormous pink diamond. ‘I
definitely
will!’
    Should he stand up first? No, she was already holding out her left hand, each finger tipped with pale pink nails whose own tips each had a white crescent painted onto them, so perfectly executed
that they were like miniature works of art. She had slightly separated the third finger from the others to make it easy for him; in a moment, he had detached the ring from its velvet slot and slid
it onto its allotted place. He came to his feet as she turned her hand from side to side in the approved brand-new-fiancée fashion, marvelling at its lavishness.
    ‘You