Chosen to Be His Little Angeline Read Online Free Page A

you find your little runaway fairy?" he asked as he motioned for a servant with a tray of drinks.
    "More than that. I have found my little one."
    Fairfax stopped with a glass half raised to his lips. "You cannot be serious, Jasp," he said, referring to Blackhurst by his childhood nickname. "You barely know the chit."
    Blackhurst gave Fairfax a good-natured slap on the back. "I have always trusted my own instincts and I tell you, Duncan, I have found her."
    While not public knowledge, Fairfax was aware of the long history of Blackhurst men's preference for keeping their women in a childlike submissive role, even going so far as to establish them in a nursery with a nanny. But it took a special kind of woman to flourish under such an arrangement, and he knew Lord Blackhurst had all but given up on finding such a woman.
    "Does she have any family to speak of - anyone to object?"
    "I don't believe so. I know that is part of the appeal. The girl needs someone to watch over her," Blackhurst said thoughtfully.
    "Well, I am happy for you, my friend," said Fairfax, raising his glass in salute. "Of course this dampens the sport we were to have these upcoming days," he finished mockingly.
    "Oh, I don't know. Perhaps it is finally time to bring to heal your real quarry," said Blackhurst with a raised eyebrow and a look in the direction of Lady Shackelton.
    Her house party was not the only thing that was infamous and mysterious; the lady herself was justly so as well. Unhappily married and happily widowed at a very young age, she had vowed never to marry again. That had not stopped many a lord from trying to chase her to ground, whether it was for her willowy figure, silky black hair and full red lips or her rather vast fortune. They rather quickly found out that her tastes ran against the natural course in the boudoir. Lady Shackelton preferred her men submissive and on their knees, and there had been many men over the years. The poor saps learned - after sacrificing their manhood and handing her the reins – that they still had not earned the right to her hand.
    "Perhaps, you are right. Perhaps it is time to teach the minx who truly holds the riding whip," answered Fairfax speculatively. He understood Lady Shackelton better than anyone, not that she would ever admit it. He knew what she had really needed was time after her disastrous marriage - time to understand herself and her own needs before she would once again submit to the needs of a man. Lady Shackleton liked to disdain Fairfax for his Scottish title, but he knew the real reason she kept him at arm's length.
    As if he had drawn her to him by sheer will, Lady Shackelton approached them both.
    "Good evening, Jasper," she greeted Blackhurst warmly with a kiss on each cheek. "Lord Fairfax," she added coldly, with barely a glance over her shoulder.
    Fairfax chuckled. "Always a pleasure seeing your charms, Madeline." He deliberately used her Christian name knowing it would irritate her and was not disappointed when he was rewarded with a narrowed, icy glare.
    "I am sorry I was not here to greet you when you arrived this afternoon, Jasper ," she said through clenched teeth, her emphasis unmistakable. "I trust your rooms are to your liking."
    "Of course, Madeline," responded Blackhurst amiably.
    "Mine are as well. Thank you for asking," offered a highly amused Fairfax.
    She ignored him.
    "I noticed you spirited away that curiously little creature Herrington brought," she continued. "Thank god. I could care less about her social status, makes for a more lively party to have some new blood, but his reasons behind it were just unseemly. This party is about pleasure, not profit!"
    "Well, she is in good hands now."
    "Good hands? Don't be so modest, Blackhurst," she said with a wink. "I must go. Hostess duties call."
    Fairfax watched her hips as she sauntered away. "Yes, I do believe you are correct, Blackhurst. Time to bring that little minx to heel," he said with a seductive smile.
    "My