Unbefitting a Lady. Bronwyn Scott

Читать онлайн.
Название Unbefitting a Lady
Автор произведения Bronwyn Scott
Жанр Современные любовные романы
Серия
Издательство Современные любовные романы
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781472000538



Скачать книгу

‘I can’t possibly leave Warbourne. If I go to London, I’ll lose my chance to race him at Epsom.’ She paused and watched him, her blue-grey eyes holding his. ‘Aren’t you going to laugh or are you simply going to ignore the statement the way Giles does and pretend you didn’t hear it?’

      They were back to that again. The lantern light cast an intimate glow over the stables, limning Phaedra’s delicate profile in a soft rosy glow. In the loose box, Warbourne had settled to sleep. Bram let the words hover between them before he ventured into the conversation.

      ‘Warbourne’s a good horse. There’s nothing to laugh about there. But why Epsom? There are other races. There are even other races at Epsom he can enter next year as a four-year-old. Why is the Derby so important to you?’ The personal nature of her quest for Epsom had not been addressed in their earlier conversation.

      ‘It’s the most prestigious. It secures a horse’s reputation for stud.’ She looked at him as if he were an idiot. Any horseman worth his salt would know that. Bram had met women who were patronesses of the sport but they were not duke’s daughters. They were women of a middling rank or less who had made a hobby-cum-livelihood out of it. They dabbled in breeding and racing. Phaedra didn’t need a livelihood. It begged the question, what did she need?

      ‘Why is it so important to you though?’ he pressed, knowing full well he was treading on unexamined territory. Bram could not recall the last time he’d had a real conversation with a woman, where he’d actually listened, where it actually mattered what she said next. Maybe he’d never had one. But he was having one tonight, and he was beyond curious about her answer. For whatever reason, her answer mattered. He wanted to know what drove this neck-or-nothing beauty. This was unexplored territory indeed. ‘Well, Phaedra, why?’ He repeated softly.

      Whatever her ambitions, she’d not had practice in articulating them. He could see her mind debating if she should tell him, if she could trust him. She shot him a hard look, her defences up in the tilt of her chin, apparently unaware what a watershed event this was for him. Lord, that look of hers made him hard. Phaedra in full defiance made him want to haul her up against the wall.

      ‘I need something of my own. This isn’t just about the Derby. That’s only the beginning. I want to create a grand stud, a breeding and training facility that rivals any in England, north or south.’

      Bram let out a low whistle. That was an enormous ambition and an exciting one; it was something he’d like to do if he could ever raise enough funds or settle down long enough. ‘Does your brother know?’

      ‘He knows. He doesn’t understand, not really. It’s different for a woman.’ Phaedra played idly with a piece of straw but Bram could hear the untold story behind that sentence. A man like Giles wouldn’t fully understand. Montague had his military career. He had been in charge of his life. Now he had this property to oversee and a dukedom coming his way eventually. As a man, Phaedra’s brother took his independence for granted, a natural assumption of his life. But Phaedra could make no such assumption.

      ‘I’m not a baby any more, not a child. I can do things,’ Phaedra said with no little frustration. ‘I just have to make Giles see that.’

      She was the youngest. Bram had forgotten. When he looked at her, he didn’t see a child but a lovely young woman. Naturally, Giles would want to protect her; young and female, a man like him would see her as someone to shelter, especially after the other losses Tom Anderson had mentioned.

      ‘And Warbourne is the key to this dynastic vision of yours?’ Bram asked lightly.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/4RSsRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEyOjEx OjE3IDE2OjExOjA1AAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAACJkAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAATfgAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUQMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAb/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/ACOpy78K27Cr9Wx74c0PLB7i0Oucav0r/Tb+axWfq9V1vcW9QJ9OyQKy9z9h E7dj7/0m1zW/vqH1ZyxXZZU86B8tPy1W7m5VgdVfVj2ZFbSRYyot3gEfzmx0b/7CojYjxdCtiOzy nVcbr92T69B31e4No32gDZ/NujHLN9l30Xbv5pMenZH7T6UXhxydwNjZktD3Vl1W/wDO2Oaumwb7 WYrvtNLseyxxLanlpc1v5u/09zN38lV+jPZkdbdvBLmsc6t3IEe2Xf57k+NmUYjTpa2ekJS3607x w6iSaztEmARCm3Dkafep2MLG7jujjTVDZkOc9tFLgb3EtLvpAFo3P2MlnqOaz957FflkrrZ6Dq0B C+mjL7C+Za0n4JDGsB1afjCcO6MWzkZLskj6T3OdsECxxdsq20Mq/V7vf/wSlu+rzt0em0scGvDQ 5j2uLm0t37dtjP0z/S/4z+pYme5k/cH1lr/0U8MP3vw/9CVs9NsgS7wRa2F7QHCP71XsuxWOa3Fy i/dsIou3vaRYJp2XbXW1Os/M3uf/AKPYiU5bC/03sNc+2XR/OyWux9Pz9v6Tf+4l7mwkDEnbt9JJ 4eoNhN9nb4hJP7f9SknWVr//0NrIw6cfEzM1jg2vC6hkNBPDqrH1+o2f+6+VY5jf+uJrcF2XFtdr w0CdnrPrZr+dNEP3La+sGBgV9APS6gK2XBtdVYJLiN7b7X/vO/Osttf/AIRcJfT1zpDhU19jsd30 HD3D8jtqq5QBMUda1beCR4b8fS7D2VdHotttsLnQXAOsfYB/Jr9Vzlt4nSB0gYGfuNguirOI4H2g j0rWf8FVcaa/6n6VcJ9n6p1N5bZvLdRucIGq9U6YacvotFVgFjHUCm9p8Q30rq3f9JHEASdfVuFZ 5Gh2J9TXz67H021NEuaC5rWkAkt1ayT9Hf8ARVah1WG11N2M21gd6rGNG6Ghu2x9Ve0vsfX9D06v 0n6X/R/pFeGNdW41vc6zYP0dx1L2fu2u/wBPV/4Mz9L/AKVDvqbYB6o3BpkTIg+LSPc1WTESImPm ArX8mrxUDE/LvonsbXk0VXYDaS17ml9m1rh6YD2va383f731fS/wlqFVXnmyoW4uHsDmBwZqQ0Nm 309233faq8eyn2/zVX6T9N6apfs9hLjS/wBLcACNoP0Y2as9J+5mxm1zk/2TIe1zHXexwgybXHx0 9S87UbP7p/5v/foofvD/AJ3/AHrfy7en4zq6/SrFpjYxrG7mtYd/qu+j6VFD3ep6n/oxUwGZN5yv cGvgUxMDbob3N/0lrW/o3qFWBj1SNpsJMuLgBJB/PaP5zb/wvqI5e6ZkDzS9vjriFAa114vFIlw3 W50vwbHqt8Xfd/sSQJP7ySkWP//R6jY0k5Vlnq22wbHOMkz4D91v+jar2N6djIa4EDQjuC