An Improper Arrangement. Кейси Майклс

Читать онлайн.
Название An Improper Arrangement
Автор произведения Кейси Майклс
Жанр Историческая литература
Серия
Издательство Историческая литература
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781408935163



Скачать книгу

      Thea nodded. “Clarice does little by half measures. It didn’t stop snowing for three days and nights. There were drifts nearly to the rooftops, and where there weren’t, the snow rose up above my knees. Since then, one of Clarice’s main sources of pocket money is charging the local farmers and such to tell them when it’s safe to sow their crops and when it’s necessary to harvest them in order to beat the rain, you understand. And, of course, no mama plans a wedding before consulting with her, just to be assured her daughter will be one of those lucky brides the sun shines on all day. For that service she charges double, and everyone willingly pays.”

      “Not only gifted but resourceful, this maid of yours,” Gabe commented, beginning to think he’d like to meet the woman. “Didn’t you also tell me she has ways of finding out information? Is it possible you brought a witch with you to England, Miss Neville?”

      “Clarice—a witch? You mean one of those hideous crones we see drawings of in children’s books? Old hags dressed all in black, with noses like beaks, often with a large wart at its tip?” Thea laughed. “Oh, and with a horrible cackle?”

      “I’m to be sadly disappointed, I take it.”

      “Oh, yes, very much so.” This time her answer was followed by a near giggle.

      She had a wonderful laugh, unaffected, full of joy. He would have to remember to make her laugh often.

      He could stand there all morning, just enjoying her company, except that something told him sooner or later—probably sooner—he’d say or do something that would set up her back or lead her to asking one of her pointed questions for which he had no solid answers, and then he’d wish himself back upstairs in his bed, a watchful Horton guarding the door with his blunderbuss at the ready.

      “If you’ll just give me a moment to check on Caspar, I believe I hear the horses being brought up outside.”

      “I’ve already checked on him. He was still sleeping, his head rather tucked up beneath one of his wings.”

      “He had a busy night.” Gabriel glanced toward the corridor lined with two rows of decorative cages, a pair of footmen busily scooping out seed into clever feeding trays hinged to each one. Other birds were already awake and eager to eat. After which, as Mother Nature had programmed, they’d— “Shall we go? We don’t want to be late for luncheon.”

      The curricle was again waiting outside, but this time Gabriel, once Thea was seated, said, “Jimmy, congratulations, you lucky devil. You have the morning off.”

      “Yes, sir, Mr. Sinclair!”

      “That was very nice of you,” Thea said as the tiger stepped back and Gabriel set the bays off down the drive. “Wasn’t it?”

      Gabriel laughed. “Clearly we two are building a relationship based on mistrust. You’re perfectly safe with me this morning. It’s only after dark my baser instincts come to the fore.”

      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/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RfoRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgACgEAAAQAAAABAAAGQQEBAAQA AAABAAAKZwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAAhgEbAAUAAAABAAAAjgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAEx AAIAAAAUAAAAlgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAqgE7AAIAAAAIAAAAvodpAAQAAAABAAAAyAAAAPQAAAEsAAAA AQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDE1OjAzOjI2IDIzOjAwOjM0AE0gYW5kIEIA AAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAGQKADAAQAAAABAAAKZQAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEA BgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAFCARsABQAAAAEAAAFKASgAAwAAAAEAAgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAFSAgIABAAA AAEAABaOAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklGAAECAQBIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9D TQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBELCgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwM DAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsNDg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwM DAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM/8AAEQgAgABNAwEiAAIRAQMR Af/dAAQABf/EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYHCAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAA AQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQhEjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVS wWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXiZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSl tcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIEBAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFR YXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKygwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOE w9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dXZ3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A 6q7qeRZW+jHotYWVgspcyXcj3emz3M3z/Oe9WbcLKbhOa9+x13sMwQ3ePbAG36PvXF/Un685lnWn Y/Wslr8bOH6O6wtqbVZW0msS0MZ6d7B6bt/+F9Jd1R1jpfXcDLd0y4ZFeK4sdayI9Sv9Ltr3e9zf 3LdnpWf4JVZcoBcpnikIkD93VlxZhQEBUTK5E/MvR07GqwhiEC+kaubYA4Ek7nOc0+36X+YqmV0z p+RhPwqYxq7PTbYGAEFlZ9lW130W6/moFXWcmv2uZvoaHPse2A8VgF/qemfp7PpP2e9YeDldQY3I sx2WZsTZU32h+yx3sLGH3ehu3fT99VajEhQ4I6VX/orcGKQvilXXw/wmv13H6Ng9QONidOs+0bRs dXNjXNJ91uzd7nMd/OKOTQ3p/RGs3s9a+5uQ9zDDY22elTv9r3fRc/8A4xX8To/Vhfl5GU6tl+U9 lNYeQWQdr2ux3gue/wB7/Sf/AOo1T+tF2HgdLx6s24uz7WB1WOGAucW+pvfYQfTpq3W7N23/AItI CV0b13YuYJMDCA0r5vH09XKr25TLXkv3BkscxgcJj/C2fmfuf+e0SjBxn4osNVstMG1olpLiBVU1 v723/wAEVfp3WKXWCi/9WLmlosYN59w27HVE1t+j7f8Ag1N2S/Dv29LtfdWQdzQxwaJH0ed3tb9C zf7FofDc4hOeMng4+Ew4tB6P0eL+vxelyOc5WQ4SRYog8J4r4q1jH+p+k2BiYbYlmQ6W7vZWe7nb XD1GM3U2U/zb/wDS703pYn0Ys3Fkzsdt3h+2f5v1vQ+z/pP5r1PW/RKgOtdVkFuZdoQQd5kFoNbI /d2MdsQ/2lnep6n2h++Ns6Tt3+vt4/036VbQjPr+f/oLnnDjI/s/9Cf/0POpI05B5B4XSfUX60H6 vdaa+4/5PzttOaDw0T+iyv8A0G3O3/8AAPtXNnlQkHzHCfJjh0fecHp9T8mQYfj2OZ4gsmK5/eZZ SWf2Fz3Tqm4OazHynGqpxfi3PaZ2mtzqvb/I3NWF9S/r07p7WU5zX3ipjahH0i1g2Y/9bbW1tP8A 1tXb+oOysB92Q012WWW3EwdPUc62J/kblQy1DhoaiX4Ovy95OIk3GURr+7L/ANBe09MVFtLGQyoa aydP5b15L1TqLOtdYzM/Na6ptksxtpNjWikNr9Ot2jbWf4V+3/SrvutZOW36gO6jj2OZdbi473ZD XFphxrbdsd+9Yz9z3ry37TZZe781vDGMHtYPb/N1fm/QYnwidTs15yHXU2631ffTldewKiyWMuYY PDofvfvaf5Pu/wCLXQdCq9H63UYxMMbdc0MMfu2uiJ/dXHYNl9WSx+M813tM12N0c3Qtd7v6q7X6 udOzB13pmRXi3fZKmN9TIe07d2y31Hutcf8ASOaz6KE6sj+qWPJEmEJdY5B9knbzukdLy+gU55wm U5F19ZfAhwDz7q9Nv7ytDofSf2U+v7HVriNtJ267w1/6Tf8AS3K/1L/kYu7tymmf7akGfqLm/wDd Nrf+qCrSnM5OEyPDwRPDfp+aXRmjGPDxUL4jrWr/AP/R85MEQrJdd1G4m2yip1VENL4paW0M9lTf Tbtdk2Nb7P8AS2KuZUSAnSH292OBbPSc1+HnV3NIaH+xxdwA/QPd/wAW/wB66PqPUclmO5rrXX3P d6QYN0Pe78x1LNzrmbR7alyTrKjSK/T/AEoeS63cYLCIbV6f0fa73b16l9RunY2P0yrq0m3Myamg PfE1t2/pG1R/pXfTs/nPT/RqtniARPto3uWyy4JY++o8L+Zz6/qn6uBgO63dlHJ9EsGHbZPoWSPs 4ZjY+5uPhej6n031+nb6fq+mshv1K6lZlYpYa2YfUch+NjXPmWPa11v6RjPzf0Vvp7Xf4Neh2uYA bHEefgfimwx07Oxb+jZ9bbscubkUVu4O1297dw9zHNf+4oY5SZmzQIP2s0sQEBpxEEfY+a3dMs6Z mOw8isnKxn7bQWke4e4bTu2+k5u2yv8A0i1fqhW1/wBZ8OwbtzbCbNNS4tf9L6P0tznWPWzl/VfF 6jkY+OLn4uTgMfVk2bfWDm2bsyj3/aG3/ZKmvfjYO/1sn+bx7voK30H6qDp/WcXLGXYQ3e8foWhl g2w1nqjIsdtfv9RjvS/wNn82pD8pIO4LRnHJxgSJIBsfXwejzGtf0m1rwdgvBJbz9OfaiCt/2MjT eaA3ykT/AHqbW+pg5DIOlh54OoRjU3e1s8Nc2NOCWa/gqhB4+L+pEf8Ajsg2gdOH+sT/AM1//9Lz wtIJBBBGhB5CgVOy19tj7bDudY5z3HzcS9x/ziou0aCQQDqD4p5Y4g69QOrY6T0jJ6tmnExTW20V 2XE2Etbtqb6lnuY2z81ei9Dz8Tp+BXg3ZIOPTj1NpucNoe/da217K9ba6trf5y/Z6rP0ixvqbjUd N+r+X1rIgv6pZ+zcdpAksOl0O/4R2+yz/gsREzcTCyci57Q7Hsbp6zLGsLnAabmPmq5yrZTAyEZ8 XD/Uq7/wm5hhl4JSxcHGCB+s4uEjqPT8rZ6/9YMaqur0MhlrPVb6gqeHHZP0/b+arOF1DFZmVXOy K2NDXO3PeG6R33Lhc6yyy5m5zn3AA1uawMcdD7H+l7HN/lMTV5IZkNoL