Read Online My Lord's Lady by Sherrill Bodine - Free Book Online

us. Although it is obvious I desire you, I bow to your wise observation that we are ill matched.”
    His voice was gentle, but there was a curious trace of sadness. A woman’s instinct reassured her that his stronger emotions were being held firmly in check. Drat the man!
    Her pulse suddenly pounded through her veins, one beat hot, the next cold, until it was difficult to order her breathing. Salty tears stung the back of her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she faced him squarely, giving no quarter and asking none.
    “I fear, my lord, I am more curious than you to explore where these emotions could lead us.” Half mocking, she laughed at herself. “I am not brave enough to hear what you find lacking in me, but I must tell you that were it not for the fact you live your life without a sense of joy…” She fought for words. “If you ever smiled, my lord, I might be so bold as to entice you to reconsider. So it is fortuitous that the doctor arrives tomorrow. He will no doubt release us. Then we shall bid one another farewell.”
    It seemed a great waste to leave him with so much unexplored between them, but she feared it would be tragic for them both if she did not. Common sense and newly awakened desire danced a strange waltz in Georgina’s mind. Common sense won out, as it always had.
    She quietly let herself out of the room. It was of course the wisest, most prudent course of action, she told herself as she trailed slowly up the stairs to her room.
    Vane watched her walk away. With each step she took, her shoulders bent a little. By the time she reached the landing, all the joy seemed to have disappeared from around her. He allowed her to go, although the words to stop her nearly burst from him. But he held them in; that was his way.
    Across the room was a small mirror where once a day so long ago his father had stood him. Examine your life he’d said. Are you learning all you can? He sought it out now.
    Are you learning all you can? What did he really know of life. It seemed for thirty-five years he’d just been going through the motions. In the dim light his reflection hadn’t changed much. But suddenly he knew, he had. It was time to let go of all that had happened in the past. It was time to forge a new beginning for himself. Did he have the courage to do it?
    And more importantly, could he ever convince Georgina to be a part of it?

Chapter 7
    “Remember, it is never too late to embrace your feelings.”
    Although Tildie’s words had been directed to Georgina, they now echoed through Vane’s head. Georgina entered the morning room dressed in a particularly elegant cream cambric morning gown, and he felt as if the sun came in with her.
    The doctor was abovestairs giving the children a clean bill of health, and instinctively they had gathered together to await his news.
    Georgina glanced in his direction, and nodded a good morning, avoiding his eyes completely, then took a seat near Tildie, who was pouring coffee. That odd disquiet he always felt in her presence was recognizable at last as a deep yearning. With her bold and forthright manner, she had opened him and his children to an honest freedom of feeling. But the habits of a lifetime were impossible to change in a day. Although he could no longer deride that easy style, the vivacity she brought to bear on all she did, he was not yet at ease with acknowledging his own deep feelings.
    At this moment, watching her animated face as she conversed with Tildie, catching the musical whisper of her laughter, his safe icy bower, from which he’d looked down on the rest of the world for so long, seemed meaningless. He wanted to be a part of things again.
    He actually took two steps toward her when the doctor was announced, Leticia and Lawrence right behind him.
    “My lord, I’m pleased to say the children have done extremely well due to your excellent care. On the morrow, the quarantine will be lifted.”
    The silence that followed his happy announcement appeared to