[Harlequin] - Anne Harris - Matter Of Honour (txt), Ksiazki, txt
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matter of honourbyanne harrislives in Cambridge but spends part of the winter in Spain,where she and her husband stay in a pretty resort nestled amid thehills that run from Malaga to Gibraltar. Miraflores means See theflowers and there are lots of beautiful flowers to see. Gazing over asparkling blue ocean, watching the sunbeams dance like silver confettion the restless waves, Anne loves to dream up her stories of laughter,tears and romantic lovers. She is the author of over thirty publishednovels, thirteen of them for Harlequin Mills & Boon.Recent titles by the same author;SATAN'S MARKMILLS BOON'If you did, you should be aware it is stolen property as it wasreported unsold and destroyed by a retailer. Neither the author northe publisher has received any payment for this book.All the characters in this book have no existence outside theimagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyonebearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspiredby any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidentsare pure invention.Ml Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or inpart in any form. This edition is published by arrangement withHarlequin Enterprises II B.V.The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproducedor transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrievalsystem, or otherwise, without the written permission of thepublisher.This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulatedwithout the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding orcover other than that in which it is published and without a similarcondition including this condition being imposed on the subsequentpurchaser.MILLS & BOON and MILLS & BOON with the Rose Device are registeredtrademarks of the publisher.First published in Great Britain 2000 Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 ]SRAnne Herries 2000 ISBN 0263 823148Set in Times Roman lOVi on llVipt. Printed and bound in Spain byLitografia Roses S.A." BarcelonaChapter OneJVlarry the Thornton gel! " The Dowager Lady Long- boume almost satup, and she would have, had it not been positively too warm for anysuch exertion. She lay amongst silken cushions on her elegant day bedand waved a languid hand at her visitors."Carlton, you really shouldn't make such tasteless jokes. I confess Iam surprised at you.""It was not meant as a jest. Mama." Lord Vincent Carlton's lazy smileflickered over his mouth. He was exceptionally good looking and fartoo wealthy for his own good;though generous to anyone he cared for, he was considered by someothers to be stand-offish and rather too high in the instep."That is why I have come to see you this afternoon. If you will be sokind, I want you to invite Cassandra to stay here so that we can get toknow one another properly before I propose.""Ask the Thornton chit to stay her eT Lady Longboume's limpid blue eyestook on an expression of dismay."You surely cannot mean that, Carlton? You are not seriouslyconsidering a mesalliance?""He has to," the second of her visitors said."It is a matter of honour. Mama. Vinnie has to marry her."One satin-shod foot touched the ground, followed closely by the second.Lady Longbourne sat up! An expression of shock mixed liberally withdisbelief on a face that still retained some measure of the outstandingbeauty which had been hers in youth. She stared at Sir HarryLongbourne, her younger son and her favourite, being the precious fruitof her second marriage, which had been happier than the first."What are you talking about, Harry? Why should Carlton be obliged tomarry this gel?" she demanded. Her cheeks turned pale as she lookedat her eldest son incredulously."Carlton! Surely, you ... haven't dishonoured the girl, have you?"The smile left Vincent's eyes. He was deeply offended by thesuggestion that he would stoop so low as to dishonour anywoman--especially a lady of quality! However, he was too fond of hismother (despite knowing only too well that she had always favoured hisbrother) and too much a gentleman to let his anger show."Of course he hasn't!" Harry jumped in before he could think of asuitable reply."What a hummer! You ought to know Vinnie better than that. Mama. Itwas a promise we all made to Jack Thornton just before he was killed atWaterloo.""Promise? What promise?" his mama asked, irritated at having herpeace disturbed on such a warm day."What has a promise to Cassandra's brother have to do with Carltonoffering for her?""Jack had just heard the news of his father's death," Harry went onpatiently, while Carlton rose to his feet and wandered over to thewindows of the small back parlour Lady Longbourne favoured at CarltonHouse. He stood gazing out at the neatly manicured lawns and rosebedsas Harry elaborated for their mother's benefit. Behind him, anenamelled French clock ticked relentlessly on the rather finemantelpiece designed by Mr. Adam."Naturally, he was shocked--' " As anyone would be," interjected LadyLongbourne."To throw most of one's fortune away at the gambling tables while one'sson and heir is fighting for King and country. And then to..." Shegave a shudder of distaste."It must have been terrible for Cassandra to find her father dead byhis own hand...""Exactly, Mama." Carlton turned to take up the story, his expressioncarefully controlled and giving no sign of the horror any decent personmust feel."Jack was distraught. Out of his mind with grief and shock. Heimplored us to take care of his sister, begging all of us to promisethat one of us would marry her if he died...""But why must it be you?" inquired his mama."You could make a much more prestigious match, Carlton.""You mean I should marry an heiress--or the daughter of a duke,perhaps? To restore the family fortunes..."He was a tall man, lean, but wiry and with the bearing of a soldier.His dark hair was cut short in one of the new styles that were just nowfashionable amongst the ton, and his clothes bore all the hallmarks ofthe very best tailors;his boots were a work of art. He looked what he was, a gentleman inpossession of a large fortune with the liberty (since his return fromFrance after Napoleon's defeat) to do exactly as he pleased."Well..." She saw the mocking look in his eyes and pulled a face athim."No, I do not, Vincent! I know well enough that you have taken goodcare of the estate since you came into it--and that we have allbenefited from your good sense. But the daughter of a mere baronet...you should think of your own consequence and the family pride."The dark eyebrows rose, a challenge in Vincent's quizzing gaze whichbrought a flush to her cheeks. Because, of r course, little as sheliked to be reminded of it, his late father had also been a recklessgambler and, had he not died suddenly, might have brought them all toruin."Yes, I know it was only an accident that saved us from your fathersuffering a similar fate to Sir Edward Thorn- ton--but that isn't thepoint.""The point is. Mama," Lord Carlton reminded her gently, 'that you havebeen saying for an age that you wished I would marry to provide an heirfor the Carlton family and--' "Well, how could I not?" she spokeindignantly."With your uncle Septimus forever telling me it is time you did yourduty--and as for that odious wife of his, preening over her abominablebrat as if she could already see him in your place. I vow I hardlyknew how to hold my tongue the last time they stayed here. She wasexamining the curtains as if she saw herself moving in at any moment.You may be past the first flush of youth, Carlton, but you ain't aboutto drop down dead! And since you returned safely from the war, I haveevery hope of your living for some years yet.""Thank you for your confidence. Mama. I am heartily relieved to hearit.""Oh, you!" She gave him a fulminating stare."You will always have your joke--not that I find them at all funny. Youhave a very odd notion of humour, Vincent!""Forgive me. Mama." There was a gleam in Lord Carlton's grey eyes."I am very sorry you do not appreciate my jokes.""What I do not appreciate is this absurd idea that you must marry theThornton gel," Lady Longbourne said on a sigh."If Jack Thornton asked all of you to look out for his sister, whichwas not so unreasonable after all, in the circumstances of our havingbeen neighbours while my dear Bertie was alive..." she dabbed at thecorner of her eyes with a wisp of filmy lace kerchief 'and still wouldbe, Idare say, if you had not been generous enough to allow me to returnhere to Carlton, which I much prefer to Long- boume, being much lessdraughty in the winters--why must you be the one to marry her? "Having had years of practice of unravelling his mama's often tangledspeeches. Lord Carlton understood immediately what was on her mind."It was less generous than you imagine," he replied, smiling at herreassuringly."I do not care for this house. I prefer my own house in London--and donot forget I have Grandfather Hamilton's estate in Surrey, which wouldmake a very pleasant country home if I had it refurbished in a moremodern style.""Well, with your wealth I suppose you may do as you please," LadyLongbourne said, sinking back against her piles of silken cushions withrelief."I dare say you...
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