Free Margo Maguire by Brazen

Felton. She knew he was not really her brother, but she had been welcomed into the Jameson family as though she truly belonged there.
    Felton had been a joy, and Christina now knew it was because her parents had feared they would never have children of their own. They’d been married for several years before Felton’s birth, which was why they’d taken in Christina when she was a small child.
    They were a close family, and neither she nor her brothers had ever felt any distinction between them. It was as though they were all the same in their parents’ eyes. She had never given it a second thought.
    With Captain Briggs’s news about her true parents, Christina knew that she’d once been a child in dire need, a child whose cold, uncaring grandparent had wanted nothing to do with her or her sister. She had no use for such a man.
    She had asked Captain Briggs about Lily, but he’d said little. Only that Lily had been raised by a vicar and his wife, and had recently married an earl. Her sister had done well, considering her modest upbringing.
    Christina could not fathom why she had been taken to the Earl of Sunderland instead of a family like the one that had taken her sister. Captain Briggs could offer no explanation, either.
    Perhaps she could discover the answer one day, after she met Lily. But as much as she wanted to meet her sister, her priority had to be Lang. If he was still alive . . . She needed to uncover the identity of her blackmailer and learn what he knew about her brother.
    Then she could meet Lily, wherever she was. Christina wanted sufficient time to spend with her sister, for them to become friends without any distractions. She didn’t care one whit about the duke—he could go hang, the old curmudgeon. How could he deny his own daughter? His orphaned granddaughters?
    She did not doubt his sudden pang of conscience was due to the death of his son. Now that he had no direct heir, he felt some belated urge to know his other kin. How very kind of him!
    Christina could not help but be intrigued by thoughts of her sister—her twin. She doubted Lily had shorn her hair as Christina had done, but according to Captain Briggs, they were otherwise the same.
    It was unimaginable. She’d heard of twins, of course, but had never known any others. She wondered how it would feel to meet a mirror image of herself. As much as she loved her brothers, Christina had always wished for a sister, and now, as improbable as it was, she had one.
    Christina dozed as she thought about the issues that faced her, but she soon slipped into dreams of the man who’d invaded her bedchamber the night before.
    I t was going to take all Gavin’s considerable patience to get through this journey to London and back north to the Lake District. He did not appreciate being given no choice in the matter, but if he did not take Christina to London and help her with her bloody blackmailer, she was not going to cooperate with him later.
    He spent most of the day riding ahead of her entourage, feeling irritated as he kept an eye out for unsavory travelers who might threaten her and her valuable cargo. He should have told her to leave it at Sweethope Cottage, and find some other means of raising the money she needed once they arrived in London.
    But she was no fool. She would have considered every other possibility before traveling all the way to Cumbria to collect the jewelry from the safe at Sweethope Cottage.
    At least her carriage was nondescript, and her driver and footman were armed. Gavin didn’t know if either man could shoot, but they were both young and fit. And they were being paid to see to Christina’s safety.
    Gavin was uninterested in riding on or in Christina’s carriage and being jostled along on its stiff springs. He was even less willing to spend any more time than necessary in close quarters with her. He’d been far too tempted by her last night.
    Slipping into her bedroom had been a grievous error. He’d found her