Free The Wicked and Wonderful Miss Merlin by Anne Herries

reaching out as she said, ‘Do you not think that is a little unkind, sir?  Yes, they were foolish, but does Eleanor deserve to be punished for her thoughtlessness?  She was very unhappy when you brought her to me.  Her aunt was not kind to her and she was a lonely girl.  If I encouraged her to this mad escapade I am sorry for it, but I wanted to make her see that life could be so very different.’
    ‘Indeed?  Explain yourself.’
    His eyes were burning into her in a way that made Samantha feel very odd.  She was breathless and her heart was racing wildly.
    ‘I find that girls often need to lift their eyes from the ground, to look for the stars and the beauty in life, which is to be found all around us.  There is magic in a smile or the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings, in poetry and music and laughter.  To be always thinking of how to achieve a good marriage or of one’s station in life and wealth…that leads only to the stale existence that so many men and women endure.  I think too many young women are forced into arranged marriages and that is why they are unhappy and their husbands seek entertainment outside the marriage bed.’
    ‘Do you indeed?’  Robert’s eyebrows met in the middle.  ‘And is that what you preach to your pupils?’
    ‘Not in so many words.  I have spoken frankly to you, sir – but I do teach the girls to look for the beauty in life, and I may have warned them that marriage without love is a waste of life.’
    ‘I wonder if their mothers know?’  Robert’s eyes were so intent on her that Samantha felt her throat constrict.  It was so difficult to breathe when he stared at her so…so hotly.  Had she not known better she would have thought he was almost lusting after her…ridiculous of course.  He did not wish to kiss her.  He disliked her and thought her a wicked woman.
    ‘My girls are taught all they need to equip them in a world that is often cruel and disappointing.  At least they know that there might be something more than marrying a man twice their age for money.’
    ‘For the benefit of their family in many cases,’ he said.  ‘It might surprise you to know, Miss Merlin, that I happen to agree that too many marriages are made for the wrong reason.  However, that does not mean I wish to see my sister marry a wastrel who cannot support her.’
    ‘I assure you that Toby is a very respectable young man.’
    ‘I have seen that for myself, which is why I am agreeable to their seeing each other – on my terms.’
    Samantha caught her breath.  She could see that he was no longer angry, but why was he staring at her in that very odd way?
    ‘And your terms are?’
    ‘Eleanor will return with me to my home in the country.  Mr Brockleton will come down when he has seen his doctor – and you, Miss Merlin, will accompany us.’
    ‘Me?  But why?  I do not understand…I thought…’  She had imagined he could not wait to be rid of her influence over his sister.
    ‘My sister will not run away if you are there to bring her to her senses.’
    ‘I have a school to run…’ her words caught in her throat and she suddenly realised that she wanted to agree, because it would mean that she would see him again, would be in his company often.  ‘For how long would you require my presence?’
    ‘For as long as it takes,’ he said, his eyes scorching her with their heat.  Samantha felt an answering heat low in her stomach and knew that she could not refuse him.  ‘Those are my terms – if you wish my sister to see this young man again.’
    She ought to refuse, to tell him that she would not be bullied into doing his wish, but her will was weakening and she felt as if her limbs had turned to jelly.  She licked her lips, barely able to stop herself swaying towards him, to beg him to take her in his arms and…No, this must stop.
    ‘You have no right to demand such a compromise from me.’
    ‘No?  I think after the way you and my sister have led me a dance