The Countess and the Cowboy. Elizabeth Lane

Читать онлайн книгу.

The Countess and the Cowboy - Elizabeth Lane


Скачать книгу
At the sight of it, Rose shrank against Eve’s skirts.

      “I’m not scared of it. It’s dead, just like the ones in our house.” Thomas pretended to shoot the beast with a make-believe rifle.

      “Can I help you, ma’am?” The clerk, scarcely more than a boy, moved with a limp. A battle wound, perhaps, or just an accident?

      “Yes, thank you,” Eve said. “We’re waiting for Mr. Roderick Hanford to drive us home. I don’t suppose you know when his meeting will be finished.”

      “They’re in the back room. Don’t know when they’ll be done, but I can check for you.”

      “Please don’t disturb them. We can wait.” Eve settled herself on the hard bench and pulled the children down on either side of her. But it soon became plain that the little ones were too restless to wait patiently. Rose was squirming, and Thomas kept finding excuses to jump up and race around the lobby. Unaccustomed to such behavior, Eve could feel her patience wearing thin. More than an hour had passed. What was taking Roderick so long?

      Another ten minutes crawled by. Eve had given each of the children a cookie to quiet them, but it wasn’t enough. Rose had begun to whine. Thomas was scuffing his heels against the end of the bench with maddening repetition.

      Eve caught the young clerk’s attention. “Perhaps you can just look in on that meeting. See if they’re about to finish.”

      “Sure.” He disappeared down a back hallway, returning a moment later. “I’m sorry, ma’am, it looks like they’re still talking and...uh...playing cards.”

      With an impatient huff, Eve picked up her basket and reticule and rose from the bench. She could drive a buggy as well as any man, and she was tired of waiting here with these bored, cranky children while Roderick played cards. “When Mr. Hanford gets out of his meeting tell him we were here, but that we could not wait for him any longer. He can jolly well find his own way home.”

      The buggy was waiting where they’d left it, hitched to the rail in front of the hotel. Boosting the children into the back, Eve freed the reins, climbed onto the seat and clucked to the drowsing horse. As a girl, she’d learned to handle a buggy on outings with her father. Now she could put the lessons to good use.

      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/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEAYABgAAD/4RbPRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgACgEAAAQAAAABAAAGQQEBAAQA AAABAAAKZwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAAhgEbAAUAAAABAAAAjgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAEx AAIAAAAUAAAAlgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAqgE7AAIAAAATAAAAvodpAAQAAAABAAAA1AAAAQAAAABgAAAA AQAAAGAAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDE1OjA3OjAzIDEzOjI2OjQ4AEhpc3Rvcmlj YWwgUm9tYW5jZQAAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAB9KADAAQAAAABAAADQAAAAAAA AAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAFOARsABQAAAAEAAAFWASgAAwAAAAEAAgAAAgEABAAA AAEAAAFeAgIABAAAAAEAABVpAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklGAAECAQBIAEgA AP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBELCgsRFQ8MDA8V GBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsNDg0QDg4QFA4O DhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM/8AAEQgA gABNAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQABf/EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYHCAkKCwEAAQUB AQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQhEjEFQVFhEyJx gTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXiZfKzhMPTdePz RieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIEBAMEBQYHBwYF NQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKygwcmNcLSRJNU oxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dXZ3eHl6e3x//a AAwDAQACEQMRAD8AH17pmTl/Zfs/ptqabTfdY6GsEV7PawPtsc/3+yqt6odK6af+cmAw2MeC57JA c0l/pPik12tY9r9vvXQ9cwj0/O9O4etiWUtdVS4+k6xj/Uq6gGuPu9bFcMT+b/7kU22/q1eQszJx cvNzcNmLYMmzNzKfSsEBzfTczLfbfVu9TFupops9ej0/oM/V99ShMyJCAjY0F/3l9WCbel/Y8t3V jeB9IbuPwVS7BbO2muyx3ctEgHwEfSXS9RxcfAw8rOsPp1UtdYdskwNRLf3V49n/AFp6zmOfZ9uv rbfYSMSp7qqmVt/m2/o4sc5/9dSaHpS0X3dX6zdQd0quuqoA5eSHObvEhjGnb6hb+e5z/Yxq5Ky/ Nyi6y2x923kyAAP6o2t/zUfqHVuo9Rcy7qN7suykbA+4y4MJ+hv+l9NLBbQ6wsL9jbIDtw+iSY3f m+33JVQ0XDUgEsacLIcwWsbungESP3l0HRrM2hzSzA9f7S32OxGknQkD1fcaq2bmv/SK39WupDpl 1uOys5BsBreIb7Q0Fu8bob/5guu+rnRszB6FXU8G31XuyHPr0DfUDGuqZ+8xvpfuqP3DfkzzxQjj ve6+1wcZ/Uc4WtuwMjFfVwbQIcD2re385qJ9hyZ4/vXURY2s7QW1z3GhQZbO7Zqj7svBg4Q//9DW +vjel5WbXifWH1KsOiX4tzA8F29tXrO9RtN7HOZY3btZ+kq9n+lXOdE/5uYHVa8r6tsyczqrA8Yl LibA5z2WVbbf1ah21tbt/wDPsr/nLPV/RfpOy+sv1fzfrF1LpVJ31YVLLzl5ILZAcaYpqa5vusyP S+n/AID+dQm/UavpP1q6Z1To1fp9PD7PteMDPpOdTZUy6redz6bHe2yv/BWfpfoep6cfAT+nIeC7 iHYF2/rgHf8ANvOaydz2NbLefc9jSvEH9MufWy6ogtscW7YiIO1e7/WHAZ1Do2XiPsdUH1kixkEt Lfe12130vc36K8zoGJ07Bfg7q7b30sfXkFsy+18uFL4/Ru+zt9He9KZI12ZcMBOwRbb+qPQul4GV W3q2C7IGRs9LIfU6yp/rexjT7XY+39789iyPrD0PpzPrhkdO6JWaqGNrD62e9ossaDYymXOd6P6S vd/o7d9a6rF6y7B+ruPfa25mBgu+022s2ljtjvZhWep+c+/0/oP9Xf6f6OxcB0zMyMfqDerMMW1u daRzt3yBsL/zK/Ua1DiPD5spxA5AO3Qfu95PQ2dD6f0Xp2Lk3ZNn7dy76q6WU2aVVl7W23ZFf522 r9//AAq7/wCrPXD1XpNT3NjKr3V5NZe0uBY51XrOE+o1l+zezexeXUzldRDmM2Y1YbY+954DHb7L 8h5Ln+o+semyltn6P1N6s/VZzetfX7Cu1rprdY6lrfa70qWvspbYW7XP9S5zbLGv/wCKTQOIkX01 Kc0QMQJ0kZemP9UfM+o2htp23D02z7AdOe8fyk32PH+zfm7t0b40ifCf3FLquK+ms5eIIdXrYzkb f

Скачать книгу