A Common Scandal Read Online Free PDF

Natty after all this time? We have such a lot to talk about!”
    “I think you’ve done more than enough talking this evening,” Wheeler growled, reaching for Amelia’s arm and yanking her to his side. “First I hear whispers you’ve threatened violence against Katherine Ponsoy and now I’ve found you flinging yourself against a strange man.”
    Ah, despite the demure appearance, Amelia was the same wild child underneath it all. Nate was perversely glad to hear it. The world had enough proper misses. There weren’t nearly enough fireballs like Amelia.
    “He’s not a strange man, Papa. He’s Natty.”
    “You are not a child anymore, Amelia, and neither is Mr. Smythe.”
    Amelia turned back to him with an eager expression, and it killed him to do what needed to be done. Because her father was right. They could not greet each other the way they had as children. He wanted to hide away in some corner and talk to her all night, to hear what her past ten years had been like and to tell her of his own. But it wasn’t possible in this world, not without encouraging speculation. There was a woman in Nate’s future, but it was not—and could not be—Amelia Wheeler. Once again, he had to leave her behind.
    She was still looking at him hopefully, openly, every emotion she had written in her eyes. In return, he smiled politely and sketched a shallow bow.
    “It’s been lovely to see you again after so much time, Miss Wheeler, and looking very well. But there’s someone here I must speak with and I’m sure I’ve been unfairly monopolizing your time. Many gentlemen are no doubt wishing me gone, so I’ll take my leave of you.”
    The sting showed in her eyes. It was ridiculous to feel bad about it, to ache over the slight he’d inflicted.
    “Of course,” she said frostily. “Please don’t let me keep you from your evening.”
    That hurt, no doubt as she’d intended, but they weren’t children anymore and in this new adult world, their paths couldn’t cross. He wished he was free to wink at her and reach out to tug the curl brushing her neck. Instead, he kept his face impassive as he nodded at Mr. Wheeler, then turned away.
    Guilt and regret clawed at his chest as he walked away from her. But he hadn’t come to this bloody ball to revisit his childhood. He’d come with a mission that remained unaccomplished, and he hadn’t gotten where he was today without accomplishing everything he set out to do.
    For all he looked like one of these people, he knew as well as they did that a gulf as wide as the Atlantic separated him from the men around him. Born to powerful families and holding ancient titles, these men had access to a certain kind of power he’d never be able to buy, not with all the money in the world. It was the power of family connections, of years spent together at Oxford and Cambridge. They were tied together in a hundred ways, through a network of connections vast and complex. And those connections meant they looked out for their own. Nate was not, and never would be, one of their own.
    There was only one way someone of his low birth could ever gain access to this tightly closed circle. He was going to wed one of their daughters, specifically Lady Julia Harrow. He hadn’t met her yet, but no matter. It was her father, the Earl of Hyde, and Hyde’s company, Royal Eastern Enterprises, he was truly after. Nate’s fleet of smaller vessels had done remarkably well. Only one shipping company commanded more of the market—Royal Eastern. If they entered into a partnership, they’d be unassailable.
    A nobleman as proud as Hyde was rumored to be would never sully his hands with work or a partnership with a commoner. Nate had done his research and knew Hyde had inherited the company from a distant cousin, but it was still a bit of a puzzle how the company had flourished under his ownership. It hinted at a savvy business mind—likely a talented manager—running things. And if Nate could succeed in marrying