A Disgraceful Miss Read Online Free PDF Page A

suppose we should send round and inquire? He usually puts in a good hour before we dine, and tonight is a special celebration.”
    “I take your point, Charlotte, but I don’t think we need to loose the hounds just yet.” Daniel took a seat beside his wife. “I saw him at the club this afternoon, so he hasn’t taken ill. Even that nasty gash he took chasing Angelica’s thief looks better.”
    “I do hope so. Do you think it will scar?”
    “There’s no avoiding it, deep as it is.” Daniel patted Charlotte’s hand, while Angelica’s heart sank at the thought. He was permanently marked because of her? “Don’t know what he was thinking to go after the man. We may be back in England but the criminals are every bit as bad or worse as the thugs infesting Indian markets.”
    Angelica frowned. Thug was a word Julian had also used. Had they run into some of these thugs while they were serving in the army there?
    “Vine never could tolerate a thief. A few years back, there was a merchant in Bombay robbed while we took coffee at a local shop. Vine took off like a rifle shot after the ruffian. Caught him in no time, too.”
    “Telling stories about me?” Angelica was listening so closely she jumped in surprise when Julian’s voice rang out. His visits were so frequent the butler no longer bothered to announce him. “Next you’ll be giving away my secrets.” He smiled as he crossed the room to claim a seat that seemed a world away, it was so far across the room.
    Daniel laughed. “You haven’t any secrets that I know of, Vine. You are the most open person I’ve ever met.”
    “Oh, I think you’d be surprised,” Julian murmured and Angelica held her breath. Did he just cut his eyes toward her? It happened so quickly, she might have imagined it if it weren’t for the faint color that rushed his cheeks. Was Julian actually…blushing? Or was it just the healthy pink of a healing wound?
    The memory of his demanding lips on hers flashed in her mind and stole her breath. Daniel would not be pleased if he knew. Julian had likely glanced in warning that this was a secret he intended to keep.
    “I find that very difficult to believe,” declared Charlotte. “A man whose first impulse is to chase down a thief, rather than to stop and worry about soiling his threads, is a selfless gentleman in my book. Thank you, Vine, for looking after our…after Angelica for us.”
    Now it was Angelica’s turn to blush. Everyone in the room knew that Charlotte and Daniel were Angelica’s true parents. It just wasn’t something that any of them spoke aloud, for fear of the servants spreading gossip.
    “Indeed, it was my pleasure to be of assistance.”
    “Well, we owe you another debt. Continue this way, my friend, and we’ll be indebted to you for life,” Daniel said.
    Julian shrugged the comment away, as if the thought of anyone being indebted to him was unwelcome. And that gave Angelica pause. Julian didn’t have anyone that she could ascertain. No parents, siblings, or family of his own. There didn’t even seem to be anyone in line to inherit should Julian die without issue. And, with the exception of leisure time spent with Daniel, Julian hadn’t made any effort to change matters. No obligations or ties anywhere. How very lonely that must be.
    “Your face seems to be healing nicely, Vinedale,” Charlotte said and leaned forward, her expression earnest. “If you hadn’t been there with Angelica, who knows what else might have happened?”
    Daniel stood and poured Vinedale a drink. “I’ve had a word with Lord George Cavendish, and he’s agreed to secure the arcade with former members of his regiment, stationed as beadles. I’d like to see a thief get past one of his hussars in the future.”
    “I’m sure I don’t know what the world is coming to.” Charlotte shook her head and rose. “Shall we move to the dining room and continue our discussion? I hope you don’t mind that we’ll be dining à la russe