A Lady of Letters Read Online Free PDF Page A

encounter.
     
    She was obviously not as bird-witted as he had first imagined, though he wasn't sure he quite believed her assertion that the books were for her. They were difficult going. Of that he was well aware, for several of them were ones he had been struggling to make sense of for the past week. His lips quirked. Perhaps he should discover who she was so he could arrange to meet her father or brother. If they had half the spark that she did, it might prove interesting to cultivate the acquaintance, though, judging by her manner of dress, it didn't promise to be a family of any consequence. However he might actually discover someone he could share an intelligent conversation with.
     
    The Earl carefully rearranged the folds of his cravat and brushed the minute wrinkles from his fawn breeches. The girl was certainly developing an unfortunate knack for making him look bad—in every respect. He was suddenly aware that not only had he forgotten to tender an apology to her for the other evening but that he had compounded his earlier transgressions with an even worse account of himself today. It wasn't as if it mattered a whit what some unfashionably dressed chit thought of him, but his honor as a gentleman demanded that he at least offer some words of regret for his unsavory language. A lady, no matter how provoking, should not be subjected to such words. After locating the book for which he had come, he tucked it under his arm and returned to the front of the store, determined to get the thing over with.
     
    There was no sign of her. He turned to the clerk hovering near his elbow. "Another customer was just here and purchased a number of books. Do you know who she is?"
     
    "L... Lady Hadley?" stammered the fellow.
     
    Hadley. His brows drew together. "Farnum's daughter?" he demanded.
     
    The clerk nodded. "Y... yes, my lord. She comes here quite often."
     
    Good Lord, he thought, as his book was taken away to be wrapped. Edwin Hadley's sister. Now it was not merely honor that required him to make an apology, but something even more important.
     

    Try as she might to focus her attention on the printed page, her thoughts kept turning to the lean face, the full, chiseled lips curved in a look of distaste while the mocking blue eyes made no attempt to hide a look of utter disapproval.
     
    As if she cared what the insufferable man thought of her!
     
    Augusta snapped the book shut and began to pace her small study. This time, at least, she hadn't made a complete hash of defending herself from his cutting words. In fact, she realized with a start, her ripostes had sallied forth, unbidden, before she had a chance to think about what she had been saying. Not only that, they had actually pricked the man's overweening pride. Though it might have been foolhardy to risk making an enemy of such a man as the Earl of Sheffield, it had been worth it to see the look of surprise, then outrage that spread over his features.
     
    It was a shame those features were so riveting to look at.
     
    The tumble of dark locks, worn longer than was fashionable, and arched brows only accentuated the depth of color to his eyes. Not a soft, languid blue but a rich cerulean plummeting to shades of slate when his ire was raised—a state with which she was growing quite familiar.
     
    The angular planes of his face emphasized the sense of chiseled strength that radiated from his person. No matter his other faults, weakness of character did not appear to be one of them. It was interesting, too, that the hardness in his face did not have the look of calculated coldness or cruelty. Though it was hard to explain, she sensed that his anger might appear razor sharp, yet was somehow a bit blunted around the edge.
     
    And he was not stupid. His quick tongue and reputation for acerbic wit proved that, though she rather doubted that his thoughts ever ventured beyond issuing scathing set downs. After all, if rumors were true, he spent all his time in idle