A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle Read Online Free PDF Page B

head and smoothed her hands over her dress and
pelisse.
    And her heart almost stopped
beating.
    Her journal . It was gone. She stood in
the curricle and searched beneath where she had been sitting, but
it was nowhere to be found.
    Norcutt looked upon her like she
belonged in Bedlam. “Miss Hyatt? We shall fetch your things
immediately. There is no cause for concern.”
    “ My journal. Have you seen
my journal?” She tossed up the tail of his greatcoat where it lay
on the bench beside her. “I must find my journal. It is a matter of
dire importance, sir.” Life and death importance. Oh, dear good
Lord, the things she had written there. If anyone were to come
across it…
    “ I believe it must have
gone missing with your parasol. Surely it will be here along the
way.” He hurried the horses at the urgency in her voice.
    “ Oh, it simply must be.” If someone
found it, if word got out, if Father learned… She was
doomed.
    When they arrived at the trees where
her parasol lay, she leapt down from the curricle without waiting
for his assistance and dashed to look under the foliage.
    It wasn’t there. Nor was it tucked
neatly into another nearby grove of trees. Nor could it be found
alongside the Serpentine. It was nowhere.
    Gone .
    Aurora got down on her knees to look
behind a row of bushes. Lord Norcutt followed suit soon after. Lord
Merrick came along with Rebecca, still laughing gaily with her hair
flying freely at her side.
    “ I say, are we still
missing some items?” Merrick’s flippant tone set Aurora’s blood to
boiling.
    “ Miss Hyatt seems to have
misplaced her journal.”
    Rebecca’s gasp underscored
the gravity of the situation. She flung herself to her knees as
well, to assist in the process. Soon, all four of them were
scrounging around upon their knees, most decidedly ruining their
clothing and making utter fools of themselves as half the ton watched in combined
shock, curiosity, and horror.
    After nearly half an hour, they had
all given up the search except for Aurora.
    “ I think,” said Rebecca,
“it is time to stop, Miss Hyatt. Clearly, the journal is not here.
We must assume that it has landed in the Serpentine and been washed
away.”
    Yes. Washed away. Perhaps that was the
case. Perhaps her world would not crumble in all around
her.
    She slowly rose to her feet and
brushed the grass and dirt from her gown. All the life had been
sapped out of her in the search. She felt weak. Numb.
    Perhaps no one would discover her
secret.

Chapter Three
     
    1 April, 1811
     
    Life as I have known it is
now over. It was nice to know you. Please remember me
kindly.
     
    ~From the new journal of
Miss Aurora Hyatt
     
    “ Today, my friend, is the
first day of your future as a true gentleman.” Jonas stood before
him as the picture of the London gentleman, with everything in
precisely the proper place. Top hat, angled just so. Pantaloons,
waistcoat, greatcoat, cravat. Check, check, check, check. Sheer
elegance and perfection.
    Devil take him.
    Standing next to him, Quin felt like a
buffoon. His breeches fit more snugly than he liked, his greatcoat
hardly allowed him any free movement, the bloody cravat threatened
to strangle him, and he’d be damned if he’d enjoy wearing a blasted
beaver hat.
    Jonas had tried to convince him to cut
his hair along with the shave, but there were some things a man
just simply couldn’t allow.
    He attempted to stretch out his legs
and arms, hoping to find a way to function in the fussy attire.
“Can we get on with it already? I don’t know how long I can pass as
a dandy.” At least not without swooning like a woman.
    Jonas smirked. “Not very long.” He
gave Quin’s appearance a final examination. “You really ought to
have worn one of my coats. Something with some color. Something
less funereal, sans the look of…well, death.”
    Color. That would be the day. “I feel
like death. Death agrees with me. Besides, we’re hunting for a
bride. Isn’t that much the same