A Poisoned Season Read Online Free PDF

interest in marrying you.”
    He slumped in his chair. “That’s a relief. Although I will say candidly that when at last I accept the inevitable and marry, I won’t be able to find a more charming wife than you.”
    “Don’t waste your flattery on me.”
    “Let me flatter you. Doing it to anyone else will set tongues wagging across town and lead to rumors of imminent marriage.”
    “I know your plight only too well.”
    “I suppose you do. But I thought you and Hargreaves…” He stopped.
    “Colin and I are not engaged,” I said. “What about you and Lettice Frideswide?”
    “There is no affection between us. Lettice seems more terrified of me than anything, and there has never been any talk of an engagement except by our mothers. You and I are similar creatures. Each with perfect opportunity before us yet unwilling to take it. Perhaps we should join forces. If all of society believes we have an understanding, they’ll leave us alone.”
    “An interesting proposition, Jeremy, and very similar to the one I was about to make to you, but not for myself.”
    “For whom, then?”
    “Margaret.” I quickly described her situation. “If her parents think she’s got a duke, they’ll let her do whatever she wants.”
    Jeremy laughed loudly. “This is priceless. What a lark. Tell her I’ll do it,” he said, continuing to laugh. “I’d never have expected such a devious plan from you.”
    “All credit goes to Margaret.”

    “And, Emily”—he grew serious—“if you ever…if Hargreaves doesn’t…if you do need someone…I think you and I could come to a mutually satisfactory understanding.”
    “Really, Jeremy, that has to be one of the most romantic proposals in all of English history. May I record it in my diary?”
    “I mean it, Em.”
    “I shall keep that in mind, Your Grace.”

3
    T O SAY THAT MY MOTHER WAS GRATIFIED BY THE ATTENTIONS bestowed on me by the Duke of Bainbridge would be a grotesque understatement. Although our families were close, her friendship with Lady Frideswide had precluded her considering him as a potential husband for me. Now, however, she was convinced that the duke had strayed from Lettice of his own accord, and if her daughter was now the object of his affections, who was she to protest? I insisted to her that Margaret, not I, was in his sights, but she refused to accept this. No one could make her believe that a duke would choose an American over the daughter of an English peer.
    “I’ll listen to none of this nonsense,” she said, after she had accosted me on the banks of the Thames at the Henley Regatta. “Between the Duke and Colin Hargreaves, you’re sure to make an excellent match before the end of the Season. Neither will be willing to let you wait knowing that the other is competing for your favor.” She looked at me and frowned. “Where is your parasol?”
    “I didn’t feel like dragging it along with me.”
    “My child, I fear for you. You are mere days away from completely destroying your complexion.” She tugged at my hat, trying to makeit better shade my face. “I’ve had a lovely day. His Grace was kind enough to offer me a spot on Temple Island. How I wish you could have joined us!”
    “I didn’t realize Jeremy was a member of the Leander Club.” The island, which was for Leander members, not only provided an excellent vantage point, but also was the most exclusive area from which to view the race. Of its two merits, I knew it was the latter that most impressed my mother.
    “Don’t play coy, Emily. You’re perfectly aware of all of Bainbridge’s attributes. I’m just glad to see that he’s beginning to take notice of yours.”
    “Mother—”
    “And this is as good a time as any to point out that your odd reading habits are beginning to disconcert people.”
    “My reading habits are not—”
    “We all understand that it was terribly shocking for you to lose your husband. Mourning is a dreadful time. But now it is over and there