A Secret Affair Read Online Free PDF

“Quite.”
    Mr. Holloway sighed. “In that case, I’d have no choice but to take him in, bathe, and feed him.”
    Her eyes went wide. “You would?
    “I would. Why, Miss Birmingham, are you a devotee of the cat in addition to the works of Shakespeare?”
    She shook her head. “I’ve never been particularly partial to cats, to be honest, Mr. Holloway, but when one arrived on my doorstep in the exact fashion in which I’ve just described, why, that’s exactly what I did. Took him in, fed and bathed him, and you see, now I appear to own a cat.”
    He laughed. “I see. And what is your cat’s name?”
    She giggled. “His name is LaFew.”
    Mr. Holloway threw back his head this time when he laughed. “Ah, so you are a fan of All’s Well that Ends Well . ’Tis a better name than Romeo, I suppose.”
    “I’ve always thought so. I never imagined I’d own a cat, truthfully, but LaFew is quite reasonable, and he even gets on well with Papa’s dog, Henry.”
    “Not named after Henry V?” Mr. Holloway asked in mock surprise.
    “Yes, indeed.”
    The dance ended then, and Frances wished they had more time to speak. She’d been having such a grand time laughing with him. And he’d surprised her with the answers to her questions.
    Mr. Holloway escorted her to the sidelines and turned to face her. “Would you care for some punch?”
    “Not particularly,” she replied, glancing about hesitantly.
    “Some teacakes?”
    “Normally I would say yes, but no, not right now.”
    He rocked back and forth on his heels. “Would you care to…? Care to…?” He laughed quietly.
    Frances’s head snapped up. “What is it Mr. Holloway?”
    “Miss Birmingham, it seems I am fresh out of ideas of what to offer to do with you next. Do you have any?”
    Frances blinked at him twice. Oh, he’d just given her the perfect opening, had he not? The perfect opening to lead into the second part—the secret part—of her plan to see if they were, indeed, compatible.
    “Why, yes, Mr. Holloway,” she replied. “I’d like it ever so much if you would escort me outside. Alone.”

CHAPTER 6
    Charlie cleared his throat and stared at her. “Outside?”
    “Yes.”
    “Alone?”
    “Yes.”
    He considered her words for a moment. Miss Birmingham must know as well as he that young ladies didn’t ask gentleman to escort them outside alone. What was she up to? Very well. There were a handful of couples already outside in the balcony. The weather wasn’t quite cold enough to preclude it, but Charlie could be certain the gentlemen had been the ones to steer them to that particular location, and watchful mamas would be closely eyeing the French doors to ensure their charges did not go outside. Alone. With any man.
    “I need some air, you see,” Frances added.
    Charlie nodded. “By all means.” It was the only gentlemanly thing to do. When a young lady informed a gentleman that she must go outside for a bit of air, he took her. Simple as that.
    He had to admit, she’d surprised him during their dance, asking him all of those questions as if she was writing a piece for the Times . And so many of the questions had been well-informed and quite intelligent. A young woman who disagreed with her own father’s politics was a young woman who’d bothered to study and learn and decide for herself. Most interesting. Miss Birmingham obviously wasn’t your average silly miss who cared about nothing more than fripperies and ball gowns, that much was certain.
    Charlie had to admit a certain admiration for her. A bluestocking over a belle any day . Now Miss Birmingham was surprising him yet again with her request that he take her out to the balcony.
    He glanced around, looking for Miss Birmingham’s mother. That lady was pleasantly preoccupied in conversation across the room. Capital . He put his hand on Miss Birmingham’s elbow and guided her along. They walked along the sideline of the dance floor, past the refreshment table, the trays filled with