A Summer Seduction Read Online Free PDF

evening. I know the countess would enjoy meeting you.”
    “I—” Damaris’s gaze went to Genevieve’s frozen expression. She should refuse, she knew. There were a hundred reasons why she should not attend a ton party, not the least of which was Lady Genevieve’s hastily concealed astonishment.
    Rawdon turned toward his sister, and Genevieve forced a smile. “Yes, do say you will be there,” she told Damaris, her tone devoid of enthusiasm.
    Normally Damaris would not have accepted so tepid an invitation. If Genevieve had any idea of the truth about Damaris’s past, she knew the girl would not have proffered even that. She opened her mouth to refuse, but then she made the mistake of looking at Lord Rawdon.
    “Thank you,” Damaris said instead, smiling. “I would love to join you.”
     
    “But who is this girl?” The Countess of Rawdon leaned forward to fix her grandson with the full blast of her faded blue eyes. Her eyes lacked the icy hue that was a hallmark of theStafford family, though they carried enough authority and hauteur to quell almost anyone. But tonight her grandson seemed immune to their power.
    He simply said, “Her name is Mrs. Howard, Grandmother. I believe I mentioned it.”
    “Yes, of course, but that does not tell me who she is .”
    Genevieve, beside her, was scanning the audience with her opera glasses. She had had to wait until her grandmother’s guest had left their plush box before spilling out the news that Alec had invited a woman to their party the following evening, and now there was little time left before the lights went down for the next act.
    “There!” Genevieve exclaimed softly. “She is that stunning black-haired woman in the pale blue gown.” She handed the glasses to her grandmother, gesturing toward the audience below them.
    “Genevieve! Really! Don’t point.” Lady Rawdon snatched the glasses from her granddaughter, shooting her a look of cool reproach. “It’s vulgar.”
    “Of course, Grandmother. I’m sorry. She is in the second seat from the aisle almost directly below us.”
    “Ah, yes. I see.” The countess studied Damaris for a moment, then handed the glasses back to Genevieve. She cast an assessing glance at her grandson, but before she could speak, the house lights went down and the curtain was raised. Lady Rawdon pressed her lips together and turned back to watch the play unfold.
    Alec relaxed in his chair and, with his grandmother’sattention focused on the stage, stared down into the audience. It was impossible to see Damaris well now, but Alec could remember quite clearly how Damaris had looked. His memory had not played him false; she was as beautiful as he had recalled. Perhaps even more so. He thought of the creamy white pearls scattered throughout her lustrous black hair, echoing the strand around her neck, drawing the gaze downward to the inviting expanse of alabaster chest… the swell of her breasts above the fashionably low neckline… He shifted in his seat and turned back to the action on the stage.
    But his thoughts remained on the woman below, so that he could not have said later what had transpired in the second act. He had no interest in the farce, anyway. He had come only because Genevieve had wanted to do so. It was, apparently, the most important night to see and be seen at the theater. And if he was being honest, he had to admit that the thought had occurred to him that it might be the likeliest time for Mrs. Howard to attend the play as well.
    Still, even knowing that there was some possibility that she might be there, a little jolt had shot through him when he scanned the audience and saw her sitting there. He was glad that he had glimpsed her first and had some time to adjust before he engineered running into her in the lobby. Even so, he had felt foolishly stiff and awkward. There was always a look in Damaris Howard’s eyes that made him certain he amused her in some way, an expression which both intrigued and challenged