Andrea Kane Read Online Free PDF

the glittering diamond-and-emerald necklace about her throat. “Perhaps I should go.”
    “No, you should not go,” Aurora declared with a vehement shake of her head. “And I apologize for my brother’s rudeness.”
    “What do you mean, ‘as promised’?” Slayde grilled her, ignoring the excess chatter as the significance of his sister’s earlier words sank in.
    Aurora frowned. “The note I left you. I explained where I was going, with whom, and for how long. Certainly you understood my reasoning. For heaven’s sake, Slayde, I cannot remain a prisoner at Pembourne forever—”
    “What note? I never received a note. Other than ransom ones,” he added.
    Now it was Aurora’s turn to look shocked. “Ransom notes? Why on earth would you receive ransom notes?”
    “Because half of Devonshire thinks you’ve been kidnapped, that’s why. Because you’ve been missing from Pembourne for a week, and no one has had a clue as to your whereabouts. Word leaked out that you’d been taken. Notes began arriving posthaste.”
    “Oh, my God.” Aurora looked positively stricken. “Slayde, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I truly did leave you a note.” Her nose wrinkled. “I can’t imagine how you missed it.”
    “Where did you put it?”
    “I propped it on my pillow. The morning I left—one week ago today.”
    Slayde’s eyes glittered dangerously. “And where, pray tell, did you go?”
    “To London.” Aurora’s face lit up. “It was exhilarating. Elinore took me to balls at Almack’s and Carlton House. We rode in Hyde Park and shopped on Bond Street. I even peeked into White’s and caught a glimpse of the gaming.”
    “Are you telling me you’ve spent the better part of the last week traipsing about London, with no protection whatsoever?”
    Her chin came up. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
    “You didn’t bother mentioning this intended excursion to our staff,” Slayde accused harshly. “Or is it a coincidence that not one of them reported it to me? Nor, for that matter, did they report Elinore’s visit or your subsequent departure.”
    A flicker of guilt. “I met Elinore at the lighthouse. It was the only way I could leave Pembourne without being questioned or accompanied. In my confirming note, I explained to Elinore that I needed to drop something off at the lighthouse prior to our departure and asked if her carriage could collect me there. She agreed. As for our servants, they hadn’t a clue of my plans. I merely strolled off in my customary direction. And, since my own wardrobe is sadly lacking in gowns appropriate for a Season, I had no reason to carry a bag. Instead, Elinore and I purchased all I needed in London. She was wonderful. And, in case you’re entertaining the possibility that she was involved in my little plot, don’t. This is the first she’s hearing of it. So don’t even consider blaming her.”
    “Fear not—I blame you.”
    “Slayde, forgive me for intruding,” Lady Stanwyk murmured, inserting herself with the grace and refinement she so naturally exuded. At forty years of age, she was still a striking woman, her dark hair perfectly coiffed, her green muslin dress cut to her exact specifications. “I’m terribly sorry this dreadful mix-up had to occur. And ’tis true: this is the first I’ve heard of Aurora’s scheme. Certainly I don’t condone it; nor would I have agreed to go along with it if I had. But with regard to her safety, truly, she was quite secure and fully chaperoned. We were accompanied by two ladies’ maids, a carriage driver, and four footmen. We stayed at my London Townhouse, which is fully staffed. Not to mention the fact that I was with Aurora every waking moment.” The viscountess gave a delicate cough. “Other than when she darted from my carriage for that one brief dash down St. James Street to view the men’s clubs. And even then, she was in my line of vision.”
    “I stopped only at White’s,” Aurora said in