Anna Jacobs Read Online Free PDF Page A

the effort to visit Mama more often.”
    “Oh, yes. Eleanor is very pretty. At least, I think so. And - and with very lively taking ways.” Though a little rash at times, she added mentally, already starting to worry about what Eleanor would be getting up to, now that she was left to her own devices.
    “Then we should have no difficulty finding her a husband, should we?” Johanna escorted Beatrice up the stairs, waving to several people en route and promising to introduce her cousin to them another time.
    Anyone less like her formidable mother would be hard to find, thought Beatrice. Johanna was always so affectionate and comfortable to be with!
    Left alone at last, she sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Noise and laughter floated up from below and she wondered how anyone could possibly expect her to sleep with a party going on. Within half an hour, however, she had allowed a young maid to unpack her travelling case, drunk a glass of hot milk sweetened with honey, eaten a piece of cake and settled down for the night.
    She expected to have difficulty falling asleep, but instead, she proved her hostess’s point that it was, indeed, the most comfortable bed in the house.
    * * * *
    When she awoke the following morning, it took Beatrice a minute or two to remember where she was, then she sat bolt upright in the bed. She was in London already and rushing toward a fate she definitely did not relish. What sort of man would want to marry a woman as old as she was, and one, moreover, whose family connections were not all they should be? An older man, of course! A widower, probably.
    Her imagination ran riot for a few minutes, picturing a series of elderly gentlemen creaking down onto their knees to propose to her, then she gave a shaky laugh and banished the images from her mind. She would take one step at a time. First, she must grow accustomed to London ways, for her Aunt Marguerite had never gone about much in society on their occasional brief visits to town, confining herself to receiving, in much state, the few people of her generation still alive whose ancestry she did not despise.
    Beatrice stared across at her trunks, remembering the elegance of the people she had seen the previous evening. She must purchase some more stylish clothes. She smiled at the thought. That prospect, at least, was a pleasant one. Who would not enjoy buying a completely new wardrobe? She took a deep breath and told herself that not until all that was accomplished need she think of the other thing. Not for another week, anyway. This decision made her feel much better.
    Her determined expression faded slowly, however, as she remembered the arrogant gentleman she’d met the previous evening. Oh dear! It had started already, without her wishing it to, for she’d met one of the Names within minutes of entering the house. Justin Serle, of Melbury Park, Hertfordshire, the list said, with a tick beside the name to indicate that he was a highly preferred candidate. She could still see his handsome, disdainful face looking down at her with controlled politeness, and she blushed again as she remembered how she’d stammered and stuttered in reply to his questions. How stupid she must have appeared to him!
    And how arrogant he had appeared to her!
    She gasped aloud and giggled suddenly, as it occurred to her that he exactly fitted the description of the villain in the novel her grandmother had burned. The Conte di Maggione! Oh, she definitely had to purchase another copy and find out how the tale ended, ridiculous as it was.
    A knock on the door heralded the entrance of the same small maid who had helped her unpack the night before, this time come to light the fire. “Shall I fetch your hot water up yet, miss? And would you like a tea tray? And if you please, her ladyship says to tell you that I’m to help you get ready and look after your things until you find a lady’s maid of your own.”
    “I don’t need any help, thank you.”
    The girl’s