Argent (Hundred Days Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

follow his comment, to keep her there, but silence broke the thread between them and Alexandra moved off.
                  She folded onto a hulking floral brocade sofa beneath the window, slipped a book from the ledge, and seemed to forget that she was not alone. Absorbed as he was in studying her, he didn’t miss Paulina's sour frown at her sister-in-law.
                  “Hastings, what's our order of the day?” asked Chas, a strange contrast of desperate affability against his scowling wife.
                  “Well.” John glanced to Laurel, who smiled over a hard swallow. “Well,” she began, then faltered. Spencer didn’t have to guess why; John had grumbled over their struggle for weeks now. John's army pay was in arrears, going back to well before the Battle of Paris. He’d dumped a small fortune into Broadmoore just to make it livable and then the Crown had left him out to dry. Now John had a baby on the way and an unexpected house full of guests to entertain. “Well,” she repeated, “John has arranged us a lovely picnic today out on the heath --”
                  “The weather is cold,” sniffed Paulina.
                  “The weather is English ,” retorted Alexandra, piercing the other woman with a glance over her book. A silent, pointed exchange hung between the women for long enough that Spencer anticipated more barbs. Finally, Alexandra dropped her gaze, cutting the tension.
                  Laurel’s shoulders relaxed a measure at being defended. “And tomorrow, we'll –”
                  He sat forward, interjecting himself into the group. “Tomorrow you will all come over to Oakvale. I have entertainments planned for Saturday and Sunday so that Lady Hastings may have a respite to enjoy your company.”
                  Laurel's smile was absolute gratitude, and John nodded.
                  John needed his cousins, and Laurel could not risk alienating them by saying what truly ought to be said to Paulina Paton. But he would, and could. Let her cut a swath with her tongue under his roof and see how she fared.
                  “That is very kind of you, Lord Reed.” Alexandra was watching him without blinking, book forgotten in her lap.
                  His intent in bringing the group to Oakvale was to do Laurel a favor. Now it occurred to him that he would be under the same roof with Mrs. Rowan, in her company as much as he wished. A thrill shivered up his back, his eyes holding a moment too long on her mouth.
                  He returned her stare a moment and something hung between them, something tantalizing, for just a moment.
    Then Laurel cut the thread, scooting her chair until it separated their respective perches. “Mrs. Rowan, your brother mentioned that you paint. Do you instruct, also?”
    There was a hopeful note in Laurel's voice that Spencer imagined only he would recognize, but Alexandra seemed to pick it out, too. “I have not a bit of formal instruction, but I'm happy to share what I know. I don't do portraits, ever. But the natural world…” she nodded slowly. “Perhaps I could show you a thing or two.”
                  “Oakvale has some noteworthy landscapes,” he offered, eager for Alexandra’s notice.
                  “It's true!” Laurel clasped her hands. “Oh, Mrs. Rowan, you have never seen anything quite like it. More of the Highlands than here, full of stone cliffs and low peaks. And, at the same time, green and rolling. A natural lake below the lawn catches the sunrise. It’s breathtaking.”
                  Laurel’s praise warmed him, but it was Alexandra’s reaction which interested him.
                  “Breathtaking. That’s high praise. I can hardly wait,” agreed Alexandra, meeting his eyes and then glancing away. “I saw humbling country some years