Caroline Linden Read Online Free PDF

won’t give him up, just because you don’t like him. I love him and if you won’t give him your consent, we’ll wait until we don’t need it!”
    And pigs will fly , thought Charlotte. “If he waits three years to marry you, and his devotion never wavers, I’ll withdraw my every complaint. But he won’t wait,” she said harshly, as disbelieving joy radiated from Susan. “He’ll be gone before the end of the week, no doubt, now that he knows he won’t be marrying an heiress any time soon.”
    “He does not want my money!” Susan looked appalled. “Just because you married for money doesn’t mean everyone else does!”
    Charlotte felt the blow very keenly, but she tried to hide it. Susan was not responsible for what she said in the heat of anger. “I think you should go to bed, and we can discuss this in the morning.”
    Susan’s face crumpled. Charlotte, still battling her own temper, crossed her arms. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, but it’s best that you face the truth about him.” Susan covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders heaved. Charlotte felt a wave of sympathy, and laid a hand on her shoulder. “There, now, it will all end well,” she said gently, but Susan shook her off.
    “It will all end well for you, maybe,” she choked. “Your life is over, so you’ve gone and ruined mine!”
    “Oh, really!” Charlotte snapped. “That’s quite enough.”
    “I hate you,” sobbed Susan. “And I will never speak to you again!”
    She didn’t wait for a reply, but turned and ran from the room, leaving Charlotte to stare after her in mingled frustration and worry. What was wrong with the child? Susan was ignoring what anyone of sense could see. Stuart Drake was a fortune hunter; he had as good as admitted it. He didn’t love Susan, only her money, and yet Susan clung to her irrational belief that he could make her happy. Oh, Susan ... Charlotte sank into a chair, her anger melting away. How could she make Susan see reason before the scoundrel broke her heart?
    She could tell Susan her beloved Mr. Drake had attempted to seduce her aunt. But he, no doubt, would manage to turn the tale to his own advantage and have Susan believe the worst of Charlotte instead. He had obviously taken the poor girl in quite thoroughly, and Charlotte sensed her best course was to say nothing more of him. Perhaps if Susan met a more suitable gentleman? Charlotte still shied away from London, but they might go to Bath, or to Brighton ...
    No. That would never do. God alone knew how determinedly he would pursue Susan and her inheritance, and Susan would focus all her resentment on Charlotte for taking her away from the man she foolishly loved. Charlotte would do anything to protect her niece, but she couldn’t bear to have Susan hate her forever.
    The front door opened, then closed, and a moment later Lucia came in, smelling of roses and Turkish tobacco. “What a night,” she said breezily, settling into one of the large overstuffed chairs and kicking off her shoes. “Goodness, these parties are so dull, but the people here, they do have their charm.”
    Charlotte smiled half-heartedly. Lucia, who had once been one of the brightest stars in Milan, renowned for her clear, light soprano, had become something of a minor celebrity in their short time in town, even though she could no longer sing in the manner that had made her famous all over Europe. Now that the war with Napoleon was over, there was a great demand in England for all things continental, even fading opera singers who had lost half their range.
    “But you! You, cara, what a scene you left!” Lucia fished one of her small cigarettes from her bag. “I have yet to see such excitement in the English as you caused.”
    Charlotte rose with a swish of silk, pacing from the windows to the fireplace. “Susan says she will never speak to me again.”
    “Bah.” Lucia lit her cigarette from a nearby candle, inhaling deeply. “Let her pout. It is good for