Chase the Wind Read Online Free PDF

suggested.
    “I’ve tried, but in his father’s eyes he can do no wrong. He’s like the prodigal son come back. Everyone’s all atwitter with the ball, and nothing else matters. It seems that they’ve invited all the eligible young maidens for his perusal. They want him to pick a wife.”
    Faith felt a chill run down her spine. A thousand coincidences came flooding into her head. Her father and Miriam suddenly being so friendly to the Masons at church, Miriam’s constant perusal of her, the ball gown that was cut much too low in front. She recalled now the many conferences her father and Miriam had held in her father’s study. Surely they were not planning to marry her off to Randolph Mason. She shook her head to clear away the horrible thought. Ian was looking up at her.
    “He won’t have you,” he said, and Faith shivered again. For the first time since she had met him, Ian scared her. His eyes had gone black in the shadows of the winter day, and his face was hard and closed.
    Faith put her hand to her mouth to press back a sob that threatened to erupt. She noticed that her hand was trembling. “Ian, what are we to do?”
    “We’ll bide our time. Surely they can’t marry you off before Christmas.”
    She shook her head. No, they couldn’t make this happen, and she wouldn’t let it happen. Maybe she and Ian were being foolish; there were plenty of young ladies around who would happily marry Randolph. She knew deep inside, though, that he would choose her. He had always watched her with his black eyes, and she had always made sure that she kept plenty of distance between them.
    Ian pulled her down on his lap, and she laid her head on his shoulder. “Tell me about Richmond, and the ocean.” He had told her all about it before, but she loved to hear his voice and she wanted to take his mind off Randolph. Soon he was talking about swimming in the waters of the Atlantic, but she knew his rival was ever present in his mind. They tried to come up with a plan to meet the following Saturday evening at the ball, but decided they would just have to see what happened. Ian promised to stay close to her and left it at that.
    The breeze that had caressed Faith earlier strengthened, bringing a hint of moisture. She roused from her sleep enough to pull the quilt over her and settled back to her dreams.
    It was the night of the Masons’ ball and she had just gotten out of the carriage. She held her satin wrap up under her chin as she surveyed the grounds, searching for a glimpse of Ian. The stables were down the drive to the left and seemed to be the center of some activity. The area was well lit, and there seemed to be a conference of some sort going on in the opening of the wide double doors. No one in the group gathered there towered above the rest, so Faith assumed that Ian was elsewhere, probably inside the huge building. He had promised to be close, and she knew he would be.
    Her father took her arm and led her up the wide brick steps that led to the Masons’ mansion. The family was standing inside the drawing room receiving their guests, and the Taylors joined the line. Faith nervously clutched the wrap up over the expanse of breast that her dress revealed. She just knew that Miriam had had it altered after her last fitting. When it was her turn to greet Mrs. Mason, the woman made such a production over the butler’s failure to take Faith’s wrap that she had to surrender it to the chastised man so as not to draw further attention to herself. The next person in line was Randolph Mason. He took her hand and bent over it for a courtly kiss, but his black eyes never left the creamy expanse of skin that she knew was covered with goose bumps. She also knew, without a doubt, that the tip of his tongue had touched the back of her hand. She tried to snatch it away, but he held it in an iron grip.
    “I hope you will do me the honor of a dance tonight, Miss Taylor,” he said in an oily voice, and Faith’s hand curled