Enticing the Earl Read Online Free PDF Page B

more ample bosom.
    Next came an azure ball gown—there would likely be no balls in the country, but she was too dazzled by the beauty of the dress to object, and another dinner dress, then two day dresses. Last, a handsome navy traveling outfit that—“So fortunate!” the dressmaker proclaimed—could be made ready to go with only an adjustment to the bodice and a slight change made to the waist.
    Lauryn found herself almost dizzy with happiness at the thought of putting aside her faded black garments, worn for so many months. “I shall have to visit a hatmaker,” she thought aloud, “and, oh, undergarments, and I suppose shoes…”
    â€œNo, indeed,” Madame duPree corrected, frowning. “They will come to you, Madame Smith. When we are done, the artiste from the next street will be here to check your sizes.”
    And so he was, leading a line of young assistants almost invisible behind the stacks of hatboxes they carried. And what a joy to choose among so many pretty bonnets! The afternoon passed quickly, and by the time she was sufficiently outfitted—amazed by the number of outfits and accessories that were considered necessary for a few weeks in the country—she found herself quite weary.
    But the only time she had dared to object that she might not need so many, Boxel, who had looked in now and then to see how the fittings were coming, had at once frowned her down.
    â€œWould you disgrace the earl by a poor display, madame?”
    â€œOh, no–no, of course not,” she’d stuttered, flushing.
    So she reminded herself now that she could not disgrace the earl, as she did not dare to incur Boxel’s censure yet again.
    When at last the shopping was complete, and most of the her purchases sent on to the earl’s residence, with only a few kept by her, Boxel had fixed her with his stern look. “I suppose you are coming back to the earl’s residence?”
    â€œNo,” she blurted without even thinking about it. “I will join you in the morning.”
    â€œI see. Then I shall escort you home in the carriage.” He looked somewhat suspicious. “What address shall I give the driver?”
    Ah, where indeed? If she went back to the hotel, the squire would demand to know where she was going, and she didn’t wish to explain in person, not wanting an argument, and she certainly didn’t want the earl’s servant to find out she had any possible link to the squire. Lauryn thought rapidly, then named the street.
    She was silent on the ride, and when the carriage stopped again, even Boxel looked surprised when he looked out at their destination. “You are staying at a church?”
    â€œAt the rectory,” she said, her tone pleasant. “The vicar never gives up on seeking to reclaim souls.” Giving the valet a sweet smile, she stepped down from the carriage, took her bundles of purchases from inside the vehicle, and turned to walk up the pathway to the rectory building.
    And hoped God would not strike her dead on the spot!

    To her disapproval, the carriage lingered until the door to the rectory opened, but the housekeeper knew her and admitted her readily, and at last the vehicle pulled away.
    â€œâ€™Ow are you, Mrs. ’Arris,” the placid woman said. “Where is the squire? Is ’e not with you?”
    â€œHe’s a bit under the weather,” Lauryn said, thanking heaven for the good-natured but rather slow-witted servant. “So I left him at the hotel. Is my sister in?”
    â€œI’m afraid not, ma’am, but the vicar is ’ere. ’E’s in the sitting room if you’d like to go through,” the housekeeper said. “I’ll make up a nice pot of fresh tea for ye.”
    â€œThank you,” Lauryn said. She left her packages on the side of the front hall—the phlegmatic housekeeper might not have wondered at Lauryn’s unusual whirlwind of