Finding Miss McFarland Read Online Free PDF Page B

with paddling her sister with the serving spoon—“I had little reason to tell you of the upcoming birth of their child.”
    “Miss McFarland!” Miss Pursglove admonished from the doorway. “It is unseemly to speak of such things at breakfast or any other time.” Her sharp gaze closed in on the hand hovering over the silver service on the buffet.
    Begrudgingly, Delaney lowered her hand. “Are young women meant to pretend that their parents found them in baskets on the doorstep? Surely I am allowed to speak of such matters to my sister, who is old enough to be out in society.”
    “Your mother has that right, but you do not.”
    Delaney did her best to hold her temper in check and offered a stiff nod. She’d made a promise to her mother, after all.
    It had been more than a year ago since Mother had come into her room to say good-bye.
    “Take care of your sister while I’m away,” her mother said after a short embrace. She withdrew a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed the tears from the corners of her eyes. All the while, Bree’s sobs echoed down the hall. “She’s too much like me, I fear, and prone to heartbreak.”
    Somehow, Delaney had managed to conceal her own sadness and disappointment. She’d already known that her mother wouldn’t return before her debut. The arguments she’d overheard between her parents had been her first clue.
    “You are stronger than she is,” her mother continued, reaching out to brush the backs of her fingers across Delaney’s cheek. “The way you handle yourself around your father and that horrid woman he hired makes me see how much you’ve grown these past few years. You, my dear girl, are ready to make a match, because I know you are too clear-sighted to fall prey to my weakness of the heart.”
    In other words, Delaney knew better than to believe a man would want her for any reason aside from her fortune.
    Stark reality drew her out of the memory. Unlike her mother, Delaney was determined to set the course for her own life.
    Now, with Bree distracted and likely wondering if her lapse in decorum would earn a reprimand, the paper went slack in her hand. Delaney snatched it, unconcerned by the reproachful tsk from Miss Pursglove.
    Immediately, she sought the society column. As her gaze skimmed over the latest news, she let out a sigh of relief. No mention of Mr. C —or Miss M —in the park. The way Emma and Rathburn’s engagement announcement appeared, it was no wonder. It looked, for all the world, as if the Dowager Duchess of Heathcoat had designed the match herself. If ever there was news, this was it.
    She cast a longing glance at the iced buns and sighed. First things first; she must assemble her friends to uncover the mystery of Emma’s sudden betrothal.
    And straightaway after that, she absolutely must decline the Crofts’ invitation. It was a matter of dire importance. Her future was at stake.
    G riffin caught a whiff of gingerbread and smiled. Their cook, Mrs. Shortingham, knew it was his favorite. Glad that she’d remembered his birthday, he descended the servants’ stairs to the kitchen. By the time he arrived, however, one of the sculleries told him that the very last of the gingerbread had been sent to his mother’s parlor.
    The last of it sent to the parlor on his birthday? He didn’t believe it for an instant. It must be a ruse. No doubt, his sisters and mother were preparing to jump out at him shouting a boisterous “Happy birthday!”
    Normally, he detested surprises, but as long as gingerbread awaited him, he could endure anything.
    Wasting no time, he went to the parlor. But when he opened the door, he found another surprise altogether. Miss McFarland stood on the edge of the carpet.
    Something inside him jumped.
    Even though her back was to him, there was no mistaking that auburn hair. While her attire was likely the first star of fashion and perfectly in order, her hair was a different matter altogether. As it had been when their paths