His Obsession Read Online Free PDF Page B

quite
fatigued.”
    Gratefully, Lady Faversham accepted a glass
of water from one of the servants and eyed Kate up and down. The
young woman seemed a little flushed and nervous.
    “I saw you dancing with the Earl of
Devonshire on the balcony,” Lady Faversham softly told her.
    “My lady, I realize that we shouldn’t have
--”
    “I saw the whole thing,” Lady Faversham
assured her.
    “Oh, dear.”
    “You have nothing to be worried about, Kate.
I trust I may call you that?” the older woman inquired.
    “Of course.”
    “You two make a lovely couple,” Lady
Faversham declared.
    “Thank you,” Kate acknowledged, blushing a
little under her praise.
    “The earl is considered quite a catch, you
know,” Lady Faversham prompted.
    “No. I wasn’t aware,” Kate replied.
    “Really? I assure you, it’s quite true. He’s
handsome and rich. Why, if I were only twenty years younger, I’d –
Well, let’s just say now that he’s met you, it will be very
interesting to see how he handles himself.”
    Kate frowned at the older woman. “You think
he might call upon me?”
    Lady Faversham nodded.
    “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
    Several hours later, the Overton family
finally departed. Dorothea and Helen chattered almost non-stop as
the coach bumped and jolted over the uneven road, but Kate only
heard them from a distance. Her thoughts were far, far away upon a
tall, handsome gentleman who might very well fill her dreams.
    The Favershams’ ball was a great success.
Many of those who’d attended were still talking about the event the
morning after, and the Favershams were delighted that they’d proven
to be such wonderful hosts.
    Unfortunately, it was all Edgar Overton could
do to get his wife and older daughters out of bed before noon.
Although both he and Kate had been up for hours, the other ladies
seemed to be exhausted.
    At last, they made an appearance, yawning
over their tea and blinking the sleep out of their eyes. Dorothea
and Helen did perk up a little, however, when Edgar mentioned that
the Earl of Devonshire and several other noblemen would be in
attendance at the hunt that afternoon. Both older girls were
apparently quite taken with the dashing nobleman.
    Wisely, Kate held her counsel. There was no
need for her parents or sisters to know that she had danced with
the earl on a star swept balcony. Kate was certain that if she
revealed the truth, her sisters would be furious. They fought over
everything, hissing and spitting at each other like a couple of
cats. Kate had no interest in being caught in the cross fire.
    Of course, Penelope would be delighted if she
saw Richard Warwick speaking with one of her daughters. The earl
was very wealthy, indeed. If Warwick cleared their debts and
presented her sisters with sizeable dowries, Dorothea or Helen
would no doubt be able to make a good marriage.
    Inspired by the prospect of seeing the earl
again, Kate’s sisters dressed and hurried to board the carriage
that would take them to the afternoon’s festivities at the
Faversham estate. Helen seemed to be in a foul mood, however, and
Kate caught the heat of her sister’s glare across the coach.
    “How can you simply sit there so calmly,
Kate?’ Helen complained. “I’m quite a bundle of nerves.”
    “Me, too!” Dorothea agreed.
    “Girls, girls!” their mother chided. “You
must strive to be the picture of poise and grace. Inside, you may
be trembling in your shoes, but you mustn’t show it.”
    “Yes, mother,” they chorused.
    Kate rolled her eyes and her father grinned
in amusement.
    Kate stared at her sisters as their
conversation once more turned to fashion. The two of them preened
like a couple of silly school girls standing before a mirror. Helen
was dressed in a frothy sea foam green confection with more ruffles
around the hem of the dress than good sense. Indeed, it had been an
effort for Helen to squeeze her skirts through the narrow carriage
door and the ruffles mounded over her legs in