I Love the Earl Read Online Free PDF Page A

menagerie. Thank goodness my Freddie is a good fellow. Some of the men in London are quite depraved.”
    “How do you know?” Margaret was torn between looking for Miss Cuthbert and leaving, and hearing all the scandalous gossip about the men who swarmed her. This was an alluring proposition. Miss Cuthbert would hardly reveal a man’s objectionable side unless it was related to his station or connections.
    “When you’re unwanted, hardly anyone notices you,” said Clarissa with brutal candor. “I hear everything, and no one minds because I’m no one of importance.” She nodded toward Viscount Aston, who had kissed Margaret’s hand the other night and complimented her fine eyes. “ He once told Freddie I had the face of a bulldog and the mind of a goose. I suppose even the geese in London know he has the French pox. Any time a gentleman resorts to cosmetics, suspect the pox.”
    “Oh.” Margaret tried not to wipe her hand on her skirts. She took one look down at the pale pink silk, embroidered with silver rosettes on the stomacher and underskirt, and the urge passed. This gown was her favorite, and even if it were not, the silk alone had cost seventy pounds. It was as much as she’d spent on clothing in a year, before Francis inherited. “My companion neglected to offer that advice.”
    “Well, she probably considers him eligible. A very old title, you know, and a beautiful estate.”
    “He must be in want of money,” said Margaret, eyes fixed straight ahead. “Everyone presented to me is.”
    Clarissa laughed, a full jolly sound. “I can’t think of more than four or five peers who aren’t! And one of them is your brother. Even those with a healthy income would always welcome more, and the easiest way to get it is to marry it.” She inhaled sharply. “But no one is more in want than he .”
    Margaret followed her new friend’s gaze, which had grown alert and intense. As soon as she found the focus of Clarissa’s interest, though, it was apparent why. The man across the room was like a shade of night come into the glittering ballroom. He wore a suit of dark blue, which only made his swarthy skin darker above the white ruffle of his linen. His hair was brushed back and neatly queued, but unpowdered; a dark blot among all the wigs and powdered coiffures around him. His profile was strong, even fierce, with a sharp blade of a nose and a square chin. He smiled at something his companion said, and a slash of dimple appeared in his cheek. He looked like she had always imagined the Barbary pirates might, which was both fascinating and alarming.
    “Who is he?” she whispered.
    Without taking her eyes from him, Clarissa leaned closer. “The Earl of Dowling. He’s utterly ruined; a flood swept away all his sheep, or some such thing, although how a man can be ruined by dead sheep, I’m sure I don’t know. Oh, I hate to say it, but he’s looking this way.” She turned to Margaret and grasped her hand. “Of course you don’t know me, but I would recommend great care with him. He is certainly looking for a wealthy bride, but he’s a bit untamed. One of those Welsh, you know.”
    Margaret’s jaw firmed. That was all she needed to know. Lord Dowling was indeed watching her with a possessive expression as he wound his way through the crowd toward her. In her younger years, as a hopeful, somewhat naive, young lady, she would have been tongue-tied with excitement at the approach of such a man. Tonight she felt her patience fray and finally snap. What a lark, that a man as handsome as sin itself would be strolling toward her with purposeful intent. She’d had enough of fortune hunters. Francis could keep his money, and Miss Cuthbert could find another victim for her machinations.
    He came to a halt in front of her. Another man was with him, unnoticed until now, but he stepped forward and bowed with a great flourish. “Miss Stacpoole,” he said to Clarissa with a wide smile. “How delightful to see you