Ladies of Deception 02 - Misleading Lord Martineau Read Online Free PDF Page B

escort her to the musicale and introduce her to some eager young bucks that would be better suited to her and ensure that she receives plenty of attention, proper attention.”
    “I shouldn’t allow it.” Pierce snarled.
    “ Then don’t, it’s of no consequence to me.”
    “ You know, I take that back, I think I will allow it just to aggravate you.”
    Elliot had to push down the childish urge he suddenly felt to stick is tongue out at Pierce. Both of them were an only child and Pierce was the closest thing he had to a brother, the only person that could annoy him as only a brother could.
    “But,” Pierce continued, “I must warn you that if you screw up this time you’ll have to answer to me.”
    “ I’m shaking in my boots.”
    “ You should be, but suffice it to say that you’ve been sufficiently warned and that I trust you’ll heed my threat.”
    “ You know I’m not scared of you, Pierce. Perhaps you should be scared of me, you saw what I did to the last man that got on my nerves.”
    Pierce stood then, an attempt to intimidate Elliot with his size. He walked over to where Elliot was sitting and ruffled his hair much as he would do to a child. “Just be a good lad, okay? I’d hate to have to turn you over my knee and give you a spanking.”
    Elliot reached over and cuffed him lightly on his arm, “Save it for your wife, man. Now get out of here.”
    Pierce just laughed and let himself out.

Chapter 4
    Felicity’s nerves were taut the entire time she was readying herself for the Bradford musicale. She had secretly been relieved when she had received a missive from Lord Wadsworth informing her that he wasn’t feeling well and had to cancel their outing. Not that she didn’t find him attractive, for he certainly was that, but his smooth arrogant manner put her off. She’d heard tales of him being a womanizer but had so far chosen to ignore them. From what she knew of him, he was wealthy and being pressured relentlessly by his parents to find a wife and produce an heir. And so far, he was the man who had given her the most attention.
    Her thoughts flicked to Elliot and she was instantly unnerved. She let a deep breath exhale between her lips and said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t run into him anytime soon. She knew that he saw past her pretense as a widow to who she truly was but she couldn’t allow him to rattle her composure. She had too much relying on her ability to find a proper husband, a proper place back into society to allow her former feelings to ruin everything she hoped to accomplish. She had purposely chosen to attend a musicale when her prior plans had fallen through, knowing it would be her best bet if she hoped to evade Elliot. Elliot hated musicales.

 
    Aunt Agatha scurried into the room just then, rushing over to do up the back of her scarlet dress. One of the perks of playing a widow was the opportunity it gave her to dress and behave as she wished. She knew the blood red color of her dress was bold but looking in the mirror she couldn’t help but be pleased with the way it looked against her pale skin, contrasting perfectly with her ebony curls making her appear more mature and worldly than she felt. It was the perfect choice to give her the added look of confidence that she so desperately needed and it was one of the few nice gowns Aunt Agatha had been able to afford for her upon her return. She would forever be grateful for her dear aunt for all she had done for her and hoped that their plan would work so that she could repay her for all of her kindness.
    “You better hurry along child or you’ll be more than fashionably late.” Aunt Agatha patted her lightly on the rear end shoving her towards the door.
    As her carriage rattled along the streets of London towards the Bradford’s house on Mulberry Street she tried to occupy her mind by thinking of the eligible gentlemen she had been introduced to since her return to London, hoping that her decision to attend the