Lady Elinor's Wicked Adventures Read Online Free PDF Page A

her and her entire family far too much to be able to refuse anything she asked, he was growing increasingly nervous.
    â€œDo you wish me to help you plan a trip?” he asked hopefully.
    â€œNothing so simple, I’m afraid.” She gave him a rueful smile. “What I really want is for you to accompany us.”
    â€œYou and Lord Penworth?”
    â€œAnd Rycote and Elinor. I thought to leave soon, while the younger ones are still in school.”
    The sinking feeling was replaced by panic. No. He could not possibly do this. “A family voyage? But surely you will not need me when you have Rycote and Lord Penworth.”
    â€œOh, but I do! Lord Penworth knows almost no Italian, and I really do not want to burden him with the cares of dealing with officialdom. You know that Rycote is truly hopeless with languages, and his way of dealing with officials whose rules make no sense to him is to lose his temper and shout.”
    Harry bit back a smile at the memory of Pip at school battling what he saw as an usher’s abuse of authority. Pip could never tolerate bullies.
    â€œElinor speaks French and Italian, of course,” Lady Penworth continued blithely, “but it would be difficult if not impossible to get officials to take her seriously. The French and Italians seem unable to treat women as anything other than decorative ninnies. They are quite as bad as Englishmen, possibly worse. No, Harry, Penworth needs to relax. That will only happen if you are there to take care of things. He trusts you.”
    She looked at him seriously. “I know this is a great deal to ask, months of your life when you may have all sorts of things planned”—she smiled impishly—“things you might not want to tell me about, and you need not. You must just say so if I am asking too much.”
    Too much? Of course it was too much. How could he possibly set off on a trip where he would be with Norrie for months? There must be some reason why he had to stay in England. There must be responsibilities involving his father’s—the Earl of Doncaster’s—estates. He was the heir, after all, and it was unlikely that either the earl or the countess had been attending to things. They never had before.
    He opened his mouth to say “No, I couldn’t possibly,” but what came out was “I would be honored.”

Four
    A week later, he was not sure how it had all come about, but somehow Lord Penworth was under the impression that he was indulging his wife by agreeing to this trip. Pip was under the impression that he was going along to protect his mother and sister. Norrie did not seem to care how or why the trip had been proposed. She was completely unable to behave with ladylike restraint and had all she could do to keep from jumping up and down with glee.
    Lady Penworth was summoned to visit the queen.
    â€œI don’t entirely understand it,” she told Elinor on her return. “Her Majesty seems to approve of me. Do you suppose it’s because I have six children?”
    â€œDon’t be silly, Mama,” Elinor said with a grin. “It’s because you clearly adore Papa, just as she adores Prince Albert. You are a Good Example and show that she isn’t foolish.”
    â€œShe is, of course. If she weren’t a queen, no one would take her for anything but a ninny.” Lady Penworth settled herself comfortably and took a sip of tea. “But I am grateful that she approves of our trip. It does make things easier.”
    Things did not go entirely smoothly, of course.
    Tunbury was relieved to be the one taking care of the minor problems, like arranging letters of credit, working out an itinerary to get them to Rome with the least discomfort, and getting passports and visas—France, Austria, and the Papal States were all involved, and some signatures could not be obtained until a week or two before arrival.
    They would spend a week or so in Paris, and