Languish Read Online Free PDF Page B

plants smoldered or sparked. They slumbered on, thinking peaceful summer-flower thoughts, while burning petals drifted past. “What were you doing out here so late?” I asked.
    His ears went ruddy. “Never mind.”
    I turned my head to stare at him. “Why? What were you doing, Colin?”
    He gave a loud, disgruntled sigh. “I was going to pick you lavender,” he muttered.
    I smiled, feeling warm as melted chocolate. “Really?”
    â€œYes. Until they caught fire.” He lifted his palm, where a red burn marked the spot under his fingers. It looked raw and painful. He just looked annoyed.
    â€œLet me guess,” I said, nose wrinkling at the smell of the charred garden. “This was Lady Jasper’s garden?
    â€œHow did you know?”
    â€œWe’ve met,” I returned drily.
    â€œAre you going to open it or not?” Tabitha asked the next morning. She was sitting on the sofa in our shared sitting room, surrounded with petits fours and piles of outdated ladies’magazines. I sat in one of the softer chairs since I was covered in bruises from our argument with the carriage. She leaned forward eagerly when I pulled a small folded square out of a hidden pocket I’d stitched into my skirt back in London. I’d used it to hide various tricks of the trade for my mother’s fraudulent séances.
    â€œWhat is it?” Tabitha asked. “Parchment?”
    I rubbed my thumb over it. It was soft as satin. “It must be very old,” I murmured, feeling more than a twinge of guilt. It was one thing to steal for survival, another thing entirely to steal from an old lady. And a countess at that.
    Tabitha made a sound of frustration. “Just open it.”
    The paper had been folded over and around, like a miniature Christmas present. I unwrapped it very carefully so as not to damage it. Tabitha made another sound of impatience, like a wet cat. I ignored her.
    The parchment revealed a silver coin, tarnished at the edges but worn to a shiny finish in the center, as if it had been rubbed by a thumb for years upon years. It was stamped with the image of a horse, rearing up on its back legs. There was nothing much to recommend it, except for its obvious age.
    â€œThat’s not even legal tender.” Tabitha frowned dismissively. “Why carry it about?”
    â€œIt’s a keepsake, likely. Or a good-luck charm.” I stroked the silver horse’s rustic mane, feeling doubly guilty. I’d have to find a way to sneak it back into her reticule the next time she visited Lord Jasper. I slipped it back into the safety of my secret pocket. “Hardly evidence that she means to do Lord Jasperharm.”
    Tabitha reached for one of her magazines. “I am not convinced. But if there is some kind of scandal in her past, I mean to discover it. Olivia steele, Lady Ashburnham, has secrets. Same as anyone.”
    â€œBy reading the gossip columns?”
    â€œBy knowing
how
to read the gossip columns,” she corrected me. “It’s as much about knowing what
isn’t
being said.” She flipped through the pages with martial precision. “Ha! She moved away when she married at fifteen. That’s why I didn’t recognize her.”
    â€œThat’s hardly gossipmonger material.”
    â€œGirls, am I given to understand that I am missing a carriage?” Lord Jasper asked from the doorway. We both jumped, exchanging glances. We had to wonder what he’d overheard, if anything.
    â€œLord Jasper!” Habit had me jumping to my feet to curtsy. Tabitha just sank back against the cushions.
    â€œThe horses went wild,” she said. “It was rather frightening.”
    â€œAre either of you hurt?” he asked, concerned. “Mrs. Harris assures me you were fetched back in one piece, but I like to see for myself.”
    We nodded. “We’re very sorry,” I said.
    â€œFor what?” Tabitha asked,