Love Is Blind Read Online Free PDF Page B

blacksmith," Lady Mowbray corrected in arid tones. "And they never made it to Calais; they were stopped at the docks. My," she added a touch archly, "it is interesting how rumors get all fouled up with their facts, is it not?"
    Adrian was amused at the way his cousin squirmed under his mother's regard, but cut Reg's discomfort short by asking, "Who stopped them?"
    "Her father, of course. Well, not her father, really. You see, after the girl left, her aunt regained her senses enough to become nervous about the unmarked carriage. She sent a message to Lord Crambray asking after the mother, alerting them to the fact that something was terribly amiss. Crambray hired several men, who tracked the girl to Gretna Green, then to the boat they had booked passage on to Calais.
    "It seems Fielding had told the girl her father was to meet them there once the deed was done, but the runners caught up with them, explained that it was all a bunch of bunk, and brought the girl back in shame. By all accounts she was quite distraught."
    "What of Fielding?" Adrian asked, thinking it unfair the girl had suffered anything in this instance. Obviously, none of it was her fault.
    "Well, he returned too at first," Lady Mowbray said with a frown. "He was quite sure there was nothing her father could do. They were wed, after all. However, Clarissa's father is a clever man. He had Fielding charged with abducting a minor and set about having the wedding annulled. He also promptly removed the girl to the country to get her out of way of the scandal. Not that it helped much," she added under her breath. "What mean you by that?" Adrian asked curiously. "Well,   her not being here   hardly stopped   the tongues from wagging," Lady Mowbray pointed out sadly. "This was far too juicy a tale for that. Rumor was rampant. There was rife speculation that perhaps the wedding had been consummated after all. Fielding was quite sure of himself. And then the fact that she'd been removed from public attention led people to wonder if it had not been done to hide the fact that she'd borne fruit from die brief marriage." "And did she?" Adrian asked.
    "No one knows," Reginald put in with a shrug. "This is the first she has returned, and 'tis ten years later."
    Adrian raised an eyebrow at his mother, who seemed to be most in tune with the facts of the case up to now. However, much to his dissatisfaction, the older woman merely shrugged as well, and said with obvious reluctance, "It is possible. They spent one night at an inn after the wedding, though they were booked into separate rooms. The boat was to leave the day after."
    Adrian frowned in displeasure at the uncertainty of this, then asked, "What of Fielding?"
    "He fled the country before the trial was scheduled to begin. But Lady Witherspoon said that he returned to England several years back, and was caught. He faced the charges, was found guilty, and sentenced to
    five years in Newgate . No one has heard anything of him since."
    They were all silent again. Adrian was lost in thought, pondering his own revulsion at the idea that Lady Clarissa's brief marriage had been consummated. With that worry occupying his mind, he peered about the room, unconsciously seeking out the chit and her stepmother.
    "They left directly after that ridiculous little scene on the dance floor," Lady Mowbray informed him.
    Adrian glanced at his mother with a start, caught the gleam in her eye, and knew she was encouraged by his interest. And he was interested.
    When he'd first taken a seat beside her, Clarissa had flinched back from him, and Adrian had feared he'd been misled. He'd feared she was able to see his face and was horrified by the scar that marred his former good looks. However, in the next moment, she'd leaned closer and squinted, obviously trying to bring him into focus.
    When Clarissa had frowned with frustration and sat back, he'd realized that she really couldn't see him, and thus wouldn't be scared off by his looks. Adrian had