Mischief by Moonlight Read Online Free PDF
Author: Emily Greenwood
yearâand she was forgetting what he was like, and that scared her.
He sent letters from Spain, very properly addressed to her family. And she treasured them, but apparently they werenât enough. How greedy she was. Any other woman would have been satisfied even to have a fiancé, let alone one as wonderful as Nicholas Hargrave.
His latest letter had said he would be home in July, just over two months away. It had given her a feeling of panic. And maybe that panic had had something to do with the hair-cutting.
She took another sip of brandy, glad it burned on the way down, as though it could burn away all the things that were wrong with her. The doubts she shouldnât have about those six blissful weeks sheâd spent getting to know Nicholas. The worries that he would feel differently about her now, after a year. And worst of all, the fear that marriage would make her feel like a caged bird.
How could she entertain such thoughts when heâd told her he loved her?
It had seemed brave, his speaking so easily of love. No one talked of love at Jasmine House. Deep emotions were kept hidden in her family, as though they were an embarrassment. The stiff upper lip and deprecating humor prevailed.
Nicholas was offering her a marriage that surely would be entirely different from what her parents had shared, and that was what she dearly wanted. Her parentsâ marriage might have looked tolerable, but it had never looked like love.
And she loved Nick, of course she did.
She threw back the rest of the brandy and almost cast up her accounts when it hit her stomach. This wasnât helping. Nothing could help because nothing was the problem .
All she needed was to stop thinking so much. And not do rash things like cutting her hair off. Or far worse.
She forced herself to bring up the shameful memory, to acknowledge that sheâd let a traveling horse trader take her for the ride of her lifeâand almost been discovered in his arms.
What a beauty ye are , the young man had said when sheâd happened upon him while out walking in a field. As welcome a sight as the first daffodil of spring.
Heâd been walking his horse, and she shouldnât even have stopped to talk with him. But heâd had sparkling dark eyes and a lilting Irish accent, and sheâd accepted his invitation for a gallop on his horse.
She was a pure young ladyâso how could she have climbed up on a horse in front of a man she knew only as Sean and let him put his arms around her as they raced across fields yelling with joy?
And how could she have allowed him to press his lips against her neck while the horse walked? But sheâd liked itâand been so caught up that she hadnât seen Mr. Whitaker coming around the bend in his cart.
Falling off Seanâs horse as she flailed in surprise was the only thing that had saved her from being compromised in the arms of a stranger who wasnât even a gentleman.
No harm had come of her lapse in behavior. But sheâd seen what she was capable of, how the thrill of abandoning rules and propriety might call to her like a siren song. When she met Nicholas a month later, she knew that, as wonderful as it was going to be to spend her future with him, marriage would also save her from her fatal impulsiveness.
She put the glass back with the decanter and resolved in that moment that there would be no more midnight brandy-drinking. She would focus on worthwhile things, the most important of which would be helping Edwina and Colin see how good they might be together.
Three
The next day, Josie got started on her plan. She began by mentioning to Edwina that Colin had said she was looking especially fine the night before. Her sister was not impressed; as she was accustomed to everyone saying she was beautiful, this was nothing.
Josie continued her campaign by trying to steer Edwina toward Colin during his visits in the following days, suggesting to Edwina that he would be
He sent letters from Spain, very properly addressed to her family. And she treasured them, but apparently they werenât enough. How greedy she was. Any other woman would have been satisfied even to have a fiancé, let alone one as wonderful as Nicholas Hargrave.
His latest letter had said he would be home in July, just over two months away. It had given her a feeling of panic. And maybe that panic had had something to do with the hair-cutting.
She took another sip of brandy, glad it burned on the way down, as though it could burn away all the things that were wrong with her. The doubts she shouldnât have about those six blissful weeks sheâd spent getting to know Nicholas. The worries that he would feel differently about her now, after a year. And worst of all, the fear that marriage would make her feel like a caged bird.
How could she entertain such thoughts when heâd told her he loved her?
It had seemed brave, his speaking so easily of love. No one talked of love at Jasmine House. Deep emotions were kept hidden in her family, as though they were an embarrassment. The stiff upper lip and deprecating humor prevailed.
Nicholas was offering her a marriage that surely would be entirely different from what her parents had shared, and that was what she dearly wanted. Her parentsâ marriage might have looked tolerable, but it had never looked like love.
And she loved Nick, of course she did.
She threw back the rest of the brandy and almost cast up her accounts when it hit her stomach. This wasnât helping. Nothing could help because nothing was the problem .
All she needed was to stop thinking so much. And not do rash things like cutting her hair off. Or far worse.
She forced herself to bring up the shameful memory, to acknowledge that sheâd let a traveling horse trader take her for the ride of her lifeâand almost been discovered in his arms.
What a beauty ye are , the young man had said when sheâd happened upon him while out walking in a field. As welcome a sight as the first daffodil of spring.
Heâd been walking his horse, and she shouldnât even have stopped to talk with him. But heâd had sparkling dark eyes and a lilting Irish accent, and sheâd accepted his invitation for a gallop on his horse.
She was a pure young ladyâso how could she have climbed up on a horse in front of a man she knew only as Sean and let him put his arms around her as they raced across fields yelling with joy?
And how could she have allowed him to press his lips against her neck while the horse walked? But sheâd liked itâand been so caught up that she hadnât seen Mr. Whitaker coming around the bend in his cart.
Falling off Seanâs horse as she flailed in surprise was the only thing that had saved her from being compromised in the arms of a stranger who wasnât even a gentleman.
No harm had come of her lapse in behavior. But sheâd seen what she was capable of, how the thrill of abandoning rules and propriety might call to her like a siren song. When she met Nicholas a month later, she knew that, as wonderful as it was going to be to spend her future with him, marriage would also save her from her fatal impulsiveness.
She put the glass back with the decanter and resolved in that moment that there would be no more midnight brandy-drinking. She would focus on worthwhile things, the most important of which would be helping Edwina and Colin see how good they might be together.
Three
The next day, Josie got started on her plan. She began by mentioning to Edwina that Colin had said she was looking especially fine the night before. Her sister was not impressed; as she was accustomed to everyone saying she was beautiful, this was nothing.
Josie continued her campaign by trying to steer Edwina toward Colin during his visits in the following days, suggesting to Edwina that he would be