Newport: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

working near the sea, for his complexion was ruddy and his chest and shoulders still broad. In fact, he wore the uniform of a commodore, although it wasn’t clear why: Bennett Chapman had never served on any vessel more official than his personal yacht.
    But even if his body had aged, Chapman’s eyes still demanded attention. Blue and penetrating, they seemed capable of peeling away the layers surrounding any story until a kernel of truth was exposed. Nicholas and Chloe had each inherited the color but not the intensity of that gaze. Nicholas’s eyes darted from side to side as he inspected each person in the group; Chloe’s looked likely to fill with tears at the merest perceived slight.
    “Mr. de la Noye!” Bennett Chapman’s voice gusted across the terrace like a strong north wind. “And this would be the praiseworthy Mr. Reid I’ve already heard too much about. Damn, Adrian, did you take the slowest route possible to get here? I see that my children have insinuated themselves into your good graces. Meet my intended, Miss Catharine Walsh.”
    Jim squinted toward Miss Walsh. She was no coed, but hethought her a looker all the same. If he had to guess, he’d say she was younger than both Nicholas and Lady Dinwoodie. And if first impressions of her determined mouth and spectacular figure held true, the Katzenjammer Kids had met their match. Here was a lady who wouldn’t be easily steamrolled.
    But suddenly Miss Walsh’s Cupid’s bow lips dropped open. Her dark eyes widened. Jim followed her gaze straight to Adrian, who pulled back as if pricked by a thorn. Miss Walsh regained her composure quickly, covering her slip by offering a graceful hand in greeting.
    “So pleased to meet you, Mr. de la Noye,” she said, and the even pitch of her voice made it clear that she intended to remain fully in charge of the matters at hand.
    The smile she turned toward Jim packed maximum wattage. “And you, Mr. Reid. How kind of you to make this trip out to Newport on Mr. Chapman’s behalf.” Her hand rested in his and, for a minute, it was hard for him to think about anything else as he met her liquid gaze.
    “Catharine, meet the children,” Bennett Chapman ordered, and Miss Walsh was gone, leaving behind only a trace of perfume.
    Adrian’s stare remained fastened on Catharine Walsh as she strolled across the terrace. Jim was not surprised to see the look of dismay on his face. Adrian had little patience for melodrama, and what had begun as a cut-and-dried task was rapidly sinking into a tangled family saga more commonly found in a dime novel. A flush had deepened his coloring. Then, with a slight shake of his head, Adrian returned his full attention to the scene unfolding before them.
    “Catharine, I present Nicholas and Chloe.” Bennett rolled himself to Miss Walsh’s side. “Not much to look at, but I’m obliged to claim them. Children, my bride-to-be.”
    A grimace splashed across Chloe’s face. Nicholas’s glare flicked over and past Miss Walsh as he turned abruptly to address his father. Miss Walsh paled and clasped her hands behind her back, making it clear that no friendly hand would have been presented to him even had he wanted it.
    “You’re in no state to marry,” Nicholas told his father. “You’re lucky we haven’t carted you away, put you someplace where people can prevent you from making stupid decisions like this.”
    “And you’re lucky I don’t beat the stuffing out of you,” Bennett Chapman said. “God, you’re an obnoxious prick, Nicky. Always have been.”
    “Do you see what I mean, Mr. de la Noye?” Nicholas Chapman demanded. Chloe slumped in her chair, the perfect picture of despair, but her reaction might have been due more to a hangover than to any deep emotional pain. Miss Walsh remained still, as regal and proud as a figurehead on a ship.
    Adrian walked toward the coffeepot on the table. “May I?” he asked, lifting it.
    “Oh, by all means,” Bennett Chapman said. “And