Petticoat Rebellion Read Online Free PDF

merely have a fondness for strays?”
    “An ugly brown mongrel, part hound.”She spotted Kate and Annabelle, pulling Cuddles along by his collar. “Oh, there he is now!”she said, and ran off without looking back.
    The gentleman smiled bemusedly, then his huckleberry eyes turned to examine Kate and Annabelle with the keenest interest. It promised to be an interesting visit.
    Using the pretext of Cuddles’s restlessness, Abbie eventually prevailed on Lady Penfel to return home, and take the girls with her. Only Lady Penfel rode in the dogcart; the others walked beside her. The talk was all of O’Leary, his handsome face, his manly physique, his friendly manner. Lady Penfel led the cheering section, which made discouraging this talk difficult.
    “What I call a manly man,”she said with obvious approval.
    “Did you ever see such eyes?”Kate sighed.
    Even Lady Susan joined in the chorus. “He is one of those irresistible rogues, quite like Byron’s Corsair.”
    “We weren’t allowed to read that!”Annabelle said.
    “Papa, the duke, has a copy at Wycliffe”was Lady Susan’s reply. There was no arguing with this. What was done at Wycliffe was above reproach.
    “Byron! How I should love to meet him!”Lady Penfel cried. “Every lady ought to have one flirtation with a dasher like that.”
    Abbie had a fleeting recollection of the gentleman in the beautiful jacket. What would it be like to have a flirtation with him? She felt it would spoil her for more ordinary gentlemen.
    Lady Penfel did have one last, regretful caution, however. “O’Leary would make an excellent flirt, but you must not go falling in love with him,”she said.
    Abbie’s mouth fell open when Lady Susan said, “I disagree, Lady Penfel.”
    “You are quite right, Susan, as usual. Such a sensible gel. He is exactly the sort one should fall in love with, but not marry. Why should men have all the fun of lovers and we ladies have none? We ought to set up a petticoat rebellion.”
    When they reached Penfel, Miss Spadger, a stout woman of a certain age, had arrived and was unpacking for the ladies. Her hair was bound in such a tight knot on top of her head that it gave her slant eyes. She came to report to Abbie, whom she had known forever. Her sister worked for Colonel Fairchild, and Spadger occasionally gave them a hand when they were giving a party. She had already put an apron over her navy gown and a white cap over her brindle knob.
    “May I have a word in private, Miss Fairchild?”she said, ushering Abbie into her chamber. “I hear there is a circus going on. That will not make your job easy, my dear. You want to keep an eye on Miss Fenshaw. She is up to every rig and racket in town. And poor Miss Kirby! She would be easy pickings for one of those wretched fellows. She hasn’t the wits God gave a rabbit.”
    Abbie felt free to speak frankly to this old friend. “The deuce of it is, Lady Penfel has no more sense than Miss Kirby. She is positively encouraging the girls to make cakes of themselves. You must help me keep an eye on them, Spadger.”
    “Aye, and I want to see that show tonight as well. Sifton tells me they have all got tickets. But I’ll see to the ladies’toilettes before I go, and be back in time to get them into their beds, never fear. You are to dine early, as the circus begins at seven. Now, what will you wear for dinner, dear?”
    “The dark green gown, but I can take care of myself. You had best go to Lady Susan or she will be in the boughs.”
    Spadger went bustling out the door. Abbie put on  her dark green moire gown. It was simply cut to cling to her figure. As she prepared in front of the mirror, she thought it looked rather well with her chestnut hair and hazel eyes. Knowing she would be wearing a bonnet to the circus later, she left her hair in its usual simple arrangement. A bonnet would crush her coiffure if she tried anything fancy. Before leaving her room, she added her necklace, an antique chain of gold