Rebel Marquess Read Online Free PDF Page A

the months of preparation she had endured prior to her come out. She had planned to take advantage of the slower pace and serene atmosphere of the Essex countryside to devote several hours to her latest project.
    Unfortunately, she now realized she would have to be on high alert for any other strategies her mother may devise. Eliza had no intention of being caught in a marital snare of her mother’s design, and she was starting to see just how attentive she would have to be in order to make it through the season unscathed and unbetrothed.
    Immediately upon entering the ballroom, Lady Terribury and Eliza’s older sister, Judith, had swept across the waxed parquet floor toward a group of ladies they knew from town. Eliza and her father had been left to follow at a less enthusiastic pace.
    The exact antithesis of his wife, Eliza’s father was not an overly social sort. His interests revolved around the manly pursuits of hunting, fishing and horseracing. He had been more than happy to leave all details of his daughters’ upbringing, education and so forth in the capable hands of his wife.
    Eliza comprehended at a very young age that if she wished to spend time with her father she had to engage in his pastimes. It was not so much that she enjoyed such activities, but she did enjoy her father’s company. So, before her skirts had reached her ankles, she was running after him through the woods when he took his hounds for a walk. She stood casting beside him in the rushing trout stream and talked with him about the latest winners on the track over lengthy games of chess.
    With her mother was otherwise engaged in catching up with her friends, Eliza kept to her father’s side and grasped the opportunity to examine the details of her setting. She loved to tuck away little bits and pieces of descriptive material for later use. She never knew when she may need to describe just such a party in one of her stories.
    Silverly held around fifty guests for the weekend, and the countess had arranged for a dance and late dinner that night. The modest-sized ballroom was lit by glittering chandeliers and was decorated with hundreds of yards of white tulle twined with long strands of ivy. It was a simple scheme, but the effect was ethereal and dream-like while keeping the entire aesthetic perfectly casual as befitted a country party.
    Feeling as though she’d gotten some wonderfully descriptive phrases pinned down in her memory for when she would have a chance to write them down, she took to perusing the guests. Although she knew it was inevitable, she was not at all prepared for the sight of Lord Rutherford standing across the room in elegant evening finery. It was almost as viscerally devastating as seeing the man in full nude splendor.
    No, that wasn’t true at all, she admitted immediately. His nude form was far more impactful. The man concealed an exceptional physique beneath the layers of excellently tailored clothing.
    Though her heart sped into an irregular cadence, Eliza forced her gaze to pass quickly over Rutherford’s imposing figure. An essential move since he was staring straight back at her.
    She continued her assessment of the ballroom, though she took no further note of any details and was terribly tempted to look back at the marquess to see if he still watched her. She considered joining in the conversation with her mother and her friends, but she could barely follow the rapid exchange of opinions on the puffed sleeves being added to gowns that year.
    Eliza leaned toward her father. “What do you suppose is the likelihood the trend will outlast their discussion of it?”
    He chuckled as she intended but did not engage in conversation, leaving Eliza at the mercy of her own curiosity. She glanced back over her shoulder toward the marquess.
    He stood talking with another gentleman and she only had a second to look at him before he turned his head in her direction once again. Did he not realize how dangerous it was to even