Regina Scott Read Online Free PDF Page B

carriage outside the spa house.
    “It was, but I spoke to her earlier.” He climbed in beside her, shut the door and rapped on the upper panel to signal his driver to start. He hadn’t intended to talk to Meredee Price, though he’d noticed her the moment he’d entered the spa. Something about her drew his attention, awakened his senses. He’d have liked nothing better than to spend a few hours in her company. But he knew he had to be circumspect. Undue attentions usually led to assumptionsof betrothals he had no intention of confirming. He hadn’t come to Scarborough looking for a wife. Only his life.
    Phoebe tossed her head. “Well, I didn’t get to speak to her. You might have asked before whisking me off.”
    “You’ll see her tonight, pet,” he reminded her. “And, if I know you, you have a great deal to do to get ready for dinner.”
    Phoebe’s pique eased at that, and she prattled on about hair and gowns for the quarter hour it took to reach their Scarborough house above the spa. Chase was just as glad. Phoebe had been away at school when he’d first fallen ill. She didn’t know the fevers that racked him with no warning, leaving him weak, helpless.
    The London physicians blamed it on humors in the blood; the renowned physician he’d consulted in Edinburgh was certain it had to do with the night air on the York moors. Mal aria, the Italians called it. Either way, he was determined to rid himself of the malady. His sister and his duties as earl required him to be alert, focused, dedicated. Falling into a stupor for days at a time was simply not an option.
    If only he could find Phoebe a suitable husband, but the girl seemed drawn to feckless fools—all harm, no substance. He did not doubt for an instant that they would prove weak reeds in times of trouble.Given Chase’s illness, Phoebe had to have someone at her side she could count on.
    Unbidden, Meredee Price’s face came to mind. She never ceased to amaze him. What other woman in his circles had ever been interested in science, could actually converse knowledgeably about the subject? Moreover, she had a way of looking at him that made him feel as if she could see deep inside. For a moment, at the spa, he was certain she’d divined his secret, that taking the waters wasn’t simply a show of being fashionable but a desperate attempt to cure himself. Yet instead of ridicule he saw in her face, it was compassion.
    “Allyndale, you are not paying attention,” Phoebe complained, forcing him back to the present. “I asked you a very important question.”
    Chase inclined his head. “Forgive me. What do you need?”
    Phoebe leaned forward, dark eyes narrowed. “Shall I wear pearls or roses in my hair tonight?”
    Chase’s chuckle came out before he could catch it. “You will be delightful in either, my dear.”
    She cocked her head. “You like Miss Price, don’t you?”
    Oh, he was entirely too transparent. He schooled his face into something significantly more stern, a look that made his servants tiptoe about the house and Parliament tremble. “That, young miss, is none of your affair.”
    Phoebe let out a peal of laughter. “Oh, you do, you do! How delightful! I’ve been praying so long for the right woman for you. I can’t believe I’ve found a sister at last!”
    “Your felicitations are entirely premature, I assure you.”
    “So you say, but time will tell. And when you are happy, perhaps you’ll be willing to let me be happy too.”
    Her words knifed him. “Are you so very unhappy, Phoebe? I thought you wanted to come to Scarborough.”
    She dropped her gaze and fiddled with the bow on her fetching bonnet. “I did. It isn’t Scarborough that makes me so unhappy. I miss him, Chase. I told you I would.”
    Chase’s pulse pounded in his temples. “He isn’t worthy of you, Phoebe. You know that.”
    “You know that,” she said with a sigh. “My heart never agreed with you.”
    “Then perhaps it’s time you spoke to your