Scandal of the Season Read Online Free PDF

retire.”
    “Yes, my lord. If you are certain?”
    “I promise not to leave my trousers and jacket in a rumpled heap.”
    “Very well.” Huntley left the room with one glance back as if expecting to catch Anthony tossing his jacket on the floor.
    As the door shut, Anthony fell onto the bed. Exhaustion had settled into his bones. Slowly, he untied his cravat and then unraveled it from his neck. He thought about tossing it on the floor but folded it neatly and then placed the cloth on his bureau.
    Remembering the necklace in his jacket pocket, he reached down to pull it out.
    “Bloody hell!”
    There was nothing in his pocket but a piece of lint. He mentally traced his tracks throughout the day. After picking up the necklace from Lady Whitely yesterday, he’d placed it on his nightstand. This evening, he had dropped it into his jacket pocket and then went directly to Selby’s home for the christening party. Then he’d shown the piece to Sophie and replaced it in his pocket. Perhaps it had fallen out during the ride home.
    He strode down the stairs. “Reese, I need the carriage checked for a ruby necklace I lost. And send a footman to Lord Selby.”
    Anthony continued to walk toward his study. He wrote a quick note to Banning explaining what he had lost. “This must be given directly to Lord Selby and wait for a reply.”
    “Yes, sir.” Reese took the missive and walked away.
    With nothing left to do but wait, Anthony paced the small confines of his study. There had to be something he was missing. He walked to the decanter of whisky and poured himself a large glass. The liquid washed over his tongue and warmed him.
    What had he missed?
    He drank down the rest of his whisky and then he poured another glass. Lifting the glass to his lips, he stopped and frowned. Miss Seaton had bumped him near the refreshment table. He shook his head. The woman took in orphans to keep them from turning to crime. He’d met plenty of pickpockets in his line of work. She was no pickpocket.
    Who else could it have been? No one had come close enough to him to reach into his pocket. Besides, there was not a person at that party who needed the money the necklace could bring.
    “Sir, the groomsmen checked the carriage thoroughly and found nothing.”
    Anthony turned toward Reese. “Any word from Lord Selby?”
    “Not yet, sir.”
    “Very well.”
    He moved his attention back to the glass of whisky in his hand and slowly sipped it. There was no hole in his pocket and no one at the party who would have pinched the necklace from him. His mind returned to Miss Seaton. She reminded him slightly of the woman he searched for but, again, she was no orange seller. He’d heard enough about her to know she was the daughter of a vicar. And yet, she matched the vague description he remembered from ten years ago.
    He tried to think back to the other times he’d seen the woman selling oranges. The only thing that came to mind was her blond hair, blue eyes, and a smile that brightened her face and creased two dimples in her cheeks. He’d never seen Miss Seaton smile but doubted the timid woman had such a sweet smile.
    Damn. If only he hadn’t been so damn foxed that night.
    None of this would have happened.
    “Sir, a note from Lord Selby,” Reese said, walking into the room.
    Anthony grabbed the note and read it quickly. Selby had found nothing but promised to continue searching. He crumpled the paper and threw it into the small fire burning in the fireplace. “Damn.”
    “Do you need anything else, sir?”
    “No.” Just answers. Tomorrow morning he would make another call on Sophie and then he might even pay a visit to the angelic Miss Seaton at her home for orphans.
    Angelic?
    “Oh hell,” he muttered, disgusted with himself.
    He’d been deceived by the oldest ruse. Send in the angelic woman whom no one would suspect and have her perform the crime. Well Miss Seaton had no idea that she had just cheated the devil.
    And the devil always