Scandalous Read Online Free PDF Page A

sister's grumbling. Instead she turned her gaze to Wickham House, and was pleased with what she saw. From outward appearances at least, Stivers and Mrs. Bucknell had done an outstanding job. For all that it had been closed for years, the house appeared in no different case from its neighbors around the square. Indeed, it might almost have been held to have been one of the handsomest among them. Certainly it looked as well kept.
    "Next time you may sit across from her." Beth scowled and brushed disgustedly at her black skirts as she moved to stand at Gabby's elbow. Claire, who had just appeared in the doorway looking as pale and woebegone as a daffodil after a storm, called down apologetically, "I'm truly sorry, Beth."
    "Now, Miss Beth, Miss Claire can't help being sick, and you know it, so just give over, do. And as for you— using cant terms is never becoming in a young lady, and so I've told you time out of mind," Twindle said in a scolding tone, appearing in the aperture as Claire, clutching Jem's hand, began to climb down.
    "Being sick all over one's sister is even less becoming in a young lady than using cant terms, if you want my opinion," Beth retorted. As Twindle and Jem fussed over a still-apologizing Claire, Gabby, long innured to such petty squabbles between her sisters, turned her attention back to the house.
    Its facade was impressive, she noted with some pride: made of brick with elegant stone steps and iron railings, Wickham House stood four stories high. The amount of work Stivers and Mrs. Bucknell had done in just a few days to make the dwelling ready must have been staggering: all appeared pristine, from the gleaming brass knocker on the door to the immaculately swept steps to the sparkling glass in the four rows of windows. But what was most surprising was that the lamps on either side of the door burned bright with welcome, and every room in the house seemed to be lit up. Although the curtains were drawn, light glowed behind them, making the grand house appear almost as though a party was being held inside.
    "Stivers timed our arrival to a nicety, don't you think?" Beth said with admiration, breaking into Gabby's thoughts. Behind them, John-Coachman was already beginning to unload the baggage from the roof by the simple method of untying the bundle and then tossing individual pieces to the ground. Having turned Claire over to Twindle, Jem stood below, catching the newly liberated pieces and assembling them into a pile.
    "Have a care with that one. It contains Miss Claire's vanity case," Twindle shrilled from some paces behind them, alarm obvious in her voice.
    John-Coachman's reply was an unintelligible mutter, followed by a thud and a moan from Twindle.
    "Stivers appears to have done a remarkable job," Gabby agreed, making a mental note to instruct the butler to be more sparing with candles in future. Under the circumstances, she did not mean to spend more than she must. Such profligacy was unlike Stivers, she thought with faint puzzlement as, treading warily, she began to ascend the steps. Steps were ever difficult for her, and only by maintaining a slow, careful pace could she be relatively confident of not stumbling. Beth was just behind her, and Claire, supported by Twindle's arm, brought up the rear.
    The door opened before Gabby reached it. A strange footman peered out at them: one of Stiver's new hires, no doubt. Behind him, the hall seemed as well-lit as the assembly rooms at York, where, in the months before their father's death, Claire had, under Gabby's chaperonage, twice attended dances.
    "Hello," Gabby said, summoning a smile for the footman as she gained the top of the steps. "As you have no doubt guessed, I am Lady Gabriella Banning, and these are my sisters, Lady Claire and Lady Elizabeth. And this is Miss Twindlesham."
    "Yes, my lady, we were expecting you all the afternoon," the man said, stepping back with a bow and opening the door wide. "Shall I send someone down to carry in your