Secrets of a Summer Night Read Online Free PDF

voice.
    The girl looked up from her notes. “Why not?”
    “For one thing, I couldn’t afford to repay you. And it won’t be any use. Fine feathers won’t make my lack of a dowry any more appealing.”
    “Oh, money,” Lillian said, in the careless manner that could only come from someone who had a great deal of it. “You’re going to repay me by giving me something infinitely more valuable than cash. You’re going to teach Daisy and me how to be… well, more like you. Teach us the right things to say and do — all the unspoken rules that we seem to break every minute of the day. If possible, you might even help to find us a sponsor. And then we’ll be able to walk through all the doors that are currently closed to us. As for your lack of a dowry… you just get the man on the hook. The rest of us will help you reel him in.”
    Annabelle stared at her in amazement. “You’re actually serious about this.”
    “Of course we are,” Daisy replied. “What a relief it will be for us to have something to do, rather than sit against the wall like idiots! Lillian and I have been driven to near madness by the boredom of the season.”
    “S-So have I,” Evie added.
    “Well…” Annabelle looked from one expectant face to another, unable to keep from grinning. “If the three of you are willing, then so am I. But if we’re to make a pact, shouldn’t we sign it in blood or something?”
    “Heavens, no,” Lillian said. “I should think we can all agree to something without having to open a vein over it.” She gestured with her dance card. “Now, I suppose we should make a list of the most promising candidates left after the past season. And a sadly picked-over lot they are by now. Shall we list them in order of rank? Starting with dukes?”
    Annabelle shook her head. “We may as well not bother with dukes, as I’m not aware of any eligible ones who are under seventy years old and have any teeth remaining.”
    “So intelligence and charm are negotiable, but not teeth?” Lillian said slyly, making Annabelle laugh.
    “Teeth are negotiable,” Annabelle replied, “but
highly
preferred.”
    “All right, then,” Lillian said. “Passing over the category of gummy old dukes, let’s progress to earls. I know of Lord Westcliff, for one—”
    “No, not Westcliff.” Annabelle winced as she added, “He’s a cold fish — and he has no interest in me. I practically threw myself at him when I came out four years ago, and he looked at me as if I were something that had stuck on his shoe.”
    “Forget Westcliff, then.” Lillian raised her brows questioningly. “What about Lord St. Vincent? Young, eligible, handsome as sin—”
    “It wouldn’t work,” Annabelle said. “No matter how compromising the situation, St. Vincent would never propose. He has compromised, seduced, and utterly ruined at least a dozen women — honor means nothing to him.”
    “There’s the earl of Eglinton,” Evie suggested hesitantly. “But he is quite p-p-portly, and at least fifty years old—”
    “Put him on the list,” Annabelle insisted. “I can’t afford to be particular.”
    “There’s Viscount Rosebury,” Lillian remarked with a little frown. “Although he’s rather an odd sort, and so… well,
droopy
.”
    “As long as he’s firm in the pocketbook, he can be droopy everywhere else,” Annabelle said, causing the other girls to snicker. “Write him down, too.”
    Ignoring the music and the couples that swirled in front of them, the four of them worked diligently on the list, occasionally making each other laugh so hard that they drew curious glances from passersby.
    “Quiet,” Annabelle said, making an effort to sound stern. “We don’t want anyone to suspect what we’re planning… and wallflowers aren’t supposed to be laughing.”
    They all attempted to assume grave expressions, which set off fresh spasms of giggles. “Oh, look,” Lillian gasped, regarding their ever-growing list of matrimonial