Sin and Sensibility Read Online Free PDF

had a definite purpose. This was a test, both of her resolve and of her brothers’ willingness to abide by their agreement.
    “Yes, I’m certain,” she returned, facing herself in the full-length dressing mirror. Burgundy silk stitched with fine gold thread complemented her dark hair and gray eyes, and while the close-fitting bodice left little room for disguising flaws. The skirt hugged her hips and then flowed into a beaded, glittering swirl of the same-colored material.
    “But your brothers, my lady. Won’t they dis—”
    “Disapprove? I’m sure they will. It’s not a hair shirt or a nun’s habit.” She smiled at her reflection, and was sur-27
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    prised at the excited, seductive female gazing coyly back at her. “I, however, don’t care what they might think.”
    “You don’t?”
    “No, I don’t. All the parts which should be covered, are. Perhaps with a little less material than usual, but there are other perfectly respectable females who dress in a similar style.” Not many, but a few. “Now help me on with my cloak, if you please.”
    “But if you don’t care—”
    “I’m not an idiot, either.”
    The gray cloak, which covered all but the very bottom of her new gown, was only for effect—or so she told herself. Her brothers and the rest of the guests at the Beckwith soiree would all see her at the same moment.
    It was just a happy coincidence that by the time she unveiled the new creation it would be too late for Melbourne to do anything about her appearance.
    The cloak did its job well, and when she reached the foyer downstairs the only suspicious looks were at her hair, which she’d had Helen pin in a confusion of burgundy ribbons and curling brown hair cascading down to her shoulders.
    Melbourne’s gaze, however, was on her face. “Remember what I said about scandal, Eleanor,” he said as he shrugged into his caped greatcoat.
    “And you remember that scandal and conversation are two different things,” she countered, stepping outside as Stanton pulled open the front door.
    “They can be two different things,” the duke replied, following her out and handing her up into the coach.
    “Push the boundaries of one too far, and it becomes the other.”
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    “I should have started drinking earlier,” Zachary muttered, climbing up behind her. “Be cautious, Nell, will you?”
    She straightened her gloves. “No, Zachary. I’m not doing anything wrong, and I’m not going to be cautious.”
    “Then this will be a short-lived experiment,” Charlemagne put in, “and you can forget that nonsense about finding your own husband.”
    Eleanor hoped with all her heart that Shay was wrong about that. “I wouldn’t wager against me, if I were you,”
    she declared, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
    Beckwith House was only five blocks away, but she couldn’t recall a coach ride that had ever taken so long.
    She fairly vibrated with tension, and it didn’t help that the cloak, fastened all the way up to her chin, was stifling in the closed carriage. In addition, Sebastian sat gazing at her for the entire duration of the ride. She’d always half thought he could read minds, but the fact that he didn’t stop the coach and make them turn around proved that suspicion false.
    It wasn’t as though she intended to do anything bad, but she was quite aware of how seriously her eldest brother guarded and protected the Griffin name. She had chosen to walk a very narrow path, with scandal on one side and his constraints on the other. Eleanor only hoped that her road led somewhere other than to a dead end.
    At twenty-four and twenty-eight respectively, Zachary and Charlemagne had certainly had lovers and mistresses, but that was perfectly fine with Society as long as it was done discreetly. The rules for females were much stricter, and the possibility of downfall much greater. But she 30 / Suzanne Enoch
    didn’t want a lover or anything so