Susan Carroll Read Online Free PDF

before.
    “What a damned crush this is,” Mandell said.
“Is there anyone interesting present tonight?'
    'The Prince Regent is here, and your
grandfather.”
    “I said interesting.”
    “Oh, you mean ladies,” Nick chuckled. “Well,
the Beaufort heiress is here and the Countess Sumner's sister is
back in town, having set aside her mourning at last,”
    “And who might she be?”
    “You remember. Lady Anne Fairhaven, Sir
Gerald's widow.”
    “Oh, yes, the deadly proper Sir Gerald
Fairhaven. I did not even know that he was dead, but given how dull
he was, it would have been difficult to tell.”
    “You knew his brother Lucien had inherited
the baronetcy. How did you think he got it if Sir Gerald was still
alive?”
    “I did not give the matter much
consideration. Sir Lucien is not exactly one of my bosom
companions. None of the Fairhavens have ever interested me much. As
I recall, the lady Anne seemed not much livelier than her late
husband.”
    “Lady Fairhaven is certainly quiet, but I
never thought her dull,” Nick said. “In fact there is something
quite appealing about her. She has the most remarkable sad
eyes.”
    “I wouldn't know. The lady never let me get
close enough to her to find out. I rather think she has a strong
disapproval of men with libertine propensities.”
    “Certainly Lady Fairhaven is a woman of great
virtue.”
    “Indeed? I suppose that could be an amusing
way to spend an evening, trying to discover exactly how
unassailable that virtue might be.”
    “Leave Lady Fairhaven alone, Mandell. She
does not need you tormenting her. I hear she has come through a bad
time of it since her husband died.”
    “All the more reason she might welcome a
little diversion,” Mandell said. “Perhaps I shall seek her out,
unless, of course, you've a mind to try your own luck with the
lady.”
    “No! You know I am not in the market for a
wife.”
    “Neither am I.”
    “That is exactly my objection,” Nick said
hotly. “Lady Fairhaven may no longer be a debutante, but I don't
think she knows much of the world, certainly nothing of the sort of
sport you seek. There is still an innocence about her.”
    “Ah, but that is the trouble with innocence,”
Mandell mocked. “For most of us, it is such a temporary state.”
    Not giving his cousin a chance to retort,
Mandell sauntered off, leaving Nick glowering after him. But far
from harboring any thoughts of seduction, Mandell intended only to
pay his respects to his hostess, then escape this den of heat and
noise as soon as possible.
    Skirting the edge of the gallery in his
search for the countess, Mandell collided with the corpulent form
of the Prince Regent. His Majesty's frock coat glittered,
overdecorated with the jeweled ribbons of far too many orders. He
stared at Mandell, the prince's florid features turning even
redder.
    “My apologies, Your Highness,” Mandell
murmured. He stepped back a pace and sketched a bow that was
correct but still lacking in deference.
    The prince's jowls quivered and he stared
straight through Mandell. He ambled past without a word of
acknowledgment. The cut was unmistakable, but Mandell's lips
creased into a smile. He knew that he had never been a favorite
with the Prince of Wales, not since the time George had been named
regent due to his father's madness. So many others had crowded
around the vain prince, flattering and offering their
congratulations, that Mandell had been unable to resist expressing
his condolences instead, along with a wish for the old king's
speedy recovery. In the midst of his triumph, George had been
obliged to look a little ashamed at rejoicing over his father's
misfortune. The prince had never forgiven Mandell for that.
    The greeting Mandell received from Lily, the
Countess Sumner, was far warmer. Traversing the length of the room,
Mandell spotted her, hovering over some young woman seated on a
silk-covered chair.
    At the sight of Mandell, Lily closed the
distance between them with