The Hellion and The Heartbreaker Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Forgive me.  I didn’t realize you had
arrived.”
    Scarlett
grimaced as Colin quickly resumed his stride, the sound of his boot heels
thudding loudly against the marble floor as he came to stand directly behind
her.
    She turned
toward him warily.  His expression was far from pleased.
    “Scarlett,
you may go to your room,” he instructed firmly.   “We will finish our conversation later.”
    She bit
her lip, struggling to control her temper.  She longed to shove past the
duke and dash out the front door, but she knew better than to disobey her
brother in front of a guest.  Colin would never forgive her.  But oh
how it rankled, being sent to her room like an errant child.  It was
infuriating and utterly humiliating!
    She
glanced back toward the duke and caught his self-satisfied smirk.  She
felt the sudden sting of tears, but fought them back.  Clenching her fists
in exasperation, she turned on her heel and then marched up the stairs with as
much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances.
    When she
reached her bedchamber, Scarlett cast herself onto her bed.   Lying there alone in the quiet of her room,
she began to think.  She soon realized that the Duke of Worthe’s visit
might just afford her with the perfect opportunity to prove to Colin that she
was entirely capable of displaying “proper” and “conventional” behavior when
necessary.  Considering her present options, she had little to lose, and
so she began to devise a plan.
     
     
    Hesitating
for a moment at the threshold of the dining room, Scarlett knew that her
appearance would come as a surprise to her brothers, for she never joined them
for dinner when they had guests.  Colin refused to let her dine in her
breeches when visitors were at Grey Oaks, so on those occasions she ate in her
room or in the kitchen with Tess and the staff.
    She felt
awkward and unsure in the pale green gown, one of the half-dozen dresses Tess
insisted on having made for her each year, though until now not a single one of
them had ever been worn.  In fact, she couldn’t even remember the last
time she had worn a dress.  Apparently neither could Tess, for the poor
woman had nearly fainted when she’d informed her that she intended to don a
gown and join her brothers and their guest for the evening meal.  Once
she’d gotten over her astonishment, her governess had been beside herself with
joy and had nearly sprinted across the room to the armoire that held Scarlett’s
dresses, all resting pristine and untouched on their individual velvet hangers.
    The one
she wore was a bit snug and both the sleeves and hem were half an inch too
short, but it was the best Tess could do under the circumstances.  She
hated it of course.  It was dreadfully uncomfortable, and made even worse
by the ridiculous shoes that had already begun to pinch her feet.  As if
that weren’t bad enough, the tortoise-shell combs Tess had insisted on using to
pin back her hair were digging unpleasantly into her scalp.  But, if this
is what she had to endure to convince Colin that she didn’t need to be sent
away to Briarwood, then she would endure it.  The plan she had come up
with had been set into motion, and now it was time to execute it. 
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped into the dining room just as the men were
getting ready to sit down. 
    Gavin was
the first to see her.  His face clearly registered his shock as his eyes
swept her from head to toe.  Fearing that her brothers, Rory especially,
might give her some good-natured teasing over her sudden transformation, she
bit her lower lip nervously as she moved further into the room.  As if on
cue Rory noted her appearance, and as she’d suspected his jaw dropped. 
Fortunately, before he could speak, Gavin apparently recovered from his own initial
shock, cleared his throat and nudged Rory, sending him a pointed look that
clearly said; don’t say anything stupid!   She owed Gavin for that
one.
    “Scarlett,
how pretty