The Indomitable Miss Harris Read Online Free PDF

chuckle. “’Tis not the fates, Cousin Amelia; ’tis Landover who disposes. But I apologize for cutting up your peace in such a way.”
    “Harp not upon that string, my dear. As the Bard of Avon so rightly said, ‘headstrong liberty is lashed with woe,’ but we’ll not pluck that crow together now. Your Ellen is bringing the things you will need for tonight. You must cease to repine what cannot be changed, take yourself in hand, and look to the future.”
    “Tonight? Good gracious, cousin, I have forgotten. Who claims our company tonight?”
    “Forgotten!” Mrs. Periwinkle wagged a reproving finger. “Then, remember thee, child. ’Tis the Countess de Lieven herself who expects us. A rout and a chance to meet her grace the Grand Duchess of Oldenburg. Poor Dasha says she is proving to be quite a problem, you know. A tiger’s heart wrapped in a woman’s hide.”
    “Cousin Amelia! The grand duchess is sister to the Tsar of Russia! What a thing to say!”
    “Perhaps,” agreed Mrs. Periwinkle, taking a seat and motioning Gillian back to hers, while adding dryly, “in this mealy-mouthed day and age. But true, nonetheless, as you will no doubt see before you are much older. She came here as soon as Bonaparte’s defeat was certain to be effected, supposedly to await the Tsar’s visit, but everyone thinks there was more to it than that.”
    “Like what?”
    “Oh, the general opinion is that it was political, and the good Lord knows she’s well enough suited to be involved in something of that nature, but I myself think it was nothing more than a desire to have a go at the Regent.”
    “Hasn’t she got a husband?” Gillian asked. She had already heard a good deal about the grand duchess, but no one had mentioned a grand duke.
    “Prince Oldenburg is dead,” said Mrs. Periwinkle briefly. “His duchy was seized by that upstart Bonaparte when he annexed Holland in 1810. Which is why I think her grace is looking about for new blood. But Prinny thought her ugly, and she thought him ill-bred, and she has allowed her dislike of him to overrule whatever diplomatic considerations there might be, which, as you might realize, has made a good deal of trouble for the de Lievens.”
    Gillian could well imagine that it might. Count de Lieven was Russia’s ambassador to England. It was his business to maintain good relations between the two countries, and it sounded much as though the grand duchess’s behavior might undermine his best efforts. “But she cannot marry the Prince Regent, so what could she hope to gain from him?”
    Mrs. Periwinkle shrugged narrow shoulders. “There has been talk of a royal divorce, of course, but I think she meant only to impress him and, perhaps, hoped for his support in a liaison with one of his brothers. According to Dasha, the woman thinks herself irresistible. But she is very strong-minded and outspoken, just the sort of female Prinny dislikes most. Besides, once she saw that he could not admire her, she made a point of befriending Princess Charlotte and threatens time and time again to call upon the Princess of Wales.”
    “Oh dear,” breathed Gillian, her eyes alight now with amusement. She was beginning to look forward to the evening ahead with a great deal more enthusiasm than she had hitherto felt. The enmity between the Prince and Princess of Wales was a matter upon which the whole country had taken sides, with nearly all the common folk and a large portion of the nobility favoring the Princess Caroline and condemning the Prince Regent for a lecherous, uncaring husband. And since he had announced his daughter’s engagement to the Hereditary Prince of Orange, they had taken up Princess Charlotte’s banner as well, thinking that now she would finally escape his tyranny. For the grand duchess to call upon Princess Caroline of Wales would be a calculated slap in the Regent’s face.
    “Just so,” agreed Mrs. Periwinkle, who had been watching the various expressions flitting