The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne (Rescued from Ruin, Book One) Read Online Free PDF

at this knowledge, she
had to admit it gave her the tiniest thrill to have overturned the
assumptions of so many members of the ton. Victoria had been
regarded since her debut as a paragon of quiet grace, perfect
comportment, and impeccable lineage—the ideal society miss. She was
not the most beautiful of women, nor the most charming, nor the
most interesting, but thanks in large part to Lady Berne’s efforts,
Victoria had become known as “The Flower of Blackmore,” applauded
by the patronesses of Almack’s as the example to which other
debutantes should aspire. The strategy resulted in three proposals
at the end of last season and two at the beginning of this, her
second season. Lord Stickley’s offer had come a mere fortnight
after they arrived in London.
    She sighed and shifted in her chair, glancing
down at her hands, hearing the whisper of Harrison’s pen stroking
across the page. After their parents’ deaths, Harrison had been
driven to enshrine the family’s legacy, and she became a willing
participant in that effort. Being courted by and then married to
the season’s finest catch had been the pinnacle of the dreams both
he and her parents had for her. Those dreams had been utterly
dashed the moment she chose to remain on the terrace with Lucien,
rather than marching back inside the ballroom at the first sign of
impropriety.
    Even knowing this, a part of her she seldom
acknowledged was relieved she would not be marrying Lord Stickley.
In truth, they had never suited. She winced inwardly. That being
said, there were more preferable ways to cry off an engagement than
being the center of the biggest scandal since … well, since her
brother shot the previous Viscount Atherbourne, she supposed.
    Harrison began speaking without glancing up
at her. “You have left yourself few options, Victoria.” He dipped
his pen in the inkwell and continued scratching away at the page
before him. She wondered idly if he was writing a novel. Absurd,
that. Her staid, traditional brother doing something so frivolous
and romantic as penning fiction? The thought made a bubble of
nervous laughter rise in her throat. She held her breath and
pressed her lips together firmly to stifle it.
    He finally ceased writing and looked up. Her
amusement died before it had really begun. She’d expected his gaze
to be cold, disapproving, remote. And it was. But beneath that was
a deep, resigned sadness. It fairly broke her heart.
    “Harrison, I …”
    “Despite the dishonor you have dealt the
family, I still care for you as my sister. Although I may
occasionally wish it otherwise, that shall never change. Therefore,
I will offer you two choices. You may live at Blackmore Hall until
I marry, at which point, you will transfer your household to our
western estate at Garrison Heath. It is smaller but perfectly
comfortable.”
    “It is a half day’s ride from the nearest
village.”
    His eyes narrowed in the first visible flash
of anger he had shown throughout the scandal. She suspected a great
deal of fury was being controlled beneath the surface.
    “And yet, it is what I will offer you,” he
snapped. “If you cannot stomach the idea, then you may feel free to
choose your second option.”
    She took a deep, bracing breath and clenched
her hands tightly in her lap, her thumb stroking her knuckles
soothingly. “Which is?”
    “Our Aunt Muriel is in need of a companion.
You would go to live with her in Edinburgh. Whichever choice you
make, you will leave London as soon as I can arrange it.”
    The air condensed around her, cold and sharp.
She was to be banished, then. Hardly unexpected. Really, she
supposed his offers were both rather generous, under the
circumstances. He was sending her away, but not so far that she
could not still see him and Colin occasionally.
    In one case, she would be able to live as she
liked, painting and sketching and managing her own household, with
no one else to consider. She would be relatively independent