The Memory of Your Kiss Read Online Free PDF

yet?” Sydney asked.
    “Oh, goodness! Those two slugabeds won’t be down for another hour, I am sure,” her aunt replied. “ ’Tis just as well. I have wanted a private word with you. But get your food first, my dear.”
    Sydney selected bacon, eggs, and a muffin from the sideboard, then poured herself a cup of tea and sat.
    “I have been thinking of your proposed outing with Lieutenant Quintin, my dear,” Aunt Harriet said.
    “You disapprove?”
    “Um—not exactly. He seems a fine young man. However, I am concerned that he may be under the impression that you are an eligible parti when, in fact—according to your father’s letter—you are not.”
    “Oh.” Sydney considered this for a moment, then said, “I assure you, Aunt Harriet, I have no intention of engaging in a flirtation during my stay here. I find the lieutenant to be an interesting person—as a possible friend, nothing more. In any event, I am quite sure he is not looking for a match. He intends to rejoin Wellington’s army in a month or so.”
    “Still, I cannot help but think it would be wise to make a public announcement of your betrothal.”
    “Perhaps it would, but Henry—Lord Paxton—wished to keep it very simple and not draw undue attention—and, frankly, Papa and I agreed with him. It’s not as though ours is a great love match, or one of those lavish ton weddings that intrigue the gossips for weeks before and after the event.”
    Aunt Harriet shook her head and sounded reluctant. “Well, I suppose you and his lordship know what you are about. I will honor your wishes. I have not mentioned it to Celia or Herbert.”
    “Thank you, Aunt Harriet.”
    Privately, Sydney conceded that her aunt made sense, but, since there was no way of discussing the matter with Henry at this point, she simply shrugged it off and determined that she would make the most of these days her father had so generously given her. It crossed her mind that Lieutenant Quintin was the most interesting person she had met in years. Such a friendship might well prove one to cherish.
    Soon after breakfast a florist delivered two bouquets to the house on Queen Square. Celia received a dozen pink roses. Sydney received a nosegay of violets with a card reading “Carpe Diem.” She smiled, for “seize the day” was, indeed, her plan for this sojourn in Bath.
    Later she went shopping along Milsom Street with her aunt and Celia. She would not enter the married state with a lavish new wardrobe, but her father had assured her a few new day dresses and a ball gown or two would not do irreparable damage to the family budget. Paxton might not expect his bride to set fashion trends, but he would expect her to be presentable in the loftiest of ton circles. Once they eventually removed to London, she would have to be outfitted with a traditional court dress, but that could come later—and at Paxton’s expense. Sydney had never equaled her female friends and relatives in their zeal for that time-honored female pursuit: shopping. One perceived a need for a particular item; one searched for andfound it; one purchased it or arranged to have it made. And that was that.
    Thus it came as a surprise to her that she entered into this shopping expedition with such enthusiasm. She experienced a moment of downright shock when, as she was trying on a pert little straw bonnet, the vision of a certain soldier admiring her in it popped into her head.
    “Oh, good heavens!” She hastily removed it.
    “Sydney!” Celia protested. “It’s perfect for you. You simply must have it. And it will go splendidly with the green print you saw at the dress shop. Never say you will pass it by.”
    Torn, Sydney put the offending hat back on her head. “What do you think, Aunt Harriet?”
    “Celia is right. You should have it.”
    As the shopkeeper put the hat in a box, Sydney turned her mind resolutely to imagining how Paxton might view it. But she had no idea how much interest her future husband might