The Ragged Heiress Read Online Free PDF Page B

seconds they were all soaked to the skin, but at least it put a stop to the interrogation and saved her the necessity of making excuses. She dared not tell Papa about the near catastrophe at the temple. If he knew the extent of her foolhardy escapade he would be justifiablyangry and she would be punished. Granted a temporary reprieve by the rainstorm, Lucetta suffered an uncomfortable ride back to the consulate following in the wake of her father and Agung.
    The downpour ceased as suddenly as it had begun and their clothes were almost dry by the time they rode through the gates of the consulate compound and into the stables. Henry dismounted and tossed the reins to a groom but he left it to an underling to help his daughter from the saddle as if to underline his displeasure. ‘Go to your room, Lucetta. I’ll deal with you later.’
    ‘Yes, Papa. I’m very sorry. I didn’t stop to think …’
    ‘No, that’s your trouble, Lucetta. You do things without giving a thought to the consequences.’
    ‘It won’t happen again, Papa. I promise you.’
    ‘That won’t wash this time, Lucetta.’ Henry glared at her, his dark eyebrows drawn together in a frown. ‘You have been foolish in the extreme. There are dangerous men on the loose and anything could have befallen you. If I can’t trust you to behave like a grownup then I must treat you like the child that you undoubtedly are. You may be seventeen but you have behaved as irresponsibly as a six-year-old. You will remain in your room until I have decided on the most suitable punishment for you. Do you understand me, miss?’

Chapter Three
    It was evening before Lucetta was allowed to leave her room. The tropical night had come down suddenly like a black velvet curtain. Paper lanterns cast a soft glow over the gardens and formed lazily shifting shadows on the veranda. The air was filled with the croaking of frogs and the noisy chorus of cicadas. In the drawing room, Eveline Froy reclined on silk cushions, fanning herself vigorously. Her pale oval face glistened with beads of perspiration and her voice was raised in querulous complaint. ‘How could you be so silly, Lucetta? Why did you go riding without a hat? You’ve got freckles all over your face and you’ve ruined your complexion.’
    ‘Calamine lotion will help with the sunburn,’ Lady Boothby said briskly. ‘And lemon juice will make the freckles fade, but it was both foolish and dangerous to ride out unattended, young lady. Heaven knows what might have happened if the men from the
Caroline
had not been out hunting for the escaped convicts.’ She glared at Lucetta over the rim of her coffee cup. ‘You could have caused a serious political incident by such irresponsible behaviour.’
    ‘I realise that now, ma’am,’ Lucetta said humbly. ‘It won’t happen again.’
    ‘Quite right. It won’t happen again.’ Lady Boothby slammed her cup and saucer down on the sofa table. ‘Sir John has given orders to the grooms that you are not to be allowed out on your own again under any circumstances. You will not leave the consulate without a chaperone. Is that understood?’
    Lucetta nodded her head mutely. She knew that she had done wrong, but she was weary with apologising. And was she sorry? If she were to be quite honest, no, she was not. Now that the danger was past, she realised that she had had a great adventure and she had received her first kiss from an impossibly attractive young man. She might have been outraged at the time, but in retrospect she could still feel the soft touch of his lips on hers and the memory sent her heart fluttering wildly in her breast.
    ‘Is that understood, Lucetta?’ Lady Boothby repeated forcefully. Her impressive bosom rose and fell as she took deep breaths, causing the strands of pearls that hung round her neck to clatter together as if her rather large, prominent teeth were chattering with cold – a virtual impossibility in this steamy heat.
    Lucetta came back to earth