The Ruby Pendant Read Online Free PDF Page A

gentleman and a great artist.'
    `Oh. I see. An
unsuitable liaison...?'
    `It was nothing
of the kind. It is all on account of him painting me like a French aristo. He
made me look older, in a great hooped gown and dripping with jewels. It upset
Mama.'
    `It is hardly
surprising. You are the embodiment of a young and innocent girl and an English
one at that. No wonder Lady Martindale was upset. She could hardly hang the
picture, could she? Or show it to her friends.'
    `No, but she
need not have accused poor Lieutenant Veillard of stealing.'
    `Stealing
what?'
    `I don't know.
That is where the mystery comes in.' She turned to face him, her cheeks flushed
and her eyes bright. She had gone this far, she might as well go on. `You could
not find out for me, could you?'
    `Me? Certainly
not.' His answer was immediate and somewhat acerbic. Seeing the pained
expression on her face, he wished he had paused long enough to ask her why it
was so important to her, why she had asked him and not someone closer to her.
Did she suppose he would be like clay in her hands, soft and malleable? Or was
she clutching at a straw, a last resort because no one else would take her
seriously? His answer had been the correct one, but he wished he had not spoken
so sharply. 'I am sorry,' he added more gently.
    She sighed. The
answer was no less than she expected. If Mr Devonshire had such a high regard
for her father, he would not do anything behind his mentor's back. 'I mean to
find out,' she said. 'I mean to discover why Mama is so afraid and why I have
suddenly acquired a cousin I knew nothing of.'
    `You have not
suddenly acquired him. If any acquiring has been done, it is surely the other
way about; he is undoubtedly two or three years older than you are. I imagine
your arrival put his nose severely out of joint.'
    `He is still
the heir; my arrival did not change that.'
    `No, but you
need to be plump in the pocket to run an establishment like Hartlea. What do
you suppose he will do for funds when the time comes?' He smiled. 'Not that I
expect that to happen for many years. I sincerely hope his lordship has a long
life before him.'
    `Oh, so do I,'
she said. The thought of her father dying was not to be entertained. 'Let us talk
about something more cheerful.'
    Which is what
they did and she discovered that he was not so stuffy as he had at first
appeared and his sense of humour matched hers. Before long he had her laughing
at some anecdote about the Prince Regent, whom he appeared to know quite well
and the rest of the evening passed so pleasantly she forgot her unanswered
questions, but they were still there, ready to surface again as soon as the
heady evening was over.
     
    As for Philip; he had not enjoyed himself so much for years,
though he was only too aware that as a prospective suitor, he had nothing to
offer the delectable Miss Martindale. And, wending his way back to his lodgings
in the early hours, he laughed at himself for even allowing the thought to
cross his mind.

Chapter Two
    Country hours of early to bed and early to rise and dinner
at three were impossible in London. Too much happened in the evenings and
hardly anything before mid-day, so that Juliette constantly found herself going
to bed at dawn and rising at noon. Dinner was more often at five or six and
supper nearer midnight.
    It played havoc
with her sleep and her digestion, and she began to wonder if her mother's
fragile health would stand the strain for a whole Season. But Lady Martindale
would not hear of having a quiet day or two with no engagements.
    `We might as
well have stayed at Hartlea if we are going to sit at home doing nothing,' she
said, the day after the ball. They were in the morning room, having only just
come down from their bedchambers, although the day was well-advanced. Her
ladyship was examining the invitations that had arrived earlier. 'You will
never take if you are not seen out and about.'
    `Mama, I do so
hate that expression. It makes me sound like a cow at