The Unintended Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

that he was not tempted any longer to throw his own jacket over Hero's shoulders and spirit her back upstairs. She wore nothing more daring than any other woman would. It was his own foolishness that made it seem so.
    Miranda, sensing his tension, teased him. "Arthur, we are going to the Framinghams, not to the hangman. Please try to enjoy yourself."
    "How can I not, when I am with three of the loveliest ladies in London?"
    She seemed satisfied with his answer and did not quiz him further. Quietly, he listened to their chatter and tried to force his own mood to lighten. But he could only see that Hero would be nearby and yet still out of his reach all evening.
    As the carriage moved forward, and he sat uncomfortably next to Miranda, across from Hero, he wonder the odds that his grandmother and Gwen would be at the Framingham's. Grandmama had been to school with Amalia Framingham. The odds were not with him.
    Even if she was elsewhere tonight, Grandmama would now most certainly be told that he had come to London. She would not be pleased to find that he had not informed her. What excuse would she accept?
    Uncharitably, and not really meaning it, he wished she would come down with the grippe. Then she would not only not be in attendance tonight, he would have an excuse for not visiting immediately. If he failed in his quest, she would hear nothing of his arrival until he was far away from London and home again.
    Unfortunately, he spotted his grandmother from afar, her back to him, as they entered the room. He quickly excused himself from the Fenster women in order to face his grandmother down before she could work herself up into a formidable temper. Her back was to him as he threaded through the room. He could see she was lecturing Gwen Delagrace, who nodded obediently at his grandmother's warnings, as her eyes searched the crowd.
    Gwen saw him first, and she broke into a smile so genuine that his grandmother instantly turned around, no doubt on the alert for an importunate but dashing fortune hunter. Her expression went from astonishment to suspicion to pleasure to rage in the space of an instant.
    He bowed to the ladies. "Grandmama, Miss Delagrace, I have just arrived in London today, unexpectedly."
    His grandmother wasted no time with pleasantries and remarked testily, "I should hope it was unexpected, if you have not even notified me."
    "A summons I could not ignore." He did not want to say more, but he knew his excuse would need to be extreme in order to turn away her wrath.
    "A summons?" Her eyes narrowed. "From whom?"
    "A bookseller."
    She sighed gustily. "Well, you are here now, perhaps you can tend to your book business quickly. Have you heard The Round Table Society has called a special meeting?"
    "I have, Grandmama. And I plan to attend." He hadn't, of course, until he had spoken to Digby, but no need to reveal that to his grandmother.
    "Good. Then I may hope you will be voted Knight Regnant." When she saw he would argue, she held up her hand and added peremptorily, "Why don't you take Gwen out driving tomorrow."
    Gwen blushed, embarrassed by the obvious ploy to throw them together. "London is delightful, Arthur. I do hope you will be able to spend some time enjoying it."
    "I'm afraid I have no time for anything but what I've come for. Perhaps I can manage to visit again in a month or so," he said, intending to do no such thing. He liked London for one thing and one thing only — the sheer number of bookshops it held.
    "Of course." His grandmother looked as though she might argue, but then, surprisingly, she did not. "Well, I presume you can at least spare a moment to dance with the girl, then, can't you?"
    Gwen blushed again and he spoke quickly to ease her embarrassment. "That is the reason I came over to you straightaway." He extended his elbow for her to take, as he added, "I would be honored to dance with the most beautiful woman here."
    Gwen relaxed her tension, and he suspected she was relieved that the first