The Winter Bride (A Chance Sisters Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Jane treated him much as she treated her brother-in-law: as a source of treats, society savoir faire and gossip and a convenient escort. Daisy had no interest in matrimony of any kind and in the park all she seemed to talk about were the outfits worn by fashionable ladies—and how they could do better.
    As for Damaris, well, Freddy had no idea what she thought about anything, really. She said all that was polite and pleasant, but what she was thinking? That was anyone’s guess.
    Unfortunately the mild weather and weak winter sunshine had prompted more people than usual to take the air. The fact was borne in on Freddy when he saw a tall, dark-haired female dressed in a severe riding habit and a smaller one drowning in a sea of pink and white ruffles hurrying toward him.
    Fluffy and the Whip. Damn! He’d thought they were safely in Durham. He stopped dead, causing Jane and Damaris to look at him in surprise.
    “What is it?” Jane asked.
    “The Armthwaite muff—er, sisters. Quick, this way,” he said, attempting an immediate about-face. It was more difficult than he’d anticipated with a young lady on each arm. Their curiosity about the approaching pair slowed his retreat and he was caught.
    Almeria, the taller of the two, arrived first; Almeria never walked when she could stride. “Mr. Monkton-Coombes, so here you are,” she said in an accusing tone that never failed to remind him of Nanny McBride in one of her Moods. “I thought you never promenaded in the park.” She eyed his companions with a critical eye and tapped her toe, waiting for him to introduce them.
    Her sister tripped prettily—and breathlessly—in her wake. “Mutht you walk tho fast, Almeria?” She reproached her sister with a pout Freddy felt sure was the result of hours of practice in front of her looking glass.
    She turned with a winsome smile to Freddy, apparently unable to see his companions at all. “Mithter Monkton-Coombth, how very delightful to thee you here on thith beautiful thunny day.” The lisp was something she’d acquired only recently, imagining, no doubt, that it deepened the impression of featherbrained femininity. The idea, he supposed, was to disguise the fact that she was just as iron willed as her more blatantly masterful sister.
    He said brusquely, “Miss Almeria Armthwaite, Miss Annabelle Armthwaite, may I present the Misses Chance? Miss Damaris Chance, Miss Jane Chance and Miss Daisy Chance.”
    While the Armthwaites grilled the Chance sisters on their family connections and—hardly more subtly—their intentions toward him, Freddy looked around for an excuse to leave.
    As sole heir to his father’s title and fortune, not to mention having his own private fortune, he’d been a target for matchmaking mamas and daughters since he’d first appeared in society. From the beginning he’d made it clear he had no interest in marriage, and once he realized respectable mamas and daughters avoided rakes like the plague, he’d done his best to encourage his reputation as a rake to grow.
    But in the last year or so his mother had apparently informed the mothers, aunts and grandmothers of every eligible female in the kingdom that he was contemplating marriage—she might as well have put a notice in the
Gazette
, curse her!—and as a result, wherever he went, muffins popped out of the woodwork.
    He wasn’t contemplating marriage, dammit! Not with anything other than horror.
    Lady Beatrice’s carriage sailed toward them at a decorous pace. Salvation! He held up a hand to signal her to stop, but she waved airily back and continued on her way. Blast! It would be another lap at least before he could escape.
    “Mr. Monkton-Coombes, oh, Mr. Monkton-Cooooooombes,” another voice trilled from behind him. Damn! Another blasted muffin.
    “Miss Blee.” He greeted her with a curt bow. He was never coming to this park again.
    “I’m soooo excited about the house party,” she said with an arch look.
    “Really?” he said in a