To Wed a Wicked Prince Read Online Free PDF

gleaming with fun.
    “A handsome Russian prince?” Aurelia inquired, the amusement in her own eyes now banishing her moment of gloom.
    “Very,” Livia said. “And something of an invincible force himself. He pushed Bellingham into a fountain.” She watched Aurelia dissolve into laughter and within seconds joined her at the renewed image of the stuffy Lord Bellingham immersed in Clarington’s fountain.
    “Tell all,” Aurelia demanded, and Livia obliged.
    “Most intriguing,” Aurelia said when her friend had finished the recital. “I can’t wait to meet him. It sounds as if he intends to come calling.”
    “That was certainly the impression he gave me,” Livia agreed, pushing aside the bedclothes and swinging her legs to the floor. “But I’m engaged to ride in the park with Lilly Devries this morning, so if he does come he’ll be disappointed.” She went to the armoire and flung it wide. “Will you ride with us, Ellie?”
    “No, I don’t think so,” Aurelia said, going to the door. “Not this morning. I’m somewhat fatigued after the journey. We left Basingstoke at six this morning, and Franny was up at five.”
    “In that case, you may get the opportunity to meet the Russian prince if you decide you’re not too fatigued to receive callers in my stead,” Livia said with a chuckle as she reached into the armoire for a riding habit.
    “Maybe,” Aurelia responded. “I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast.”
    “I’ll be down right away,” Livia promised, shaking out the folds of the dark green habit. “If you see Hester, ask her to come up. This skirt needs pressing.”
    “I’ll tell her.” Aurelia left the bedchamber.
    Livia spread the habit out on the bed, then wrapped herself in a taffeta dressing gown that had seen better days. She was brushing her thick black curly hair when Hester reappeared, a pair of Lakeland terriers prancing at her heels. The dogs rushed at Livia, yapping in excited greeting, dancing on their back legs as if she’d been absent for a year.
    “Lady Farnham said you wanted me, ma’am,” Hester said over the noise of the dogs.
    “Yes, Hester. Could you press my riding habit, please…Quiet now, dogs. I’m pleased to see you too.” Livia set down her hairbrush and bent to greet the terriers, who were trying to climb onto her lap. “I’m going down for breakfast now. If you could bring up hot water in about half an hour I’d be grateful.”
    “Yes’m.” Hester gathered up the habit and hurried away. Livia followed her, the dogs at her heels.
    Aurelia was reading the Morning Gazette in the cozy parlor that Livia and her friends had made their own private apartment when they’d first arrived at the house on Cavendish Square. The house bore little resemblance now to the cold, drafty, neglected mansion that they’d first inhabited early that year.
    “Your prince is mentioned here in the court circular,” she pointed out, looking up from the paper as Livia and the dogs entered. “He was presented to Prinny at one of the queen’s drawing room receptions two days ago. See…” She held out the paper and nibbled a piece of toast.
    Livia sat down and perused the item. “He didn’t say how long he’d been in London,” she observed, reaching for the coffeepot. “But from this it seems that he’s been here only a week or two. I suppose that would explain why I’d never come across him before.”
    “Prince Prokov,” Aurelia mused, taking another piece of toast from the rack. “Do you think he’s an émigré or just a foreign visitor?”
    Livia shrugged. “He didn’t say. But he did say that politics were dreary stuff and he wanted nothing to do with them. I think he’s just here to play.”
    “A dilettante, then,” Aurelia observed with a raised eyebrow. “Are you inclined to play with him, Liv?”
    Livia, to her annoyance, felt her cheeks warm. “It depends on the game,” she responded with a lighthearted shrug.
    Aurelia nodded, her brown eyes