Unconventional Suitors 02 - Her Unconventional Hero Read Online Free PDF

to the library for some privacy. Sliding into her father’s favorite room in the house, she couldn’t help but miss him. He had remained at Terrace Manor to oversee the family estate in Kent while his daughter’s enjoyed their first season. Much like her mother had been, their father was warm and gracious, and she missed him dearly. Perhaps she would send him a letter asking him to come to London for a spell. For surely, he wouldn’t deny her request if he knew how dearly she missed him.
    Adel lowered herself into her father’s favorite leather chair, the armrests well-worn from years worth of use. She breathed in deeply of the scent of books and leather and felt her soul beginning to calm. She allowed her head to lean back against the chair and closed her eyes as she thought about her current predicament.
    Aunt Tabitha had brought her and Katherine to London a week before the season had officially begun, allowing them both ample time to adjust to their temporary home and shop for any last minute items they might need. It was during this time that she had come across an ad in The Morning Post seeking an anonymous contributor to their increasingly popular scandal sheet.
    Adel still wasn’t sure what had caused her to tear the ad from the paper and save it. She only knew that the promise of distraction was what tempted her to respond. She had promptly sent a letter off to the paper under the alias Mrs. Tiddlyswan, asking that any return correspondence be delivered anonymously to her address at St. James’s Square and given to the eldest daughter of the house who would then make sure that the missive was delivered into the proper hands. She had been careful not to give her name or hint in any way that she herself would be the one submitting the column, and so far the arrangement had worked out splendidly.
    Each week she faithfully sent in her column full of gossip to Mr. Bell, and each week she would receive a pound note in return. Of course, Adel didn’t write for the promise of money, how little it was; she wrote solely for the distraction it presented. During the nonstop parade of assemblies and balls, routs and teas, instead of focusing on her mother’s absence and the resulting fit of the blue devils that would ensue, she would instead spend her time in shrewd observation, looking for any bit of scandal that she could report on. It proved a most excellent distraction indeed.
    Up until now, the paper had been pleased with the information she was able to deliver, but these last few weeks her heart had not been in it, and the letter in her pocket was proof of that. She slid her hand into her pocket, retrieving the envelope before walking towards the fireplace where a low fire burned in the grate. Throwing the missive into the flames, she vowed to try harder, hoping that if she did so, her sadness would vanish just like the letter from Mr. Bell was disappearing into the flames.

Chapter 4
    Adel was dressed in a pale green dress that she was certain was one of her most flattering. Her lady’s maid had swept her auburn locks up into an elegant Grecian knot, curling several tendrils of hair that had been left down to frame her face. She desperately hoped that the sophisticated look would distract from the exhaustion she knew marred her face. Her sadness had sucked any desire for entertainment from her body, but she very well knew that if she didn’t attend tonight’s ball, she would not have anything noteworthy to send into The Morning Post .
    Not a moment after she had been introduced to the hostess and her name had been announced, Adel slipped quietly away from Aunt Tabitha and Katherine, pretending the need to seek out some refreshment, though she had no desire to eat. Her eyes scanned the ballroom anxiously as she walked towards the refreshment table, hoping to be privy to something, anything that would make for good gossip.
    A slight twinge of guilt filled her breast as her eyes rested upon Lord Danford dancing