A Heart Revealed Read Online Free

through the contents of her reticule she would take with her this evening. “I should not have allowed it.”
    “You truly do not know my motivation?” Amber asked, unwilling to believe her mother’s claims to ignorance. “It is your very example I have been following.”
    Her mother looked at her with an irritated expression, and Amber continued.
    “You were married at seventeen to a Viscount, Mama,” Amber reminded her. Though the Viscount of Marchent was her father, he rarely interacted with his daughters, reserving his attention for her younger brothers, his numerous estates, and his interest in parliament. He did not hold a seat himself but followed closely the enactments of the government and shared his opinions with his friends who had representation. “And, pray remember, Father was already in his title at the time of your arrangement. You know as well as I do that there are very few prospects already in possession of their title attending this season, and there were even fewer last season, which is why I chose to wait.”
    “There a handful of apparents who have made their affections for you known.”
    “Yes, but Daniel Greenley’s father is in his prime, and I shan’t be surprised if he doesn’t keep his seat for another score,” Amber said, singling out her most ardent suitor. He’d proposed to her half a dozen times at least and would post the banns by morning should she accept him. “David Harrington won’t inherit until his uncle passes and should his uncle marry and procure an heir of his own—I have seen the ridiculous man at any number of events around town eyeing the widows—Mr. Harrington has no recommendation at all. Mr. Morrison is nearly your own age, Mama, and I would be settling for only three thousand pounds—never mind that his estate is in Leeds . Lord Fenton is a shameless flirt whose intentions are unreliable at best, Bertram Welshire is in need of a fortune to repair the damage his younger brothers have made on the family coffers, and Lord Norwin is simply a bore—though he might be my best prospect as his father did not return to parliament this year due to an illness that has not yet been disclosed through the gossip lines. It’s rumored he has nearly ten thousand a year settled upon him, however, and his family is well connected.”
    While Amber did not have female friends, there were plenty of girls who would associate with her for connection, and Amber made use of them by procuring whatever on-dit they possessed. Amber never shared what she learned with anyone else but simply filed it away for her own purposes.
    Seeing the surprise on Lady Marchent’s face turn to admiration of her eldest daughter’s shrewdness, Amber finished her commentary. “I have heard, however, that the Earl of Sunther may be returning to London within a fortnight. With the title so new upon his shoulders, he’s most certainly mindful of the need to secure himself a wife and an heir.” Amber looked at her mother with a smile. “Do not think me a simpleton in my pursuits only because I have not shared with you the workings of my mind. I am the eldest daughter, Mama. I plan to make you and Father proud and ensure that my children are raised with the same level of distinction I have known.”
    “I regret to have doubted you,” her mother said with a complimentary smile. “I fear that with so many events demanding my attention I had forgotten to consider what a wise girl you are.” She crossed the space between them and took Amber’s hands in a rare display of affection. “I shan’t let my concerns interfere with my confidence in you.” She leaned in and pressed her cheek ever so quickly against her daughter’s.
    Amber inhaled the scent of her mother’s perfume and closed her eyes. Her mind turned to the times of her childhood when she’d so often pined for her mother’s return to Hampton Grove, the estate where Amber and her siblings—her younger sister, Darra, and her three