A Lascivious Lady Read Online Free Page B

petticoat and finally the cornflower blue morning dress. Amelia fashioned Josephine’s hair in a simple chignon, forgoing the ringlets, which took forever to procure with a hot iron and never stayed put.
    It was a long, arduous process – one that would be repeated this evening if Josephine chose to go out for the morning dress was not suitable attire to wear in a public venue and if the dress changed, then so did the undergarments, the hair, and of course the jewelry, which Josephine had in spades courtesy of generous admirers.
    Huffing out a breath, Amelia pressed a hand to her flushed cheeks and crossed to the window to push it open even more. “Ye should at least pen a letter to yer friend to tell her ye canna come,” she said, refusing to let the matter drop.
    “Catherine knows how I feel about the country,” Josephine said as she picked through her jewelry box. Selecting a pair of simple pearl earrings, she held them up for Amelia’s inspection. “What do you think?”
    “I think ye should go visit yer friends,” Amelia said stoutly. “Ye have not seen them since Lady Margaret got herself remarried.
    What else do ye have to do?”
    “What else indeed?” Josephine murmured. “Oh, very well. I will go but—” she held up one finger “—you will be going with me, Melly. And we do not stay one hour past seven days. Agreed?”
    Knowing that getting Josephine to agree to go at all was no small victory, Amelia nodded vigorously. Now all she had to do was forge a second invitation, track down Lord Gates, get him to accept, and make certain neither Josephine nor her husband knew they would be going to the same place.
    How hard could it be?

CHAPTER FOUR
    To say that Catherine was thrilled upon receiving Josephine’s positive response to her invitation would have been an understatement. The second she had the envelope in her hands and recognized the navy blue seal, she ripped it open, read her friend’s familiar scrawl—
    I shall come visit, but only
    if you keep those squalling
    brats away from me.
    All my love, J.
    —and ran shrieking into her husband’s study.
    Alarmed by his wife’s sudden appearance, in addition to the near ear splitting noises that were coming from her mouth, Marcus set his ledger aside and stood up immediately, his dark brow furrowed and his face paling as his took his exuberant wife by the shoulders and drew her against him.
    “Cat, what is it? What is wrong? I swear I was not going to work much longer. I have not forgotten that we are taking the children to the pond at ten—”
    Brushing her blond hair from her eyes, Catherine beamed up at her husband and brought her finger to his lips. “No, no, it is not that,” she fairly sang. “It is this!” Thrusting the letter into Marcus’ hands, she danced away to peer out the window that overlooked the sprawling front grounds of Kensington Estate. She smiled as she saw her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, governing over the two youngest, Abigail and Sarah, three years and one month of age respectively. Their newborn brothers, Jacob and Jason, were sleeping upstairs in the nursery under the watchful eye of the nanny.
    “Darling,” Marcus said, coming up behind her.
    “Yes?” she said absently, leaning into his embrace as he wound one arm around her middle and pulled her snug against his chest.
    “Is this letter from your friend Josephine?”
    “Mmmhmm.”
    “You invited her to come visit?”
    “Yes.”
    “Does she often refer to our beautiful children as ‘squalling brats’?”
    Twisting in her husband’s arms, Catherine smiled up at him and tucked a stray lock of black hair behind his ear. “You know how she feels about children, whether they be ours or not. It is simply the way she is. I think getting her to spend some time in the country will be good for her.”
    “Do you?” Marcus said, but Catherine could tell by the dangerous glint in his eye and the roving nature of his hands that the invitation had already been