Anne Stuart Read Online Free Page B

she confided. “Too paltry by half. This will give me the excuse of acquiring some new ones.”
    Alistair thought of the ugly, oversized gems residing next to his skin and managed to keep his expression composed. “And Miss Brown?”
    “ Oh, you’re absolutely right. I’ll have her at my next soiree. It will all be very mysterious—I’ll request all the guests wear black, there will be no gaming or music, and all will be very eerie and subdued.”
    “ Wonderful,” he said. “The rest of society will follow your lead.”
    “ Of course.”
    “ But where did you find such a fascinating creature?” he murmured with just the right amount of casual interest. “I’ve never seen cards like the ones she used. And it’s rare to find an Englishwoman of common lineage so adept at the arcane arts.”
    “ Common lineage?” Isolde echoed with a rough laugh. “That’s what you think, my boy. Her family... well, that’s none of your business. Nor is it any of your concern where I found her. She’s my little secret, and I intend to use her most wisely.”
    “ You might not have realized what a treasure you had if I hadn’t pointed it out to you.” Alistair let none of his irritation show through. He never let anyone be privy to his emotions. He even did his absolute best to avoid recognizing them himself. Emotions were foolish, weak, and tiresome. He disliked them intensely.
    But Lady Plumworthy was a skilled reader of people. “There’s no use trying to cozen me. She’ll remain a secret. If you have some particular interest in her, then you’ll simply have to exercise patience, a trait you’re not overfamiliar with. You’ll see her soon enough.”
    Alistair was not a man who believed in violence or in exerting himself unnecessarily. He simply stared at the smug, toadlike face of Lady Plumworthy and wished absently for a lightning bolt to strike her. But fate had always proven deaf to his desires.
    He bowed low over her hand, brushing his lips against her diamond rings with true reverence. There was no chance in hell he could remove them—the flesh was swollen tightly over the gold bands. “Always the flirt, my lady,” he said gently.
    “ I would do more than flirt, Alistair,” she said with an arch laugh.
    “ And break young Calderwood’s heart? I couldn’t do it to him. He was looking for you in the gaming room.”
    In actuality he was hiding from her in the gaming room, but Alistair had no mercy when it came to saving his own hide. Isolde was far more interested in a perfect twenty-year-old than a jaded thirty-two-year-old, for which Alistair could only thank God. He watched as she hastened in search of her young prey, then cast a mocking glance at Hawkins.
    “ You see, Hawkins,” he murmured. “Your conscience is clear. Not only did you do your best to obey your mistress’s instructions, but you were saved the odious duty of hurting an innocent young lady.”
    “ I rejoice, sir,” Hawkins said in a sullen voice.
    Alistair strolled past him. “I suppose you’ll simply have to find some other young woman to hurt, won’t you?”
    “ Yes, sir,” Hawkins said, and his eyes shone with chilly malice. “It shouldn’t be too difficult, my lord.”
    “ Ah, yes,” Alistair murmured, “but you might have to bed her as well, which wouldn’t be half the fun.”
    “ Not necessarily, sir. In London you can find anything for a price.” He lifted his head, staring up at Alistair with cool effrontery.
    With another man Alistair might have admired his substantial self-possession. But there was about Hawkins an air of evil so sour that it failed to entertain Glenshiel. “Very true,” he said in his most gentle voice. “But if you go anywhere near Miss Brown again, I’ll cut off your hands.”
    Hawkins’s expression didn’t change. “Yes, sir,” he said politely.
    She’d left, of course, and not in a sedan chair. He shouldn’t have been surprised—Miss Brown was far too enterprising a creature