B00Q5W7IXE (R) Read Online Free Page B

diminutive size. In his memory, they towered over him like neglectful giants. In reality, they were both short of stature. He was a head taller than his mother and a few inches taller than his father, even though he was only of average height.
    Both of his parents had blue eyes, but no one in his family had eyes as vividly blue as he did. As a child, every stranger he met remarked upon the unusual color. He’d been told his grandmother, a highly regarded beauty in her day, had eyes the same color. Blue had never met her, having been born five years after her death, eighteen years into his parents’ union.
    The duke and duchess smiled stiffly, their attention focused on Blue.
    “Ernest, dear. How good it is to see you after so many years,” his mother said. She must have been about seventy now, and her hair had whitened and thinned, though she still looked healthy and agile. “You look well.”
    “As do you.” Blue put his hand on Helena’s back, keeping her close and tacitly drawing attention to her. His parents’ gazes never even flickered toward Helena.
    “Have you been in Town long?” his father asked.
    “Yes, almost two and thirty years now.”
    His father’s lips turned down, the extra skin around his wrinkled cheeks sagging further.
    “You never call,” his mother chided.
    “Why haven’t you applied to White’s for membership? Your brothers have all been accepted.”
    “I have no interest in White’s, Duke,” Blue said. “I prefer to spend my evenings at the opera.”
    The duke opened his mouth as though to retort, but the duchess stepped forward and clasped Blue’s free arm in her bony grip.
    “Come with me, dear. I want to introduce you to my lovely friend.”
    Blue glanced at Helena for agreement, but she was watching the dancers. No doubt his parents’ snub left her with little interest in their conversation.
    “Helena—” Blue began.
    “Oh, I am sure she would rather dance. Edward!” She snapped her fingers and one of Blue’s older brothers crossed to them. Edward was about four years Blue’s senior and taller than Blue, but with a rapidly receding hairline.
    Edward bowed to his mother and nodded to Blue.
    “Dance with Miss Giles,” the duchess said.
    “She is not Miss Giles,” Blue protested.
    “Darling”—Helena gave him a steady smile—“I’ll be fine for a few moments with Lord Edward.” She extended her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, my lord.”
    Blue suddenly regretted the velvet trim on his coat. The room felt far too heated at the moment.
    Blue resisted a backward glance, just barely, and allowed his mother to lead him away. He smiled and nodded at the guests who bowed and curtsied to the duchess as she wended her way through the room. In their eyes he spotted curiosity. Blue was probably the least well-known of the Ely offspring, and that was not by accident. Now that he’d renounced his position in the Barbican group, it was past time he took his place in Society once again.
    Oh, but he was already having regrets. Dare he hope his parents would warn up to his wife as the evening went on? Could he tolerate the ball long enough to give them opportunity to make amends? He had been in worse places for reasons that mattered far less than his wife. He would not be sad to take his leave from his parents, however. Helena would have her dance, he would meet whatever elderly matron his mother had in mind, and then he and Helena would be once again ensconced in the carriage and off to bed.
    He touched his pocket once again, felt the coded vellum inside. Perhaps if he had a moment later, he might...
    No. He had retired. He had promised Helena. He would not give in to temptation.
    “Here we are,” the duchess remarked, indicating a small circle of ladies with a gloved hand.
    One of the ladies turned and gifted him with a wide smile. “Ernest! You came!”
    Blue smiled with true feeling at the sight of his younger sister. They were only fourteen months apart in age, and