Barbara Pierce Read Online Free

imagining our theatrical evening a bit less formal than the proceedings of a traditional playhouse. I would like our guests to participate in the performance whenever possible.”
    “Of course, my lord. I have not forgotten our earlier discussion on the subject,” Patience assured him.
    I only need to find Link and Perry before something goes terribly wrong.
    Patience gave Lord Powning the practiced smile she reserved for stage managers and patrons. She had discovered while conversing with the marquess that he had once in his youth dreamed of becoming an actor. Unlike her, he had understood his responsibilities to his family and dismissed his frivolous aspirations. “We are merely here to support and encourage the true players of the evening, your guests. We shall not disappoint you, Lord Powning.”
    I hope.
    “Very good. Very good.” He clasped her hand
and gave the top of her hand a friendly pat. “Off with you, now. Gather up the others, and we shall create an unforgettable evening for everyone to discuss over their breakfast.”
    Her smile dimmed slightly at the older man’s optimism. “I will send a footman to you when we are ready to begin.”
    Patience curtsied to the marquess before turning and starting up the stairs. There was little time to search the entire household for the errant gentlemen. If she had any sense, she would flee the Pownings’ country house before anyone thought to look for her.
    She did not want to be responsible for Deidra, Perry, and Link. They clearly did not respect her abilities as a leader. This evening’s debacle was proof of that fact. Still, she could not seem to abandon them. Guilt over Julian Phoenix’s death had tied her to them as thoroughly as the fear and violence Phoenix had used to keep her at his side when he was alive. Regardless, Patience was not a quitter. She was trying to make a better life for all of them, one that did not force them into the shadows. Her friends did not seem at all appreciative of her efforts.
    Her approach to finding her missing companions was linear and methodical. She moved from door to door, peeking into each room. When she came across a locked room, she moved on, resisting the
temptation to spring the lock by less than honorable means. A large old country house like this one would be the perfect assignation place for an amorous coupling. She tried another door and discovered it was locked.
    Patience sighed. At this pace, she would be ducking in and out of rooms all night. A muffled sound from across the hall had her crossing the hallway to investigate the noise. If it were one of Lord Powning’s guests, she would profusely apologize for her rudeness and abandon her search. With Deidra’s assistance, Patience would give the Pownings an evening worthy of the money they had agreed on.
    And then I shall take my time throttling Perry and Link for their incompetence!
    Patience pulled on the latch and peeked inside. Gasping at what she glimpsed, she pushed the door open and charged into the room. “What the devil do you think you are doing, Perry Kiffin!”
    The lean twenty-year-old whipped around so fast, he tumbled backward into the wardrobe he had been searching. She seized him by the edge of his frock coat and pulled him out, which was a testament to her anger, since the top of her head barely reached the middle of his chest. The relief she had glimpsed on his stunned pale features was quickly replaced with fury.
    “God’s sakes, Patience. I nearly jumped out of
me bleeding skin when you came rushing in like the militia.” He yelped in pain when she reached up and pinched him on the earlobe. “Ow, or me cruel mum,” he said, rubbing his abused ear.
    Patience dug her fists into her hips and gave him a penetrating look. “Whatever you took from that wardrobe, I want you to put it back.”
    Perry feigned astonishment. She had known him long enough to recognize when he was trying to be clever. As he shoved back the long, straight blond