Bella and the Beast Read Online Free Page A

back and forth, offering paper-thin slices of seed cake. “It’s when the nobility goes to London for parties and balls.”
    Bella glanced at her sister in surprise. “How do you know that?”
    â€œMrs. Norris showed me drawings in a fashion book.” Setting down the plate, Lila turned to Lady Milford and explained, “Mrs. Norris is our neighbor. She’s the widow of a vicar, and she used to be invited to a great many parties. She said the ladies wear the most splendid gowns. Oh, how I should adore seeing all those pretty dresses.”
    Cyrus sneaked another piece of cake. “I’d buy you plenty of gowns if only Bella would let me learn a trade.”
    â€œYou know that’s out of the question,” Bella said sharply. They’d had this quarrel many times. Regardless of his young age, Cyrus viewed himself as the man of the house. “You’re to focus on your studies.”
    â€œThen Lila won’t have any new dresses,” he said with a trace of sullenness. “So she might as well stop looking at pictures of them.”
    Lila wrinkled her nose at her brother. “Don’t be a spoilsport. Someday I’ll go to a ball. I’ll dance the night away.” Her blue skirt swishing, she whirled around the little parlor as if held in the arms of an imaginary partner.
    Bella pursed her lips. Her sister was behaving in far too familiar a manner in front of their guest. Since the conversation had drifted too far afield, she said, “Lady Milford, you claim to have been introduced to our father by a mutual acquaintance. May I ask who?”
    â€œHe was a nobleman who shared your father’s keen interest in antiquities.” Over the rim of her cup, Lady Milford’s violet eyes took on a keen look. “Perhaps you remember him. The Duke of Aylwin.”
    Bella froze with the teacup halfway to her lips. Her throat went bone-dry. Aylwin! The fellow was a duke? She could still feel Papa’s bony fingers clutching at hers as he’d uttered that name.
    â€œReturn to Oxford,” he’d gasped out, his face pale from the ravages of illness. “Promise me. Find Aylwin. Find the map. You have half … the pharaoh’s treasure.”
    His worsening condition had alarmed her. The cholera had struck him swiftly, and she cared nothing for any treasure, only the need to restore him to health. “Please, Papa, you mustn’t strain yourself. Rest now, and we’ll speak of it on the morrow.”
    But there had been no further opportunity for him to elaborate. In the morning he’d been dead.
    â€œAylwin,” Cyrus said around a bite of cake, crumbs clinging to one corner of his mouth. “Papa never mentioned him to me. What about you, Bella?”
    She mutely shook her head. Her heart was thumping very fast. She had kept their father’s deathbed revelation to herself. Her brother and sister were only fifteen, and she’d been loath to fill their heads with dreams of treasure maps and a pharaoh’s riches. They had no idea she’d been searching for Mr. Aylwin.
    And no wonder she hadn’t been able to locate the man. Aylwin wasn’t a plain mister. He was a high-ranking aristocrat. What an amazing twist of fate that Lady Milford knew him. Now, Bella had to find out more without revealing her true purpose …
    â€œA duke!” Lila exclaimed. “Does he live in a castle like a prince?”
    â€œOne might say so,” Lady Milford replied. “Aylwin House in London is as large as Buckingham Palace where the Queen resides.”
    Lila’s eyes grew even brighter. “Oh, my! Have you been a guest of Queen Victoria, too? She looked ever so lovely in her coronation picture! Pray tell, is it true that she’s being courted by a prince from Germany?”
    Bella wanted no more distracting commentary. She set down her cup with a click. “I’m sure Lady Milford didn’t come here