Caroline Linden Read Online Free

Lucia,” she replied testily. “It’s not good for your voice. I must see to Susan. Shall you come with me?”
    “No, I think not.” She blew more smoke. Charlotte waved one hand in protest, starting toward the door. “He is not as you told me he would be,” Lucia said just as Charlotte put her hand on the knob. “I hope you do not underestimate him.”
    Charlotte paused. Stuart Drake was more dashing than she had expected, it was true; there was a feeling of pent-up energy and recklessness that made his charming smile and manner all the more tantalizing. What really lay beneath the gentlemanly veneer? It was a veneer, Charlotte was sure. She had known more devils in angels’ garb than she could count, and Stuart Drake’s halo radiated falseness. The way he had rolled on top of her, simultaneously exciting and alarming ... Some women—and some girls—might find that attractive, but Charlotte knew better.
    “No, he is just like every other man,” she said, only adding very quietly, almost to herself, “fortunately.”
    She walked down the hall to the large drawing room where the rest of the guests were, summoning a gracious smile for her hostess. Lady Kildair beamed in reply; Charlotte knew it was craven delight at getting someone as scandalous as Charlotte and someone as rich as Susan in her drawing room. Those qualities tended to bring out the eligible gentlemen, something Lady Kildair would sell her left arm to do with three unmarried daughters of her own in the house.
    Charlotte paused in the doorway, searching openly for Susan and covertly for Mr. Drake. She found him first; odd, since he was almost completely behind another gentlemen. He looked younger than she had first thought, but undeniably handsome, with dark hair and eyes and a tall, athletic body that even now sent a strange shiver up her spine. Because the man would have assaulted you on a library sofa, she reminded herself, just as he glanced over his companion’s shoulder and met her gaze.
    She didn’t move, just stood there, without a smile or a sniff or a melodramatic toss of her head. No sign that she feared him, just that she saw him. His gaze was dark, displeased but not defiant. Neither looked away, until the air between them seemed to sizzle with the ferocity of feeling on both ends.
    “Aunt Charlotte?” She turned away immediately. Susan was beside her, plucking at the fringe of her shawl.
    “Yes, dear?” She smiled at her niece. “Are you enjoying the ball? I went out to get a breath of air.”
    “Yes, I noticed you were gone.” Susan looked a touch guilty, as she should, having sneaked off to meet a scoundrel. “Did Lucia leave?”
    Charlotte laughed. “No, heavens, she’s trying to assassinate Lady Kildair’s garden with those cigarettes.”
    Susan wrinkled her nose. “They are quite vile.” A giggle burst out of her, and she stifled it with a nervous glance. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”
    “Well, the truth often is.” Charlotte tucked her hand around Susan’s arm. “Come, shall we have some champagne?”
    “Really? May I?” Her niece brightened. “Papa never let me have champagne except on very special occasions.”
    Charlotte felt tonight qualified as such. “Let’s treat ourselves, shall we?” Susan nodded eagerly, and they headed for the refreshments.
    Charlotte, fond aunt that she was, thought Susan quite pretty. She had hair the color of ripe wheat, without any of the curl that plagued Charlotte’s own hair, and clear blue eyes. But Charlotte was also objective enough to realize that Susan wasn’t, and probably never would be, considered beautiful, at least by the world in general. Still, she was determined to see Susan wed to someone who cared for her happiness, as well as for his own.
    It wasn’t until they were sipping their champagne, watching the floor clear for dancing, that Susan brought up the topic Charlotte knew had been on her mind all evening. She knew not only from the bits of