Romancing His English Rose (Entangled Scandalous) Read Online Free Page B

brother.
    Originally, it had seemed a rather troubling case of smuggling involving Hannah’s brother, David; the younger brother of Lord Pembroke, Alexander; and Simon. Unfortunately though, Lord Shrewsbury had gotten wind of the illegal activity and was using the information to blackmail Hannah into marrying him!
    Now, even more than before, Rose was determined to find proof that Lord Shrewsbury had indeed killed his brother. Clearly the man was batty and needed to be locked up so that he could no longer hurt anyone else.
    She had complete confidence that Hannah and Lord Pembroke would foil Caleb’s current plot, but what about any new plans the insane lord came up with? It was left to her to put a stop to the man once and for all.
    So, as she sat in Lady Lancaster’s salon waiting for the servants to complete their delivery of tea and sandwiches, Rose wondered what the day would bring for her. She didn’t have to wait very long to find out.
    “Now, at the last meeting, as you all may remember,” Lady Lancaster began, “I mentioned that Rose may have found the key to Lord Shrewsbury’s undoing—”
    “Yes!” Hannah exclaimed. “I have been waiting a week to hear more about this.”
    Lady Lancaster gave Hannah a quelling look before she continued. “There is not too much I can reveal yet, but there does seem to be some reason to think that the Traité des poisons that Rose found may hold the key to proving Frederick Collicott was murdered.”
    The duchess and the other ladies turned expectantly toward Rose. Even Hope, who had heard about the topic already, suddenly looked more intrigued now that the knowledge could be used against their common foe, Lord Shrewsbury.
    Rose blushed at the sudden attention and took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying. “Well, in the treatise, Dr. Orfila describes the symptoms of various types of poisoning, as well as discussing how traces of toxins are left in the body after a poisoning, but most importantly, he has discovered a means of detecting them.”
    The girls sat back, clearly stunned by that revelation.
    “You mean that there is now a way to determine scientifically whether or not a person has been poisoned?” Hannah said in a hushed voice.
    “According to Dr. Orfila, yes,” Rose replied.
    “That is going to make a lot of society very nervous, don’t you think?” Emily speculated aloud.
    “I believe it has already done so,” Lady Lancaster replied.
    “My goodness, this could change the face of the aristocracy forever,” Sarah said.
    “Not to mention the face of science and discovery,” Rose added.
    “But first, we need to know more about it and how we can possibly use it to solve our own little mystery,” Lady Lancaster announced with a clap of her hands. “Rose, you are obviously the most qualified for this intrigue. Therefore, I want you to meet with Dr. Orfila and find out more about this science of his.”
    Rose choked on her tea. “Meet with Dr. Orfila?”
    “Of course!” Lady Lancaster announced. “Who better to tell you how his science works and what he will need from us to convict that horrid little lord?”
    Of course, Rose thought weakly. Honestly, speaking with Dr. Orfila did make sense, but Rose never thought she would actually get to meet with such a brilliant man. For the first time, it seemed she was going to be moving out of the realm of the written word and into the practical world of application.
    “And,” Lady Lancaster continued, “I think you ought to take Mr. Trumbull along with you.”
    “What?” exclaimed three of the five women in the room in unison…the remaining two apparently too shocked to say anything.
    Lady Lancaster nodded, saying, “Dr. Orfila may not be willing to talk to a mere woman about his findings, so bringing a gentleman along is simply the practical thing to do. And as far as Mr. Trumbull is concerned, I believe there is a lot more to that young man than we had previously realized.”
    Unwilling