Secrets of a Spinster Read Online Free Page A

ignored…”
    “Funny, I have a twin like that...”
    Geoff acknowledged this with a nod. “If this friend were to suffer through pitying and comment and the embarrassment of being passed over and dismissed, would that bother you?”
    Colin opened his mouth, but Geoff continued.
    “And if this very good friend had a sister who, through her own childish fit of flightiness and rash thinking, made a decision that the whole of Society chose to constantly remind her of and cut her for, wouldn’t you do what you could for her?”
    Colin’s mouth, which had never closed, hung gaping.
    “You’re right, Colin, in saying they were my sisters. I know them better than my own sister, as strange and probably disgraceful as that sounds. I seem to be one of very few people who can see beyond what Society does and value what is there.”
    Silence met his ears and, more than a little worried, he glanced up to find Colin still gaping. “What?” he asked roughly.
    Colin finally closed his mouth, then thought for a moment. “I have two things to say. One, that was the most impassioned speech I have ever heard you give in the whole course of my life, and I have known you for a decent portion of the course of my life.”
    “Colin…”
    “Two… you are right.”
    Geoff was surprised, to say the least. “I am?” he asked.
    Colin nodded. “Perfectly. I may not show it much, but I don’t appreciate the way some speak of my brother. Many think him very respectable, some think him very mysterious, but there are some who feel the need to spread rumors and make mischief, and bandy about my twin’s name. It drives me to distraction. I understand, Geoff.”
    “Yes,” Geoff said slowly, watching his jovial friend’s sudden somberness with interest. “Yes, I see that you do.”
    They sat in silence for a long moment, each of them lost in their deep and rather unpleasant thoughts.
    “I’m terribly sorry, I thought Geoff and Colin were in here, not two gravediggers,” Duncan joked from the doorway, looking at the two of them with amusement and a little worry.
    Both shook themselves and looked over at him. “Have you eaten your fill?” Colin asked with a wild grin that hid any hint of his former dark thoughts.
    “You know better than that,” Duncan scolded, smiling a touch. “It would take more food than you have to fill me.”
    “Of course, of course, all the food in London would hardly suffice for you,” Colin replied with a nod.
    “Everything all right in here?” Duncan asked, looking between the two once more. “You looked as if somebody might have died.”
    Geoff smiled. “Nobody died that we know of. Colin and I were merely talking about the idiocy of Londoners.”
    “And you couldn’t wait for me? I thrive upon berating Society as a whole!”
    That broke any of the remaining tension and the three of them laughed for a long while, then began discussing more pleasant, light subjects.
    Duncan and Geoff parted ways as they left Colin’s home, each having his own tasks to complete and people to see. Geoff, for one, was anxious to be safely ensconced in his home rather than relying on inns and the hospitality of others as he had been doing of late.
    He had spent the last few months with Duncan, who was fond of travel and didn’t care when he did so or if the location were remotely interesting. Why Geoff had accepted, he still didn’t know. He was much more prone to staying at home, enjoying comfortable evenings with friends, and leaving the adventures of life to those more energetic than he.
    But when his friend had come to him and invited him along, he agreed to go. After all, Nathan and Derek had married, or rather, in Derek’s case, had decided to actually enjoy his marriage, and Colin… Well, they had long since learned that travelling with Colin was not exactly a wise idea. He was not as hardy as he supposed himself to be.
    What had initially been thought to be a month long excursion had now been four, thanks to