Spring Fires Read Online Free Page B

burst in, brandishing a handsome suit of sage green, a fawn waistcoat, and a snowy starched shirt with pleated cuffs.
    "Voila!" he cried happily. "You will look magnificent, m'sieur! The colors are much better for you than for your brother; he has only worn this suit two or three times."
    As the little Frenchman bustled about, Lisette went out to the dark garden. Pacing the brick walkways that divided up the intricate boxwood-edged flower beds, she wished that Pierre would hurry with his duties so that she might return to the CoffeeHouse. Tense and bone-tired, she felt that the unsettling appearance of Nicholai Beauvisage had stretched her nerves to the snapping point
    Without even realizing her direction, Lisette had come within a few yards of the main house. Light and music and the movement of richly garbed guests assaulted her senses; she recognized Annie Bingham through the French doors, twirling coquettishly in the arms of President Washington.
    "Lisette? Is that you?"
    She whirled to find Lion and Meagan Hampshire coming out of the darkened garden from a different direction. "You startled me, Senator!" Lisette managed a smile. "Good evening, Mrs. Hampshire. You are looking very beautiful tonight."
    Meagan's expression was doubtful. "Thank you."
    "I strayed a bit too near the house, I'm afraid," she went on. "I wouldn't want anyone to see me wandering about looking like this. I'm just waiting for Pierre to take me back to town."
    Lion smiled. "Don't apologize, Lisette. Even with icing on your nose, you are lovelier than most of the women inside."
    In the darkness, Meagan's haunted look went unnoticed, and the next moment all three were distracted by the sudden appearance of energetic Pierre and a tall, darkly handsome stranger whom neither Lion nor Meagan recognized.
    As the little Frenchman made introductions and the Hampshires enthusiastically told Nicholai how many tales they had heard of him and how happy they were to see him safe at home, Lisette scrutinized the arrogant Mr. Beauvisage.
    In the shadows, gilt-edged with chandelier light, Nicholai was quite devastating—there was a raw, wild quality about him, despite the fine clothing. He was a man who belonged outdoors. Yet, his eyes gleamed with intellect and a sure wit, and his demeanor was confident as he kissed Meagan's hand with all the grace of a native Frenchman.
    One brow arched in a tiny insolent salute to Lisette before he allowed Pierre and the Hampshires to pull him into the house. Lisette shivered in the night air as she watched him disappear into the crowd. What a happy night this would be for all the Beauvisages and their friends. Ten years was a long time...
    Shivering again, Lisette wrapped slim hands about her arms and started back to the kitchen to wait for Pierre.
    * * *
    Nicholai accepted another snifter of brandy from Alec and managed a weary smile. His face ached from smiling; it was not an expression he'd had much use for of late. It was a shame he was so damned tired tonight... The happy reunion with his family seemed like a somewhat blurry dream. It was difficult to comprehend that his brother, now forty, had an arm around him, and Caro, his first fierce one-sided love, had been rushing over to hug him every few minutes. Little Katya was nearly a woman, engaged to be married! How could that be? Maman and Papa stood nearby... older, yet seeming to shed years each time they looked at their long-lost son.
    "I suppose you're exhausted," Alec murmured.
    "What an understatement. This seems a fantasy, Sacha. It's as though I've been asleep for a decade. It sounds ridiculous, but I think I expected all of you to have remained frozen in your good-byes to me all these years. No changes..."
    Alec chuckled at Nicky's self-deprecating tone and expression. "You are the one who has changed, little brother."
    "Do you think so?"
    "Completely. It's eerie."
    Nicholai dismissed this with a shrug and drained his glass. "I suppose I grew up. Boy turns