The Earl's New Bride (Entangled Scandalous) Read Online Free

gold embossed lettering on the front of her book.
    They no more believed in the success of her scheme than she did. Things were looking worse than hopeless. They were ridiculous.
    Sarah sat up, her eyes bright. “We need to focus less on the forgetting and more on the remembering.”
    “But there is nothing I wish for the earl to remember about this morning.” Henrietta wrinkled her brows. “Nothing.”
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Sarah said. “I don’t think he’ll be forgetting your silhouette anytime soon.”
    “Sarah Elizabeth,” their mother exclaimed.
    “I speak nothing but the truth. Of all the things for him to remember about this morning, Henrietta’s silhouette ranks high among them. Tomorrow, we make him recall exactly why he cannot forget her, by placing her in one of her new gowns.”
    The idea was not entirely horrible. Except for the part where they replayed the mortification of the morning by placing her in another one of her new, exceptionally tailored dresses from a French modiste insistent upon showcasing Henrietta’s fuller curves.
    “I had not intended upon wearing them,” Henrietta confessed. “I found them to be a bit too—”
    “French?” Albina asked, a smile lifting her lips.
    “Revealing.”
    “Nonsense,” said their mother. She flitted around the room, thumping her fan into her palm, her dark brows furrowed. “Those gowns were commissioned for the sole purpose of obtaining a husband for you, which is what you require. We will ensnare him with your beauty.”
    “And what if he values intelligence above physical traits?”
    While she bore fine features and possessed a figure the modiste had assured her was most preferred by men, Henrietta held her intellect above her outward appearance.
    Her sisters and mother, however, thought otherwise. All three women shook with mirth, Albina even snorting.
    “You cannot truly think that.” Albina clasped her arm around her waist. “Everyone knows men prefer beauty over intelligence.”
    “Even I have to agree,” Sarah said begrudgingly. “While you and I may prefer the opposite to be true, men are simple creatures who like simple women.”
    Henrietta peered over her sister’s head to the large painting hanging on the wall. It was one of Albina’s first masterpieces, of the pasture where the horses often grazed on Plumburn’s east side. The scene was a simple one, filled with a riotous display of colorful wild flowers, the sun lighting them to their full brilliance. Their father had insisted on framing it as soon as the last stroke of paint had dried, so proud he had been of Albina’s creation.
    Tears pricked at Henrietta’s eyes. The pasture, the flowers, even the painting were the earl’s, all his by inheritance. Were she a man, they would be hers and this discussion unnecessary. She would be free to wander the fields, searching for the herbs she found so captivating and resourceful.
    “What of my interest in herbs?” Henrietta asked, thinking aloud. “Could it not set me apart from the other ladies, my interest in something other than ribbons and—”
    “It would set you apart, but not in a favorable way.” Sarah peered up at her, a sadness filling her eyes. “You would do best to resort to tried and true methods, Henrietta. Mother and Albina will make certain you appear your best at all times.”
    Albina nodded, her glossy curls bouncing.
    A dead weight filled Henrietta’s stomach. Her knowledge of plants was where her strengths lay—not in ribbons, or worse, the art of flirtation.
    “But, but, I-I-I-”
    “You will have our full support,” Albina assured. “I will make certain the earl’s eyes are focused entirely on you.”
    “That is precisely what I-I-I fear,” Henrietta sputtered. “You saw what happened this morning. I do not possess—”
    “You possess a pretty face,” said her mother. “And a rather large dowry. Not to mention a good name, impeccable connections, and a pristine reputation. He would