The Scarlet Bride Read Online Free

would be a fierce and devoted mother.
    “Truthfully, you aren’t at all what I imagined,” he admitted. “I’d expected to find a crass and lowborn wench without scruples who’d taken advantage of Noelle and somehow hooked herself a duke. What I discovered was a woman who truly cares for her courtesans and wants a better life for them.”
    “And my marriage?” she asked tightly.
    “A love match by all accounts,” he said. He leaned back on his heels and squarely met her gaze. “I see the joy you’ve brought to Noelle and her sister, Margaret. How can I fault their happiness?”
    He watched her eyes well with tears before she turned away. Though he had very little experience with expectant mothers, he knew their emotions ran pell-mell from one day to the next.
    “It is my sisters who have brought
me
great joy.” She swiped her hand over her face, sniffed, and turned, composed again. She looked him over and grimaced. “I am not entirely certain what I feel about you, however.”
    Simon frowned back. “I can be difficult.”
    “So I understand.”
    He grinned. “Welcome to the family.”
    The grimace dissolved into a look of exasperation. “I’m not so certain counting me as kin is a worthy idea. My history is quite scandalous. If not for my sister and husband, I would have lived my life quite contently with just my mother for company.”
    “Then we shall let this play out naturally, one relative at a time,” Simon conceded. He brushed a piece of lint off his black coat. He suspected his family would welcome the duchess. With a long history of Harrington rakes and bounders to choose from, the bastard daughter of his uncle and a former courtesan wouldn’t be highly scandalous.
    Perhaps a connection to the Duchess Evangeline could also lift his sister, Brenna, in the eyes of society. But until Eva decided to publicly claim her twig on the family tree, he was left to continue his hunt for a suitable wife.
    Eva’s posture loosened. “We’ll see.” She uncrossed herarms. “I’m certain you didn’t invade my school, again, to discuss your family. I assume you have come to see Laura?”
    Laura? Pretty name. “I’d like to assure myself that she has suffered no ill-effects from last evening’s unsettling adventure. She was quite weak when I left her.”
    There was a slight hesitation in her face. Eva was clearly worried about the courtesan. “You must not upset her. She has already suffered enough unhappiness.”
    He shook his head. “Upsetting Laura isn’t my intention. I promise my visit will not cause her any distress.”
    It took her a moment before she agreed. “She is in the upstairs parlor, the last door on the left.” She scanned her eyes over him. “And if you pass a courtesan along the way, I ask that you refrain from flirting. They should not be distracted from their studies.”
    Simon bowed. “I will be a pillar of propriety.”
    A slight smile tugged Eva’s mouth as her hand returned to her belly. With a nod, he left his new cousin to ponder his foibles privately. He’d gotten through the meeting without injury. Noelle would be sorely disappointed.
    Per Eva’s instructions, he found the parlor with no difficulty. As with the rest of the house, it was bland and functional. The walls were papered a muted green, with paintings of birds hung to add interest. A narrow desk sat against one wall, a faded rug lay near a small fireplace, and two narrow settees faced each other and took up much of what was left of the space. But it wasn’t the lack of finery in the room that caught and held his interest.
    It was the woman who stood at the parlor’s one window. The side of her head rested against the glass in a relaxed stance. She was framed by the late morning sun and the green backdrop of a large tree just beyond the windowpane.
    He was taken aback by the change in her. She was no longer the bedraggled waif of last evening who smelled of inexpensive perfume, damp clothing, and fear.
    Her