ToLoveaLady Read Online Free

not to worry.”
    She lifted her head and found all three women staring at her, amazed expressions on their faces. She sat up very straight. “I am, after all, four and twenty,” she said. “It’s not as if I were a girl barely out of nursery.”
    Madame LeFleur burst out laughing. “So you are, so you are,” she said, patting her arm. “And I would venture to say you will succeed on your mission here. Your Lord Silsbee will be overcome by your beauty and your determination.”
    Cecily blushed at the compliment. In spite of Madame LeFleur’s scandalous occupation, Cecily liked her. She was even beginning to think of her as a friend. Madame appreciated Cecily for herself, not because of who her father was, or because of the parties her mother gave.
    She only hoped Madame was right about Charles. Would he welcome her with open arms, or send her home in disgrace?

Chapter Two
      “We’re so pleased you’ve decided to help us, Lord Worthington. You’re so popular, I’m sure your support will persuade others to join us.” Hattie Simms gazed up at Charles with a serious expression that contrasted sharply with the dainty ruffles and bows festooned about her dress and hat. The dress was pink, of some unseasonably light and floaty material. This, coupled with her diminutive stature, gave Miss Simms the appearance of a Fairy Godmother in a children’s story.
    Charles suppressed a smile and nodded solemnly. “I am only too happy to assist the Educational Society in your endeavors.” He sipped from a cup of tea and surveyed the men and women seated around him in the Lloyd House’s grand ballroom. The room was filled with tables draped in white linen and arranged around a raised dais. He frowned at the dais. “How many speakers are you expecting this evening?”
    “Most of the people with banners will say a few words.” Hattie indicated the white silk banner she wore, the words “Fairweather Educational Society” worked in red embroidery down its length. The oversized strip of silk wouldn’t hang properly on her slight figure, so that right now she displayed “eather Educational Soc”.
    Charles scanned the room and groaned. Every third person seemed to be draped in one of the banners, including the woman on Miss Simms’s right, who with her husband, a newspaper editor named Adkins, made up the second couple at the table.  
    Charles sighed and sat back. This promised to be a very long evening, indeed. He sent Miss Simms a pained look. “At least you might have supplied me with something stronger to drink than tea.”
    She gave him one of those superior smiles women have perfected that was at the same time aggravating and endearing. “A period of temperance will do you good.”
    Resigned, Charles picked up his cup once more. White-coated waiters began serving the soup course. Miss Simms turned to Charles again. “We’ve had a wonderful turnout for a first effort, wouldn’t you say?”  
    Charles smiled. “I’m sure no man in town would decline an invitation from such a lovely young woman as yourself,” he purred.
    Miss Simms blushed as pink as her dress. “Oh, Lord Worthington, you are quite the charmer,” she breathed.
    These Texans never got the title right, but then, they didn’t set much store by such formalities. He admired that. It had taken him only a few weeks to fall under the spell of the wide open freedom enjoyed here. The thought of returning to his father’s stifling way of life grew more distasteful with each passing day.
    He fixed the young woman at his side with a sultry stare.   “I can’t help myself around you, Miss Simms.”
    Her expression could only be called a simper. He tried not to cringe. What did a little harmless flirting matter, especially when it seemed to please the serious Miss Simms so much?
    He managed to keep himself in check, however, until the waiters removed the soup bowls and delivered plates of stuffed quail. “Tell me, Miss Simms, what will you be speaking