What A Rogue Wants Read Online Free

it seems to me true ladies have kind
hearts.”
    “ Be sure to work slowly,
Madge. I’ve a bit of a headache and don’t think I can tolerate your
pounding on the keys today.”
    In swirl of skirts and blonde hair,
Grace was gone. Madelaine snatched up her needle and spool of
thread and furiously pushed the pin into the fabric while indulging
the fantasy that Grace was the fabric. It was stupid to let Grace
upset her. That’s exactly what she wanted. Yet Madelaine was upset,
foolish or not.
    When the clock struck the hour,
Madelaine stuffed her hoop into her embroidery box and trudged down
the hall. Lost in her own thoughts, it wasn’t until she was at the
library door that she realized how quiet it was. She entered the
library and could not help but gape at the empty room. Finally,
she’d hit on a bit of luck in a year of providence
drought.
    She gazed at the rows of thousands of
books, and a sliver of anticipation raced through her. She hurried
toward the bookcase, but as her fingertips touched the first spine,
the distinct creak of the door being opened filled the room. Her
shoulders slumped. How ridiculously silly of her to hope for five
whole minutes alone. “I’m coming.” It was hard to make her tone
falsely pleasant.
    “ Is that disappointment I
hear?”
    Madelaine whirled toward the door and
blinked. Lady Elizabeth, with her head of curly black hair and
light blue eyes, smiled at her. “I’m not disappointed,” Madelaine
lied.
    “ Really? I’d be if I’d
thought I was going to be alone for a bit and then my hopes were
dashed.”
    That was exactly how Madelaine felt,
and this was the first time in a year anyone had made an effort to
have an actual friendly conversation with her. She could protect
herself from further hurt and ignore Lady Elizabeth or she could
take a chance and reach for the olive-branch. She was always one
for taking a chance. “Did the queen send you to retrieve
me?”
    Lady Elizabeth grew serious. “Worse.
I’m to take you to the tower where you’re to be whipped for
insubordination.”
    “ What?” Madelaine’s
stomach plummeted.
    Lady Elizabeth moved further into the
room and took Madelaine’s free hand in her own. She studied
Madelaine. “Yes. Didn’t you know? A lady who cannot properly
embroider must be banished from polite society until she can master
the skill.”
    Madelaine gripped her embroidery box
tighter to her side with her left arm and swallowed the catch that
had suddenly come up in her throat. “It’s just
embroidery.”
    Lady Elizabeth shrugged. “Yes, but you
messed up the precious pink peony. No more chances for you.” The
corners of Lady Elizabeth’s mouth tugged into a smile.
    Madelaine slowly released her breath,
too happy that Lady Elizabeth had been teasing her to be angry. “I
didn’t know you had a sense of humor.”
    “ I’m terribly funny, once
you get to know me. You should have seen your face.”
    “ I can imagine.” Madelaine
pressed her hand to her chest. “For a moment, my heart
stopped.”
    “ Oh dear. I’m sorry. I was
only teasing. Come, we better go. Oh, and Her Majesty says to leave
your embroidery.”
    “ Does she now? You expect
me to believe the queen means to be kind to me? I may be gullible
but I’m not a fool.” She hated how prickly she sounded, but her
nerves were already on edge.
    “ No more foolery. I
promise. We’re to take an invigorating walk in the gardens since
the weather’s unusually warm. The queen is beside herself at the
prospect of pointing out new plants to us.”
    “ A punishment worse than
the tower.” The minute the words left Madelaine’s mouth she froze.
Had she gone too far?
    “ I know!” Lady Elizabeth
burst out laughing. Madelaine’s immense relief made her laugh
almost hysterically.
    “ The queen will be most
displeased to hear what I just have,” a voice said from the
doorway.
    Madelaine abruptly stopped laughing
and met Grace’s hostile stare. If she pleaded, it would only