The Scoundrel's Secret Siren Read Online Free Page A

about your presentation gown.”
    They had been in London barely two weeks, staying with Lady Hurst in her fashionable townhouse in Russell Square, and in the two weeks since their arrival in the metropolis, the Lindon girls had hardly had a moment to themselves. Lady Hurst had declared their country establishment unbearably dreary, just as she had expected. Having no love for the country, she had wasted no time whisking the girls away to London to re-join civilised society and take part in numerous entertainments. She had been so kind as to permit Lorelei to bring Sirius: any separation was entirely unthinkable. The dog had wasted no time making himself comfortable in his new London establishment, quickly winning over the kitchen staff – once they’d grown accustomed to the Newfoundland’s fearsome size.
    Constance had been right: there was always something to do in London. There were plays to attend, dresses to order and places of interest to visit. Constance had expressed many times her envy that Lorelei was to be presented, sighing that her own turn could not come soon enough.
    In the midst of all this flurry, Lorelei still found the time to think about her encounter with the Earl of Winbourne. He had stolen her beloved pendant, she was sure of it. She had made Constance walk down to the village with her the following morning so that she might scan the ground for it, but had discovered no trace of the necklace. She knew she had to recover it somehow, that she had to have it back at all costs, but she could not think how she might achieve this without somehow revealing her identity or compromising her reputation. She had not told anyone of their meeting and she had not seen hide nor hair of the man in the two weeks she had already spent in London, though she had certainly been on the look-out for the handsome Corinthian. Lorelei dared not enquire after him of Lady Hurst, knowing that doing so was bound to raise questions.
    She had fruitlessly looked for him in parks and at the theatre, she had scanned the Society journals for his name… all to no avail. To be perfectly fair, she was not entirely sure what the man looked like. She knew he had broad shoulders and strong hands, and a voice that made her shiver. She knew the taste of his kiss and that his hair was blond and he was taller than she, but none of that was quite enough to identify him in a crowd of tall, fair gentlemen. This did not stop her from trying, surreptitiously, as she stole quick glances, careful that she should not be caught at it. She was sure that her heart would know him instantly, even if her eyes did not.
    “Lorelei? My dear , are you listening?” Lady Hurst asked with some concern. She did not believe that too much introspection was good for young girls who hoped to strike a suitable match on the marriage mart, and she found that Lorelei had been somewhat absent-minded of late. “This may seem a trifle to you and no wonder, for you are very young, but nothing is as important as one’s wardrobe if one wishes to cut a dash about town!”
    “I’m sorry, Lady Hurst. I was thinking of a suitable cap to match the dress,” Lorelei prevaricated, carefully not looking the older woman in the eye.
    “Not to worry. Mrs Holt, the haberdasher, makes the finest hats in all London – I am confident she will have something that will go charmingly. However, I was saying that you might wear your new gown to Lady Bassincourt’s garden party this Thursday. With that pretty blue pelisse. I understand it is to be very much an event to be seen at, and quite a novel way to start off the Season. Her own daughter, Lady Julia Kinsey, is to make her debut this year, and Lady Bassincourt means to establish Julia as soon as possible, sparing no expense. Not to worry, my dear. Julia is certainly a very pretty girl, but she is also very shy, and her own brown locks won’t draw any eyes from your golden curls.”
    Lorelei laugh ed at that and reminded her hostess