A Fatal Waltz by TASHA ALEXANDER Read Free Book Online

Mr. Hargreaves?”
    “He’s up a floor, across from the countess.” I raised my arms so Meg could drop a lacy nightgown over my head. “Do you need anything else tonight, madam? Some warm milk to help you sleep?”
    “No, Meg, thank you. Get to bed yourself. Lord Fortescue expects us all to be up early in the morning.”
    After she left, I sat at the dressing table, brushing my hair. My mother insisted on a hundred strokes every night, and although I rebelled whenever possible against most of her rules, this was one over which we never argued. Not because I agreed with her firm belief that I should do everything in my power to enhance my appearance, but because I found the ritual relaxing, an effortless sort of activity that allowed my mind to wander. Tonight, however, I was agitated. Between the countess’s sniping and Lord Fortescue’s attacks, I was beginning to wish I’d stayed home, though I knew Icouldn’t have left Ivy to suffer through the weekend alone. Tomorrow offered little hope of improvement. The men would shoot all morning and then begin their political meetings late in the afternoon. I was wondering what I could do to best avoid the countess when I heard a soft tap at the door.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling a robe over my nightgown and opening the door only a few inches. Colin was still in his evening kit.
    “Are you going to let me in? Or am I to stand here in the hall waiting to be caught?”
    Who was I to resist such temptation? I stepped aside so that he could slip into the room. “You’re terrible to come here like this.”
    “I know.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me, then buried his head in my neck. “I can’t stay long. In another quarter of an hour the great room-swapping will begin, and it wouldn’t do for me to be found coming out of here. But I couldn’t resist seeing you, just for a moment.” Another kiss, then he left me, dizzy, exhilarated, and quite unable to sleep.
     
    M ORPHEUS ELUDED ME for nearly the entire night, and I was exhausted the next morning, barely registering the change in light when Meg tugged at the heavy dark curtains that covered the windows, letting the sun fill the room. With effort, I raised myself to my elbows, squinting as I opened my eyes. Meg lifted the pillows behind me and I leaned back, accepting from her a steaming cup of tea.
    “Lord Fortescue was awful disappointed by the ladies this morning,” she said, brushing the dress she’d laid out for me to wear. “Mrs. Clavell was the only one of you to come down for breakfast.”
    “What time is it?” I asked. “Have the gentlemen already left to shoot?”
    “They were getting ready to leave when I came upstairs. It’s nearly ten o’clock.”
    “Help me get dressed, quickly.”
    Less than half an hour later I was rushing towards the library, where I hoped Mr. Harrison and Colin would still be waiting for me. The sight that greeted me when I opened the door took me aback, and I slowed my pace as I entered the room.
    “Good morning, Lady Ashton,” Lord Fortescue said. “Did you sleep well? A guilty conscience often makes peaceful rest difficult.”
    “I’ve no doubt you speak from experience,” I said.
    “I’ve had quite enough of your insolence. What were you doing in my room last night?”
    “I wasn’t in your room last night.”
    “It would be best if you didn’t lie.”
    “I’ve no need to lie. Your room is the last place I would ever go.”
    He shook his head and smiled. “You are not good at this, Lady Ashton. How did this make its way to the floor by my bed?” He held up a bracelet: a simple gold bangle that I’d worn the day before.
    “I don’t know. It must have fallen off my wrist.”
    “While you were in my room.”
    “No—” The door opened, and Colin and Mr. Harrison entered the room.
    “What did you find?” Lord Fortescue asked.
    “All of them,” Mr. Harrison said, holding up a neat stack of papers. “They were in her