Blinded by Grace: Book Five of the Cotillion Ball series (Crimson Romance) by Becky Lower Read Free Book Online Page B

get her heart crushed. Her stomach was not just full of butterflies. It was as if a herd of elephants were prancing through, wearing tutus and carrying umbrellas.
    She had to get back inside the house before anyone noticed she had left the premises. It was not suitable for a young lady of quality to be on the streets of New York alone, but she didn’t trust her maid, Clara, not to go running to Sophie—or worse, to Simon—with Grace’s every move. Simon was not at home at the moment to monitor her comings and goings, since he was doing whatever it was Simon did to make money. But her mother was at the house, feigning a headache so she wouldn’t have to face the reality of what her life had become. Grace had given Clara the task of buying her some new hair ribbons, and shortly after Clara left the house this morning, so had Grace.
    Her thoughts turned to her mother while she scurried down the street. The measures she had taken with Halwyn involved her mother as well as Grace. They had been so happy before—she, her mother, and her father. But her father died, way too early, and her mother was so afraid of being on her own, she accepted the offer of the first man to come calling, and, as a consequence, turned their world upside down.
    Simon was nothing more than a fortune hunter, and he had done nothing since the marriage other than make life miserable for both Grace and her mother. He did not even attempt to hide the fact he was merely biding his time until he gained control of her father’s entire wealth, and had been, since the day he’d wed Sophie. Something hadn’t been right about their entire courtship and hurried-up marriage, but Grace could talk no sense into her mother. Now they were both paying the price for her mother’s haste. But, with Halwyn’s assistance, the nightmare might soon be at an end.
    Simon took great satisfaction in verbally tearing down both of them, and taking the monthly stipend they did get from the trust and using it, not for food or clothing, as it was intended, but to waste away at the gaming tables. Well, Simon may have turned her mother into a sniveling, cowering woman, but he hadn’t yet broken her. Grace eagerly awaited the first time Simon and Halwyn came face to face, and Simon figured out what was up. She couldn’t keep the grin from her face.
    A street vendor returned her smile. Grace stopped in front of his cart.
    “I’ll buy some of your hot peanuts, sir.”
    “For a pretty young lady, with such a fine smile on her face this morning, there is no charge.”
    Grace pressed some coins into his hand anyway. “Then consider this your tip. Thank you, sir, for making an already glorious day just a bit brighter.”
    She popped the hot, salty peanuts into her mouth as she continued the few remaining blocks to her home.
    Halwyn was going to court her this season, and risk verbal abuse from Simon, in order to do so. And, after a few months of courtship, they would marry! Simon would not handle the news well at all, she was certain. At the very least, the bank would lose Simon as a customer—no grand loss, once the trust money reverted to her, but probably not the best outcome in terms of business practice.
    Simon would make life even more miserable at home, for her and her mother. That much was guaranteed. She could handle it, but was sorry for the elevated abuse her mother would take due to Grace’s actions of today. However, there was nothing she could do about it. Once Grace received the money, which was rightfully hers, with Halwyn’s assistance, she would try to get her mother away from Simon the beast. But until then, her hands were effectively tied. Only Halwyn could help her change things.
    Charlotte Fitzpatrick’s matchmaking efforts for her daughters were legendary, and she had Halwyn in her sights this season. By claiming himself interested in Grace, Charlotte would declare her work for the season finished, and much faster than anticipated. Her reputation as a