Edith Layton by How to Seduce a Bride Read Free Book Online

could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. Even the viscount had seemed impressed by her choice of companion.
    Daisy had even found the viscount amusing, at first—until he’d turned dictatorial. She’d had enough of men ordering her around. In truth, she realized now, she’d been getting so angry at his increasingly domineering attitude that she’d have insisted on buying a dress made of paper if she’d seen one, if he’d disapproved.
    She’d been lulled by all the luxury, but now worried, wondering if she could afford her new wardrobe, at least enough for her peace of mind.
    “You know?” she said in a bright, tight, little voice. “I think I’ve bought enough for one day. So I won’t take the gold gown, after all. My goodness! I’ve never had so many new ones at once.”
    “Oh?” the viscount purred. “So you don’t intend to go into Society?”
    She stared at him.
    “You’ve bought enough for one morning visit, one afternoon’s walk, one afternoon tea, and an evening soirée,” he explained. “That will do for one day. No one ever wears the same garment twice in a week.”
    “Maybe you’re right,” she said, whispering in a fierce under voice, keeping one eye on the modiste to be sure the woman wouldn’t hear. “But do we have to get them all at the same place? I mean, we should shop around, see if there are some for sale at a better price…and perhaps,” she added, seeing his surprise and trying to make it sound like she meant something else all along, “we could find better styles at well.”
    “Better than at Madame Bertrand’s?” he asked, amazed.
    Mrs. Masters’s eyes widened. Daisy realized she’d made a mistake.
    “I think,” the earl said, “what Daisy means is that she’s not used to buying so much, and certainly not at one place, without comparing prices. She’s just in the habit of being frugal.”
    “Yes,” Daisy said in relief. “That’s it exactly.”
    “Not a bad habit, either,” Leland said. “But not one we’re used to here in London.”
    “Does that mean I have to squander my money to be accepted?” she asked angrily.
    “It means you must never talk about money,” he said, holding up one long finger the way a teacher would if he called for silence. “But I willtalk about money now, if only to tell you that many of the ladies who buy here don’t pay their bills for years, if ever. No one in the ton does.”
    “Except you, Lee,” the earl said, smiling, “and me. Me, because I never want to be in debt for any reason. I’ve seen too many poor souls in prison because of it. And you, because you love to be contrary.”
    “Thank you for noticing,” the viscount said, as he got to his feet and slowly uncoiled his long body. “I do try. But I also know that too many merchants who cater to the rich have to run their businesses like gamblers, and too often lose because of it. They think serving the nobility is good advertising, but what good does it do them if they only attract more rich spongers? The upper classes can be debtors because of the ever-present promise of their money, at least as shown by their inherited properties. But I think they really can do it because of all their friends in high places. If you own the legal system, you’re not likely to be bitten by it.”
    “Very republican talk for a nobleman,” the earl commented, suppressing a smile.
    “Yes, good that I’m not from across the Channel, isn’t it?” Leland agreed. “I’d have taken my last ride in a tumbrel years ago.”
    “Of course,” the earl commented to a wide-eyed Daisy, “you know he may say the opposite tomorrow if it amuses him.”
    “So I may,” Leland agreed. “Now, I’ll just havea word with madame, and then we’ll have luncheon, shall we?”
    “Yes,” the earl said, “and tell her to have at least one gown made up and ready to go by tomorrow evening.”
    Leland stopped and looked at his friend curiously.
    “We want to take Daisy to the