Enticing Eve: Scandalous Secrets, Book 2 by Tracy Goodwin Read Free Book Online Page A

entered the room then reached for her grandmother’s outrageous hat, tilting it so it again lay crooked on her head. “Rest assured that you will never be boring. Such a thing is impossible.”  
    Fiona laughed, her head bobbing up and down as her hat fell to the floor. After kicking it to the side, she then proceeded to her open wardrobe where only a rainbow-colored satin gown now hung. “I suppose this will suffice,” she said in a dejected tone, her shoulders slumped.
    Eve turned her attention towards her grandmother’s bed and ran her fingers over a jade gown accented with peacock feathers. “May I inquire as to the occasion?” she asked.
    “Have you forgotten the duke’s dinner invitation?” Fiona turned to her granddaughter, her smile bright. “You and I discussed it earlier.”
    Eve’s hand stilled in the process of toying with a soft, colorful feather. She had indeed forgotten. In truth, Eve hoped to avoid another encounter with Colin, well aware that she allowed him to get too close. Such a thing must never happen again.  
    It would never happen again.  
    Her thoughts returned to her betrothed. Perhaps she could use tonight’s dinner party to speak privately with Colin and ask him not to tell Tristan about their history before she had the opportunity.  
    Yes, that is what she would do.  
    “Go with the peacock gown,” Eve instructed her grandmother. “It has always been one of my favorites.”  
    The Viscountess reached for the creation in question. “I am partial to this, as well. Then again, I adore each of the gowns you’ve designed for me.” She winked at her granddaughter then shook the garment causing several feathers to float through the air.
    Eve motioned to the many gowns scattered about the spacious room. “Shall I help you straighten this mess before I dress for our outing?”  
    “Oh,   good   heavens,   no,”   her   grandmother replied, her expression animated. “I’ll ring for Hattie. You know how she loves playing dress up.”
    Hattie, the Dowager Viscountess’s maid, was a plump, middle-aged woman with a heart of gold and flaming red hair with streaks of blonde. The thought of Hattie wearing Fiona’s rainbow dress or the fuchsia one with splashes of orange and yellow   caused Eve’s shoulders to shake with mirth as she exited her grandmother’s bedchamber.  
    For one brief moment, Eve had forgotten about the evening with Colin that lay before her. Reality was quick to return, though, and Eve could no longer hide from what she was certain would be a long night.  
    Even though her reunion with Colin this afternoon had shaken Eve to her very core, causing her to doubt everything she believed just hours earlier, she remained determined that Colin would never know how much he affected her.
    Over the course of Colin’s departure and the events that followed, Eve became proficient at the art of pretense. She convinced polite society, her friends, and even her family that she was happy and that her life was as it should be. No one ever suspected the terrible heartache she harbored.  
    The evening ahead would be no exception.  
    Eve would make certain of it.

    * * *

    Eve and her grandmother arrived at the duke’s grand estate shortly before four. It was a warm day though not oppressive with a gentle breeze keeping the heat at bay. Since the summer months would quickly be drawing to a close, Eve was happy to learn that they’d be having dinner on the terrace.
    Gwendolyn MacAlistair, the Duchess of Davenport, and her sister-in-law Victoria received Eve and Fiona with wide smiles and warm hugs.
    “It is wonderful to see you, Fiona,” Gwen said, kissing the Dowager Viscountess’s cheek before admiring Eve’s gown made of daffodil-colored silk accentuated with jade ribbon and piping. “You look lovely, Eve. Is that your design?”
    “But, of course.” Eve grinned, bending her knees in a mock curtsey.
    “Oh, you’re wearing the peacock gown,” Victoria’s