Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn Read Free Book Online Page A

Lyndon,” he said.
    â€œYes,” she replied, holding herself tall. Her world was falling apart, but she wasn't going to let this man see it. “I'm here to see Robert.”
    â€œMy son has left for London.” The marquess paused. “To look for a wife.”
    Victoria flinched. She couldn't help it. “He told you this?”
    The marquess didn't speak, preferring to take a moment to assess the situation. His son had admitted to him that he had planned to elope with this girl, but that she had proven false. Victoria's presence at Castleford, combined with her almost desperate demeanor, seemed to point to the contrary. Obviously Robert had not been in possession of the full facts when he had wildly packed his bags and vowed never to return to the district. But the marquess was damned if he was going to let his son throw his life away over this little nobody.
    And so he said, “Yes. It is high time he married, don't you think?”
    â€œI cannot believe you're asking me that.”
    â€œMy dear Miss Lyndon. You were nothing but a diversion. Surely you know that.”
    Victoria said nothing, merely stared at him in horror.
    â€œI don't know whether my son managed to have his fun with you or not. Frankly I don't particularly care.”
    â€œYou can't speak to me like that.”
    â€œMy dear girl, I can speak to you any way I damn well please. As I was saying, you were a diversion. I cannot condone my son's actions, of course; it is a touch unsavory to go about deflowering the daughter of the local vicar.”
    â€œHe did no such thing!”
    The marquess looked at her with a condescending expression. “However, it is your job to keep your virtue intact, not his. And if you failed in that endeavor, well, then that is your problem. My son made you no promises.”
    â€œBut he did,” Victoria said in a low voice.
    Castleford cocked a brow. “And you believed him?”
    Victoria's legs went instantly numb, and she had to clutch the back of a chair for support. “Oh, my good Lord,” she whispered. Her father had been right all along. Robert had never meant to marry her. If he had he would have waited to see why she had not been able to meet him. He probably would have seduced her somewhere on the way to Gretna Green, and then…
    Victoria didn't even want to think about the fate that had almost befallen her. She remembered the way Robert has asked her to “show him” how she loved him, how earnestly he'd tried to convince her that their intimacies were not sinful.
    She shuddered, losing her innocence in the space of a second.
    â€œI suggest you leave the district, my dear,” the marquess said. “I give you my word that I shan't speak of your little affair, but I cannot promise that my son will be as closelipped as I.”
    Robert. Victoria swallowed. The thought of seeing him again was agony. Without another word she turned and left the room.
    Later that night she spread a newspaper open across her bed, scanning the advertisements for positions. The next day she posted several letters, all applying for the post of governess.
    Two weeks later, she was gone.

Chapter 4
    Norfolk, England
    Seven years later
    V ictoria chased the five-year-old across the lawn, tripping over her skirts so frequently that she finally snatched them up in her hands, not caring that her ankles were bared for the world to see. Governesses were supposed to behave with the utmost decorum, but she had been chasing the tiny tyrant for the better part of an hour, and she was about ready to give up on propriety altogether.
    â€œNeville!” she yelled. “Neville Hollingwood! Stop your running this instant!”
    Neville didn't show the least inclination of slowing down.
    Victoria rounded the corner of the house and halted, trying to discern which way the child had run.
    â€œNeville!” she called out. “Neville!”
    No answer.
    â€œLittle monster,”