His Michaelmas Mistress by Marly Mathews Read Free Book Online Page A

she was at home, so she could live with Julia’s lack of propriety for one day.
    She stopped, and hesitated right before she was going to open her door. She didn’t want to leave. If she left her bedchamber the world would intervene, and she wasn’t ready to face that yet. Of course, she couldn’t stay cooped up here forever, much as she wanted to.
    What had happened to her? Normally, she would have taken the world by storm, she would have jumped headfirst into any problem. She supposed that it had to be the effect that being so crushed had on her. Having her heart broken, and her dreams destroyed, had sucked all of the joy out of her.
    “Damnation, Julia. The only way to deal with this is to do it head on. You have to get a hold of yourself, and show everyone that you cannot be defeated.”
    And now, she was talking to herself. Maybe she had gone straight to Bedlam.
    She had wallowed enough. Whatever came her way, she would handle it with aplomb, and she would show Freddie that she could move on…that she could survive without him. And even if she felt as if she were dying on the inside, she would meet everyone with a smile on her face. She would live as recklessly as she dared.
    Racing her curricle always gave her a thrill, and she would throw a few balls…and attend all of the social soirees she was invited to. She would hold her Moonrakers Ladies Society weekly meetings again, and life would go back to normal…well, maybe not normal. She would kick up a lark—and show everyone in Castleton and Maidstone that she had mended her broken heart. As for Charles—she didn’t know how she would handle him, but she would do it with a blithe manner, because she was sick of being so Friday faced.
    It was time to live again.
    It was the only way.
     
    *****
    “You look like hell, Mouse,” Felix announced, as they sat eating their breakfast. “You know what you need? You need to do some trap shooting, or some hunting…or maybe, we should go over and bother good old Tobias again. The look of sheer terror on his face when we’re about is quite jolly, ain’t it, Lucky?”
    Lucky nodded his head, and reached for another slice of bacon. “Oh, aye. He looked dicked in the nob the last time we were over there. Especially when I set off that teeny little explosion.”
    “It was cracking good fun,” Tiny said. “We helped him remove the stump of that gnarled old tree, and had a blooming good time while doing it.”
    Freddie stared ahead. He heard them, but he wasn’t really taking their words to heart. His days and his nights had been utter hell. He hadn’t felt so lonely in his entire life. He wanted Julia dreadfully, and now, he didn’t know how to go about winning her back. He’d made a cock up of everything. He had even sent missives to Colonel Elliot asking for his advice, and had received his reply only that morning.
    Gideon had told him to win Julia back, no matter what he had to do. He told him to grovel if necessary, that no price was too high to pay for a good woman’s love. It had sounded more like an order than just advice, and Freddie didn’t think there was a way for him not to obey.
    “You should read the rest of your mail, Mouse. It looks as if we all have letters from Lark Hall. Hmm…this should be interesting,” Lucky mused, as he broke the wax seal on his missive.
    “It’s another Ball,” Felix said, reading his invitation while Lucky did the same. “I didn’t think they held such things at Lark Hall, but I suppose they’ve decided to do it this year.”
    “They always hold the Michaelmas Ball,” Freddie said absently. “At least that’s what Lady Julia told me.” He felt heartburn coming on, and he looked down at the toast he had liberally spread with marmalade from Lewis’s estate in Somersetshire, Monksilver Abbey. “They hold a house party for those who come from faraway to attend. Apparently, many in the ton look forward to this ball, as Mr. and Mrs. Lovett really know how to