How to Handle a Scandal by Emily Greenwood Read Free Book Online Page A

where the seasons were more along the lines of either monsoon season or not monsoon season. But England was…tame. “I do have things awaiting my attention in India.”
    He was, though, looking into buying an estate in England for the time—still far in the future—when he was ready to settle down. But he wasn’t going to mention this to his family yet, because he knew they’d see it as a sign he might stay, when it would simply be a place to put some of the considerable money he’d made.
    “Anna wants cousins for Heck and Vic because she had none,” Will said. “She says she quite envies us Halifaxes, with there being so many of us.”
    “If anyone should be busily filling a nursery with heirs,” Tommy said, “it’s the Earl of Gildenhall.”
    “One more word about filling nurseries,” Louie said, “and both of you are going for a swim.”
    Their brief repast completed, the men mounted and turned toward Town, guiding their horses at a walking pace to start.
    “So,” Louie asked Tommy, “have you seen Eliza yet? Ruby and Anna are quite interested in the fact that the two of you have yet to be seen in the same room.”
    Tommy knew he should have expected his family’s interest in how he and Lizzie would get on. Fortunately, he could now put this subject to rest. “Actually, I ran into Lizzie in Hyde Park earlier today.”
    “Why didn’t you say?” Will said.
    “Why would I? It was just a brief encounter with an old friend.”
    “Just an old friend…” Louie said with a teasing note in his voice that Tommy chose to ignore.
    “She goes by Eliza now, as I think you know,” Will said.
    Tommy shrugged. “Old habits. Why did she change it, anyway?”
    “I think it was Gerard who started calling her that, and it stuck.”
    “Well,” Louie said, “how did the big reunion go? Ruby will want all the details.”
    Tommy shot him a disgusted look. “For the love of… I don’t see why it should be of interest to anyone else, but it seems I’ve forgotten about the Halifax fascination with family gossip. We ran into each other, talked briefly—nice to see you and all that—and parted. That’s it. No story.”
    Louie lifted an eyebrow. “So everything’s forgotten and forgiven after all this time? You were—understandably—pretty angry when you left.”
    “I was twenty-two, Louie. It would be ridiculous if any of that still mattered to me.”
    Will nodded slowly, but his gaze didn’t leave Tommy’s face. “She’s a very different person now, Tommy.”
    Tommy nodded noncommittally. He very much doubted that his brother, Lizzie’s one-time guardian and fond uncle, could be unbiased in his judgment of her.
    He spurred his horse to a trot, and his brother and cousin followed suit.

Three
    A bookseller’s shop she never frequented had seemed like the perfect meeting place to Eliza when she’d proposed it in her note to Thomasina’s cousin Nancy, but she hadn’t expected Little’s Books and Fine Papers to be so crowded so early in the day. There hadn’t really been much choice, though, since Nancy couldn’t have come to Truehart Manor without being noticed.
    They had to squeeze themselves far to the back of the shelves of travel books in the rear of the store so they could converse unnoticed. As soon as she’d checked to see that no one else was around, Eliza slipped Nancy the generous tip she’d promised in her note written on behalf of a “shy, curious friend” who wanted to observe the beguiling ways of the ladies at Madame Persaud’s so she might better beguile her husband. (Eliza actually did wonder what men found so compelling about prostitutes.) She’d signed her name as Mrs. Williams.
    “You really think my friend wouldn’t be noticed?” Eliza asked as they stood amid the volumes about Italian holidays. Nancy, who was pretty and looked to be about twenty-five, had a blunt way of talking, but at least she was dressed unobjectionably. Though Eliza’s note had urged