Intriguing Lady by Leonora Blythe Read Free Book Online

would have expected you to be abject in your demeanor and to show Mrs. Ashley and myself more gratitude for helping effect your cowardly escape.”
    Sir Nicholas’s smile broadened into a grin, which infuriated Roberta further.
    “Handicapped as I am, Miss Rushforth, I cannot show you how truly grateful I am. But, please, I beg you to accept my thanks. It is sincere, I do assure you.”
    Roberta refused to be mollified, and to show how out of patience she was with him, she turned away slightly. She felt certain that he was enjoying a huge joke at her expense, and she didn’t like it at all. Even Stephen had never dared goad her when her temper was roused. Dear, dear Stephen had known how to treat her. She felt the familiar constriction of her heart as she thought of him, and suddenly wondered what she was going to do when she met him again. A meeting would be inevitable when she resumed her place in Society, for they still shared many friends. She sighed again.
    Mrs. Ashley could tell at a glance that the bleakness of Roberta’s face was caused by thoughts of Stephen Davenport, but Sir Nicholas, who was not privy to the secrets of Roberta’s heart, could only speculate about her sudden change of mood. He swiftly concluded that she was regretting her hasty decision to aid him—one, he was certain, she had only taken to annoy Mrs. Ashley. If that were the case, then he would have to take care not to rile her further. It was imperative that he reach England as quickly as possible, and she offered him the only hope of achieving his goal.
    “Forgive me, Miss Rushforth,” he said contritely. “I don’t mean to seem evasive. You must put my reluctance to talk plainly of such matters down to my natural reticence in embroiling ladies of your station in my personal affairs. I find it difficult to discuss them and am afraid of causing you further offense.”
    Roberta inclined her head slightly, indicating that she accepted his apology. In truth, she was beginning to feel ashamed of her outburst. “My curiosity is to blame,” she replied, recalling how Stephen used to tease her about it and warn her that she would be termed a meddlesome busybody if she didn’t curb her inquiring mind. “Your business is no concern of mine, although, in my own defense, I would hazard a guess that you grew up without sisters.” She paused long enough for Sir Nicholas to acknowledge the truth of her statement and ask how she knew. “It is quite apparent that you have no real understanding of the fairer sex. Had you had even one sister, you would realize that all young girls delight in gossiping about the way their brothers kick up their heels and squander money in riotous living. They know a lot more than you would ever dream about the charms of the ballet girls, paramours and such, even if they choose to profess innocence.”
    “Indeed, Miss Rushforth!” he exclaimed, genuinely intrigued. “I would never have believed it. I don’t think I’ve ever directed a thought to what young ladies talk about. I suppose, unconsciously, I have always assumed that they were too involved in absorbing the intricacies of running a household in preparation for their marriages, to have the time to consider what their brothers were up to.”
    “An antiquated notion, Sir Nicholas,” Roberta responded. “Modern ladies are far better educated than their predecessors, and well read in Greek and Latin. And it is the classics, Sir Nicholas, that feed their imagination. There is little they don’t know of Roman orgies and Greek perversions, and they assume, rightly or wrongly, that if men indulged in such passions centuries ago, they still do today. Personally, I don’t believe all men are such hedonists. My uncle, for instance, and many of his friends and acquaintances, are serious-minded and concern themselves with the extreme poverty suffered by a large portion of the population in England. But”—she shrugged her shoulders—“that is a topic that