Languish by Alyxandra Harvey Read Free Book Online

mist.
    â€œIron,” I murmured. “I’d read it works sometimes.” We both clenched the railing, the scrollwork digging into our palms. The last ghost vanished, taking the cold bite of winter with it.
    â€œOn with ye,” the caretaker grumbled, oblivious. “Before I fetch the vicar. Had enough of that Lonely Lord nonsense. Have a little respect for the dead.”
    â€œJust as soon as they have some for me,” I muttered, rubbing my aching head with frigid fingers.
    â€œWhere have you been?” Tabitha asked. “And why is there a welt on your forehead?”
    â€œIt’s a long story,” I replied, pacing the length of the sitting room. I was too agitated to sit down, even though my knees felt soggy.
    â€œYou look awful.”
    â€œCharming as ever, Tabitha,” I returned, stealing a pink frosted cake from the tea tray.
    She huffed a sigh. “Don’t be so sensitive.”
    â€œThen don’t be so rude,” I said, brushing crumbs off my chin. Something about spiritual contact made me ravenous. I reached for a blackberry tart and ate it in two bites while staring out the window. The sun was setting, making the sky pink as peonies.
    I watched Colin walk down the lane, past the stables and the horses tethered outside. They tossed their heads and bit the air, powerful teeth hard as stones. One of them kicked out, narrowly missing Colin’s knee. I hoped the stable master figured out what was wrong with them soon, before someone was seriously injured. Colin just danced out of the way and crossed the lawns, heading to the fields.
    â€œWho are you watching? Tabitha asked. “There’s no one interesting for miles.”
    â€œColin.”
    She nibbled on her lower lip. “About him.”
    I arched an eyebrow, looking at her over my shoulder. I knew for a fact that I would not like the direction of this particularconversation.
    â€œYou shouldn’t be so familiar with him. It’s not proper.”
    When I turned to face her, she held up a placating hand. “I’m not trying to be hurtful. Truly, I’m not. But even disgraced illegitimate daughters of earls can do better than orphan boys. Especially with Lord Jasper as your guardian. You could make a far better match.”
    â€œTabitha,” I said evenly. “Colin Lennox is worth more than all of your earls and dukes combined.”
    â€œI only meant …”
    â€œI know exactly what you meant,” I said crisply. “And I was betrothed, however briefly, to one of those ‘better men.’ If you recall, Xavier fled at the first hint of scandal. Colin has never run from a fight in his entire life.”
    Tabitha wrinkled her nose. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to reason.”
    â€œI will, as soon as you start offering some.”
    â€œI’m only trying to help,” she insisted in a small voice.
    I didn’t reply. I felt jittery, as if I’d eaten too many sugared violets. Even my teeth ached with the nervous energy shuddering through me. I poured myself a cup of lukewarm tea, hoping it would settle me.
    â€œHello, girls.”
    Tabitha and I both froze, staring at Lady Ashburnham as she came into the room. Diamonds and ropes of pearls glittered around her neck, swinging across her dove-gray silk dress. She looked every inch a countess, though her eyes were kinder than I would have guessed.
    â€œI understand you have concerns about Lord Jasper,” she said, dispensing with idle talk about the weather and the state of the gardens. It was just as well. At least when I picked pockets in London, I never had to worry about the etiquette of offering my victim tea afterward.
    Tabitha sat up straighter, her nose in the air. She might not be a countess, but she was the daughter of one. She looked haughty and confident.
    I just wanted to hide under the sofa.
    Lady Ashburnham kept smiling, amused. “I applaud you, actually,” she said,