Lord Clayborne's Fancy by Laura Matthews Read Free Book Online

was determined to make use of Clayborne’s rare presence at Gray Oaks to gain an understanding of his disgust of her and alleviate it if it were possible.
    When Meg had rested from her journey and changed to a jonquil chemise frock with a cottage front, she arrived to find Rebecca seated in the saloon with a book on Egyptian archeology. She was rather astonished by this, in spite of her knowledge of Rebecca’s propensity toward bookishness, and she commented on it.
    “Jason’s Uncle Henry visited us at Christmas and gave me several books on the subject. Quite fascinating, and I will be glad to lend you one of them if you wish,” she teased her sister.
    “Oh, no, thank you,” Meg gasped in horror. “I am sure I would not understand a word of it. Mama still shudders when she recalls some of the lectures you forced her to attend during your season.”
    “Yes, and it was fortunate that Clayborne offered for me just when she had refused positively to attend another. Really, Meg, you need not look so aghast. They were most informative, I assure you, and I did not attend above half a dozen. Mama should not have put herself in such a fret, for Clayborne was not the least bit reluctant to escort me. I am sure he enjoyed them more than I did.”
    Finding this difficult to believe, but not wishing to pursue the subject, Meg took the opportunity to elucidate further on her stay in London. “I realize, of course, that Mama managed to obtain vouchers to Almack’s for you and Trudy, but I had the greatest fear that she would find it impossible to get me admitted. She has not been on such good terms with Lady Cowper recently, I fear, because Papa accidentally ignored Lord Cowper at White’s. You know Papa, Becka. Half the time he doesn’t remember who people are. But the worry was all for naught; Lady Cowper was all graciousness. Will says she is the most popular of the patronesses. Oh, and it was everything I had dreamed of at Almack’s. I was permitted almost from the start to waltz and—would you believe it?—Will is the most exquisite dancer.”
    “Of course I would believe it, love. He is certainly graceful in the saddle.”
    Meg was gratified by this encomium for her beloved and rattled on. “I had quite convinced myself that my season could not possibly be as exciting as yours, coming as it did after the thrill of our victory at Waterloo. You must have been in agony during the wait for news, but then the celebrations afterwards! The illuminations! The celebration balls! Well, I did not think London would be nearly so charming this year, but you would not credit all the excitement there was. What with Princess Charlotte marrying Prince Leopold—Will says the Regent kept her a virtual prisoner at Cranbourne Lodge for a year and a half when she refused to marry the Prince of Orange! How dastardly! The Prince is grossly fat. Did you see him?”
    “Only in his carriage. He kept out of sight a great deal because of his unpopularity,” Rebecca said.
    “Yes, well, I should hope he would be unpopular for the way he treated her!”
    Rebecca forebore to mention the multitude of other sins which rendered the Regent unpopular, and continued to attend to her sister’s monologue.
    “And then there was the fiasco at Almack’s when they tried to bring Lord Byron back to decent society.        Mama positively insisted that we leave on the instant. Will says that Byron is England's greatest living poet, but of course he does not condone his personal behavior.”
    Meg flushed at her very imperfect understanding of the situation. “So the next thing was that Byron left the country. And then, what should happen but Lady Caroline Lamb’s Glenarvon was published. Will would not let me read it—that is, he did not positively say that I might not, but he told me it was not the sort of book from which I should benefit. But I heard all the on dits about it; nothing else was talked of, I promise you. They say Lady Caroline drew