Lord Romney's Exquisite Widow by Jenni James Read Free Book Online Page B

not to watch them, but could not help himself. The moment he recollected that he was presently in a game of cards, he immediately felt the unconscious pull to glance over there again, and before he knew what he was about, he was fully engaged in the other conversation—though he could only see it, not hear a word.
    “George.” his mother whispered. “Go ahead and escape the table. Perhaps it is best for all of us if you do.”
    He looked over at her. “You wish me to remove myself?”
    “Yes.” She glanced pointedly at the cards in his hand. “Set those down and make your way over to your friends, where it is obvious you desire to be. Lord Seldon has already won, and we need the cards to shuffle up once more.”
    “Oh, I beg your pardon.” He flushed bright red and dropped the cards. Collecting them quickly into a bundle, he passed them over and then stood up and bowed. “If you will excuse me.”
    The older gentleman nodded, and his mother’s puzzled look curved into a beam. “Do not forget to share all the details with me. Her name, her parents’ names, her house—find out everything.”
    He leaned over and kissed his mama’s cheek before whispering, “I do not need to find out anything, for I already know who the girl is. ’Tis Lady Romney, the late Earl of Huntingdon’s widow, the dowager countess.”
    “Oh, George!” His mother’s gasp and appalled look were everything he had hoped they would be as he stepped away from the table and headed toward that exact lovely lady.
     

CHAPTER TEN:
     
     
    Catherine braced herself as she saw Lord Hamson making his way over to her. Her focus turned even more completely toward the dashing Lord Atten. It was best if one seemed to be happily engaged, instead of the truth. For indeed, it had taken a full two hours to convince herself to pluck up the courage to come, and now that Lord Atten had sought her out again, it would seem those nerves had nearly trebled. It was one thing to come to a house party and play a few games and to intermingle with others, but it was quite another to be worried over what they must all be whispering about her and her apparently unvirtuous nature.
    Good heavens! She was becoming warm just thinking about the horridness of the prattling of society. And as much as she had spent the last few days preparing herself to take the Ton by storm, it was rather inconvenient, and not as easy as she had convinced herself it would be.
    “Would you like to go driving with me around Hyde Park tomorrow?” Lord Atten asked just as Lord Hamson appeared at her side.
    “Why, thank you, yes!” she replied, perhaps a little too brightly.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lord Hamson take a few steps backward. Good. Perhaps Lord Atten’s attention would show Lord Hamson not to be so impolite. Though to be fair, it was most likely not his fault that people were speaking about her the way they were. He needed to truly see what it was like to have her being pursued by another, and then perhaps he would not take such heed toward those who repeat such hurtful things.
    For a man she could not abide, she had no excuse for why he filled so many of her thoughts. Mayhap it was the way one of his short-cropped curls seemed to go awry no matter how much pomade he put in his hair. Or perhaps it was his easy manners with his mother and willingness to play at the older table that tugged at her heartstrings, for what young man would go out of his way to claim a game table with the older set? It was endearing. Even if he was preposterous and horridly rude, he could still be somewhat—nay, a very little bit—charming, could he not?
    “Lady Romney?” Lord Atten burst through her musings.
    “Er, yes? Forgive me. I find I was woolgathering.”
    He chuckled slightly and then nodded his head. “No matter. I was merely attempting to confirm a time for driving tomorrow. Is four o’clock convenient?”
    “Tis perfect, my lord.”
    He glanced over, and she saw that he