Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase Read Free Book Online

dissuade him."
    Mirabel
hurried to the window and looked out. She could see only as far as
the light of the library reached, but that was enough to show her the
state of things.
    "It's
sleeting," she said. "I cannot believe you let Lord
Hargate's son depart, on horseback, to travel in an ice storm all the
way to Matlock."
    "Perhaps
you are right," he said. "Perhaps I should have summoned
some of the largest footmen to subdue him and tie him to…
something." He looked about as though in search of a suitable
something. "But I cannot think how otherwise he was to be
prevented."
    "Why
did you not send for me?"
    Her
parent frowned. "I cannot say why, but it did not occur to me. I
am sorry it did not. The trouble was, he put me in mind of a cactus,
and I found myself contemplating the spiny tufts, which might serve a
reproductive purpose, though it is generally explained—Why,
child, where are you going?"
    Mirabel
was hurrying out to the hall. "I am going after him, of course.
Otherwise, he will break his neck or his horse's leg—or most
likely, both—and we shall never hear the end of it. Good God!
An earl's son. The Earl of Hargate's son! The famous Waterloo hero,
no less—and wounded in the line of duty. Oh, it does not bear
thinking of. Really, Papa, you will drive me to distraction one of
these days. The man hurls himself to certain death while you are
contemplating cactus spines."
    "But
my dear, it is quite important—"
    Mirabel
didn't hear him. She was running down the hall.
    MOMENTS
later, mounted on an unhandsome but surefooted and imperturbable
gelding, Mirabel rode out into the night. She caught up with her
quarry a short distance past the park gates. The thick sleet had
thinned to icy rain, but it could easily thicken and thin again a
score of times in the course of the night.
    "Mr.
Carsington!" she shouted into the downpour. He was only a dark,
man-shaped form on a dark, horse-shaped form, but the form was tall
enough and sat straight enough, despite the rain pouring from his hat
brim down his neck—and anyway who else could it be?
    He
halted. "Miss Oldridge?" He turned his head her way. It was
too dark to see his face. "What are you doing here? Are you
mad?"
    "You
must return to the house at once," she said.
    "You
must be insane," he said.
    "You
are no longer in London," she said. "The next house is a
mile away. In this weather, it will take you two hours at the very
least to reach Matlock Bath—and that is only barring accident."
    "It
is of vital importance that I return to my hotel," he said. "I
beg you to return to your house. They ought not have let you leave.
You will catch your death."
    "I
am but a few minutes from a good blaze," she said. "You are
the one who'll catch his death. Then what are we to tell your
father?"
    "Miss
Oldridge, no one tells my father anything," he said.
    "Or
you, either, I collect."
    "Miss
Oldridge, while we remain here disputing, the animals grow chilled. I
am sure they will be better off moving, yours in the opposite
direction of mine. I thank you for your hospitality, and I appreciate
your concern for my well-being, but it is quite impossible for me to
remain."
    "Mr.
Carsington, whatever engagements you have for tomorrow—"
    "Miss
Oldridge, you do not understand: I have nothing to wear."
    "You're
funning me," she said.
    "I
never joke about such things," he said.
    "Nothing
to wear."
    "Exactly."
    "I
see," she said.
    She
had seen long before now but had failed to come to the logical
conclusion. Logic had taken second place to reactions lower on the
intellectual plane.
    She
had observed him closely enough, had been unable to keep from
observing.
    She
had an all too vivid recollection of the way the expensively tailored
coat hugged broad shoulders and the powerful torso that tapered to a
narrow waist. She had a clear image in her mind's eye of the
exquisite embroidery of his silk waistcoat with its one upper button
undone… and of the snugly fitting breeches outlining