My Enchanting Hoyden (A Once Upon A Rogue Novel, #3) by Julie Johnstone Read Free Book Online

lit her face. “For a moment, my stomach became all knotted. You had such a look on your face, as if we were on the verge of starving again.”
    Philip tugged on his cravat, which felt rather like a noose that was tightening. How close to the truth his mother was. He had precisely two months of funds left to feed them—possibly three if he was very careful.
    She patted her hair, and he noted the dismal state of her gown once again. God, he felt like a failure even asking her if she could forego new gowns again this Season, but he hated to create more debt he couldn’t pay. He was already supposed to pay Aversley back tomorrow for the previous loan, and he could not even do that. Humiliation branded him . “Mother, about this Season—”
    “Yes! I’ve been meaning to talk to you!” She picked up the magazine she had been holding and opened it. “I offered to sponsor your cousin Eustice, so she might finally have a Season.”
    Philip nearly groaned. “Have Eustice’s looks improved through the years?”
    His mother scowled at him, then sighed. “Not much.”
    This time he did groan.
    “We must be kind, darling,” his mother chided.
    He could not afford kindness, but he forced another nod, which won a smile of approval from his mother. “I said we could purchase her a few new gowns and I would accompany her to the balls, which means I likely need at least two new gowns myself.”
    Philip began to sweat in his coat. He yanked it off and flung it on the desk, all while his mother watched him with a raised eyebrow. So much for not creating debt he could not pay back. Thank God he still had good credit with all the shops. Mother and Eustice would have to get the gowns thusly. And he’d have to—
    “Philip, are you sure you are all right? You look feverish. Your cheeks are red.”
    “Too much sun in the park today.” A complete truth. He’d stayed an hour after the race, staring at the Serpentine and trying to figure out what it was about Miss Adair that had made him agree to the wager when he knew he should not have.
    “You should go to the park when the sun is not so strong,” his mother said.
    He nodded absently.
    Mother shifted in her seat and let out a long sigh. “I thank God every day I have you. You didn’t let me suffer the disgrace your aunt Lydia had to suffer when your uncle Richard died and poor Lydia could not pay all the debt. Once you knew our troubles, you took charge!” Mother pressed her hands to her cheeks and shook her head. “Lydia is too prideful. She took work as a seamstress and refused to let us help her. And look at her now. Shunned by the ton and she still cannot afford a Season for poor Eustice, who is already two and twenty. ”
    The ton and how they would shun Mother if he, as an earl, took an honest job was precisely why finding employment was not a solution to his financial woes. She’d never survive being ostracized from Society. If he’d only had himself to consider, he’d find work in a second.
    “You would never let me down that way.” She shook her head. “The shame of everyone knowing you cannot pay your obligations is bad enough, but to have all your belongings taken from you?” She paused and took a deep breath. “Philip, I don’t mind telling you that after your father died, I lay awake fearing that would happen to us. I thought I could face it if it did, but then seeing how the ton has treated poor Lydia and your cousin, I’m not sure I’m strong enough to bear it.”
    He felt a grimace pull at his lips, and he steepled his hands in front of his face to hide his expression.
    His mother frowned. “Your brow has creased, dear. Are you composing another poem in your head, or are you upset with me for agreeing to sponsor Eustice without asking you? If it’s too much expense, I’ll forego gowns for myself again. I don’t mind, truly.”
    A twitch started on the right side of his temple. Providing money for gowns for two women was too expensive, to be sure.