No Marriage of Convenience by Elizabeth Boyle Read Free Book Online Page B

time they—” Aggie stopped himself in mid-sentence. “But that’s it! These girls, they are Freddie and Caroline’s, aren’t they?”
    “Well, I assume so.”
    “Don’t you see, Riley? These girls can’t be anything but gifted with charm and grace. You have nothing to fear. A bit of polish, a little practice with their fans, and you’ll have them out the door and in front of a parson before this new Earl can swing a dead cat.”
    “Let’s hope so.” While Aggie’s reasoning seemed sound, Riley wasn’t so sure. She had a nagging suspicion the Earl of Ashlin had not only been impervious to her charms, but had also bested her in this business deal.
    Really, if they were anything like their gregarious parents, why would they need her help?
    A pox and a bother on the man! And this time she really meant it.
    “And when are you supposed to start this charitable endeavor?” Aggie asked.
    “Tomorrow.”
    “Oh, that won’t do at all.” Aggie rose from his chair, his head nearly brushing the ceiling. A tall man of stately bearing, his aristocratic features were the only inheritance he’d received from his noble father, a man who’d kept Aggie’s opera-singing mother as a mistress through four children. Sometimes, when Aggie towered over his audience or whomever he was addressing, it was hard to remember that he was baseborn and grew up much like Riley had, in the back of a theatre.
    “What about rehearsals?” he complained.
    “You’ll have to make do without me. I didn’t have much of a choice. Lord Ashlin insisted. Either that, or he called in our note in full.”
    “There is more to this, Riley Eugenia Fontaine, than you are letting on.” Aggie circled her. “You would never have bargained so lightly unless you had some ulterior motive.”
    “I haven’t the vaguest notion what you mean,” she said,not about to give Aggie one hint at her unwanted fascination with the man. Riley rose from the chaise and strolled over to her clothes press.
    Opening it up she pulled out two gowns, reworked from their production of The Lost Princess , and held them up to Aggie, artfully changing the subject. “Whatever does one wear to tutor young ladies?”
    Sufficiently diverted, Aggie forgot his line of questioning, shaking his head at the midnight blue brocade and smiling broadly at the rose chiffon in her left hand. Selecting a hat from the shelf, Aggie launched into a long dissertation on the appropriate dress and attitude a teacher must command.
    Riley listened, only half interested, using the few moments to tally up the tasks she needed to complete before her morning appointment at Ashlin Square.
    One thing for certain, she needed more information about Lord Ashlin. Something she could use if her lessons with the girls failed.
    “Aggie,” she said, interrupting his one-sided argument over the use of firm authority as a teacher or the use of example. “Do you know anything about Freddie’s brother? This new Earl?”
    He shook his head. “I can make some inquiries, if you like.”
    Riley studied the pink silk again. “Tonight if you could—and no cards—just gossip. When I go in tomorrow I do not want to be unprepared, as I was today.”
    “You are taking Hashim with you, aren’t you?” Aggie asked, his concern for her genuine. “I insist. I’ll not have you travelling about this city alone. Not after the last incident.”
    Riley shook her head. “I hardly think Hashim’s presence is necessary. He takes great delight in scaring younggirls and I’ll never get them prepared in time. Besides, I think the Earl found Hashim’s presence rather disruptive,” she said, thinking of the maid who’d fainted in the foyer when they’d made their exit from the study. “I’ll go alone.”
    Aggie looked from Hashim back to Riley. “You mean the man doesn’t know Hashim isn’t just an ordinary servant but your bodyguard? You’ll have to tell him you go nowhere without Hashim. If you don’t, I