Once Upon a Kiss (Book Club Belles Society) by Jayne Fresina Read Free Book Online

ghost of Nellie Pickens? Of course. And I am King George.”
    “Pickles,” she corrected sternly. “The lost scullery maid of Midwitch Manor. If this place was truly yours, you would know about me and why my spirit still wanders.”
    “I don’t believe in ghosts.” Making a sudden move, he reached for the sleeve of her gown, but Justina stepped out of his reach.
    “Ah. See, sir? Your hand went right thought my cold dead bones, so it did.” For some reason her accent had turned Irish, but she was too far in to stop. As was often the case. “Passed right through me, it did.”
    He arched an eyebrow. “No, it didn’t.”
    Employing one of her customary spur of the moment decisions, Justina turned and made a run for it, but tumbled almost immediately over her torn hem and fell, with a piglet’s squeal, to the grass.
    In two steps his riding boots were beside her again. “For a ghost you’re remarkably clumsy, Miss Pickles. Shouldn’t you be able to pass through the wall, not have to climb over it?”
    Even when caught in a lie, Justina had a tendency to argue her side of things to the point of breathlessness. This afternoon was no exception. “What would you know about it? You don’t believe in spirits anyway. I daresay the arrogance of your skepticism has sapped my otherworldly powers.”
    “Yes. That must be the only feasible explanation for a ghost that falls like a lead sinker.”
    She tried to stand but twisted her ankle, thereby compounding her despair. Again she looked up at her pursuer, hoping she might have been mistaken. But no, it was him.
    Wainwright.
    The horrors of Bath returned full force, every detail of her shame as razor-sharp as it was when it first occurred.
    Her family had traveled there last year so that Mrs. Penny could take the cures and Catherine could meet potential suitors. Justina, barely turned eighteen, was finally “out,” but nothing much was expected of her. Although their parents still considered her behavior too unpredictable for society, Catherine had pressed for the company of her sister, and so Justina was finally permitted to make a great fool of herself before the general public at large, rather than limiting this joy to the honor of their close acquaintances.
    Expecting few delights from the experience, Justina had been pleasantly surprised when they arrived in Bath to find that Captain Sherringham was also in town. Something of a hero to Justina and also a dear friend, the captain’s presence had instantly improved her opinion of Bath. She’d decided it would be the perfect opportunity to finally confess her lusty yearnings for the handsome fellow. He was always so obliging and ready to teach her all manner of things that no one else would consider suitable for a young lady. In Justina’s mind, the amiable, fun-loving Sherry was the ideal man for her awakening to womanhood.
    She was constantly told that she must marry, and rather than parade herself about like a prize hog, why not take matters into her own hands and choose for herself immediately? He would marry her, she was sure of it. He must simply be made to realize she was no longer the little girl who made him laugh, but a grown woman who could be his companion in other ways.
    A pair of new silk stockings and pink ribbon garters would help with his awakening, she’d reasoned, with all her vast experience in such matters.
    But it was not Captain Sherringham upon whom she leapt in the semi-dark of a strange bedchamber. Later she would learn that Sherry had been called away at short notice to rejoin his regiment and another man had taken the room. It was the slumbering carcass of a complete stranger upon which she leapt.
    They were in an orchard this time, instead of a bedchamber, but the Wrong Man’s looming appearance had the same dreadful effect upon her pulse as it did on the first occasion.
    Suddenly he swooped down and plucked her out of the grass with two strong arms. It was just like one of those horrid