Perfectly Flawed by Shirley Marks Read Free Book Online Page A

Aunt Penny called to the baronet. "All
went well, I trust?"
    "Splendidly, ma'am." He removed his hat and bowed.
"Good day to you, Lady Muriel."
    "Sir Nicholas," Muriel returned. "I thank you for
your help this morning."
    "Think nothing of it. I am pleased to be of service."
    "Now that you're here, I assume that all the guests have
arrived? Shall we catch up to the others? I believe they
have made their way to the pond by now." Aunt Penny
gestured Sir Nicholas to the left.
    "Your servant." Sir Nicholas offered her his arm and
replaced his hat atop his head.
    They caught up with the party, but Muriel was not
there long before Susan pulled her aside.
    "Look there, Moo." Susan nodded off toward the
stables. "Is that he?"
    They had not yet reached the pond. Muriel stared off
to the left, watching the commotion of someone arriving at the stable. Sir Philip had returned.
    "Do you think he might like to join us?" Susan sounded
hopeful, but Muriel couldn't think of anything she dreaded
more.
    "Allow me to inquire," Muriel was quick to answer.
She would do what she could to delay him, just in case the baronet should see them and get it into his head to
spoil their private party.

    Muriel excused herself, hoping she could come up
with some way to keep Sir Philip occupied. At this moment, she could not envision how she would manage to
detain him.
    "Ah, young Lady Muriel!" Philip hailed, raising the
top of his cane to greet her. He brushed at his sleeves,
removing the travel dust he'd accumulated.
    "Were you able to see to the repair of your transport?" she asked, strategically positioning herself with
her back to the stables to prevent him from seeing the
other guests.
    "To my satisfaction, yes. The arrangements have been
made. The completion will take a bit longer than I would
have liked, but I shall not complain." Philip turned to
the rear of the house and then to his left. He gauged the
reason for her current position: to turn him away from
the pond where he was fairly certain Charlotte's party
would be visible.
    "Would you care to see the gardens? The conservatory? The maze?" Muriel offered in quick succession.
    Philip did not let on that he knew of her effort to keep
him occupied. She must have felt a desperate need to
keep him away from the festivities.
    "You have a maze?" His eyebrows rose in curiosity.
Another type of puzzle that never ceased to amuse him.
    "It's a hedge maze. Allow me to show it to you. It's
this way, please." Muriel led him down a path that led
around the rear of the house.

    "Might I ask the whereabouts of the rest of your
family?" Philip had meant to upset her a bit, questioning
her about a topic he knew she wished to avoid.
    "Aunt Penny plans to serve tea on the east lawn," she
answered without enthusiasm. "Some of the gentlemen
who are staying in the village have been invited to
join us"
    "Ah, Lady Charlotte's suitors." He did his best to remain uninterested in the gentlemen suitors or in joining
their gathering.
    "Let us enter the Lapidarium. You'll have a better
vantage point of the rear grounds." Muriel preceded him
up the steps into the raised, covered outlook.
    "This is indeed quite the collection of stones. Is it a
natural outcropping?" Of course Philip understood the
structure's literal Latin name. He followed her up the
steps and admired the blending of the raised rock and
man-made structure. "I find all this quite astonishing."
    "Look there-at the maze corners. My father had the
animal topiaries stationed at each of the entrances so we
could tell them apart when we were very young children."
    "Because only one beast must lead to the center. I can
see as children you would have difficulty discerning
which entrance would be the correct one."
    "It's not quite that simple," she cautioned. "The paths
are elaborate, but after years of practice we children
could even make our way through the passages at night.
Most people find it nearly impossible to