Prince Charming by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online

the remark. He shook his head in confusion. Hampton was more astute. He nodded agreement. “He’s referring to the couples dancing,” he explained.
    â€œAnd?” Morris prodded, still not comprehending.
    â€œDon’t you notice how alike the women are? Every one of them has her hair all bound up tight at the back of her head, and most of them have those ridiculous feathers sticking out at all angles. The gowns are quite identical as well,” he added. “With those wire contraptions hidden underneath the skirts to make their backsides look so bizarre. The men aren’t any better. They’re all dressed alike, too.”
    Hampton turned to Lucas. “Breeding and education have taken all our individuality away.”
    â€œLucas is dressed in formal attire, just like we are,” Morris blurted out. He acted as though the thought had only just occurred to him. He was a short, squat man with thick glasses, a receding hairline, and firm opinions about every possible topic. He felt it was his sole duty to play the devil’s advocate and argue against any view his best friend held. “The clothing you’ve suddenly taken exception to is appropriate attire at a ball, Hampton. What would you have us wear? Boots and buckskin?”
    â€œIt would be a refreshing change,” Hampton snapped.
    Before Morris could come back with a rebuttal, Hampton turned to Lucas and changed the topic. “Are you anxious to get back to your valley?”
    â€œI am,” Lucas agreed, finding his first smile.
    â€œThen all of your business has been completed?”
    â€œAlmost all,” Lucas replied.
    â€œAren’t you leaving tomorrow?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œHow can you finish up your business with so little time left?” Hampton asked.
    Lucas shrugged. “There is only one small task to take care of,” he explained.
    â€œAre you taking Kelsey back with you?” Hampton asked.
    â€œHe’s the reason I came back to London,” Lucas answered. “The boy’s already on his way to Boston with his brothers. They left the day before yesterday.”
    Kelsey was the youngest of Lucas’s three half brothers. The older two, Jordan and Douglas, were already seasoned frontiersmen working their land in the valley. Kelsey hadn’t been old enough on Lucas’s last trip back, and so he’d left the boy with his tutors for two more years. Kelsey was almost twelve years old now. Intellectually he’d been nurtured, Lucas had seen to that, but emotionally he’d been neglected to the point of starvation. The son-of-a-bitch heir to the family fortune had seen to that.
    It no longer mattered that Kelsey was too young for the harsh life in the wilderness. The boy would die if he stayed in England any longer.
    â€œIt’s a pity Jordan and Douglas didn’t stay on in London a little longer,” Morris remarked. “They would have enjoyed this affair tonight. Quite a few of their friends are here.”
    â€œThey wanted to get a head start with Kelsey,” Lucas replied.
    They were also determined to get their brother out of England with all possible haste. As soon as the son-of-a-bitch heir had signed the guardianship papers, they booked passage. They were concerned he might change his mind or increase the amount of money he wanted in exchange for his own brother.
    He was getting angry again. Damn but he wanted to get out of England. During the war with the South he’d been locked up in a prison the size of a broom closet. He’d turned claustrophobic then and thought he would go out of his mind before he escaped. The torments weren’t over yet, however, and he’d been forced to endure another atrocity he still couldn’t think about without breaking out in a cold sweat. The war had changed him all right. He couldn’t stand close quarters now. His throat would start to tighten up on him, and he’d have difficulty