Prudence Pursued by Shirley Raye Redmond Read Free Book Online Page A

of the influenza,” Dorothea explained. “He’s come to Bath for the waters.”
    “He’s still not as fully recovered as we’d like him to be, is he, Mother Greenwood?” Eleanor asked. Smiling, her mother-in-law shook her head. Then turning to Prudence, Eleanor eyed the smart confection Prudence wore upon her head, declaring, “I do like your hat, Miss Pentyre! I have a weakness for a pretty hat,” she added with a bright, ingenuous smile.
    “So do I,” Prudence confessed. “And unlike the influenza, such a weakness is not life-threatening.” Her lips twitched slightly.
    “Nor debilitating in the least,” Eleanor added. “But it can make one rather feverish with excitement.”
    Arthur laughed lightly. “Ellie, I can already see you and Miss Pentyre are kindred spirits.”
    “I would be happy to take you to my favorite milliner’s shop while you are here,” Prudence offered.
    “I would enjoy going,” Eleanor assured her.
    “Indeed she would,” Arthur put in, giving his wife a tolerant smile.
    Glancing again at Arthur Greenwood’s hollow cheeks and pale face, Prudence felt sensitive about intruding upon her friend Dorothea at this time. She would not have come had she known. While listening to Eleanor and Dorothea talk about Bath’s various shops, Prudence calculated how much longer she should linger before taking her leave. As there was no hope for private conversation with Dorothea, she did not wish to overstay her welcome. “I do wish you a speedy recovery, Reverend Greenwood,” she said with polite concern.
    “Thankfully, Arthur was able to leave the church work in the hands of an able curate and come to Bath to rest,” Dorothea told her. “We hope to see him fully restored to health within the month.”
    “You find the waters here to be beneficial?” Prudence asked, addressing Arthur again.
    “I do,” he admitted. “I am not only drinking the mineral water, but soaking in the hot springs as well.”
    Before Prudence could inquire about his bathing schedule, the door was opened once again and new arrivals announced: Lady Eliza Brownell and Sir James Brownell.
    Surprised, Prudence snapped her head around and watched the two guests enter the drawing room. Sir James limped in on a cane. His eyebrows arched as he fixed his attention upon Prudence with sharp interest, before letting his one-eyed gaze slide across briefly to the younger Mrs. Greenwood and finally to her husband. Lady Brownell nodded at each in turn. Dorothea rose to welcome them, asking if they were acquainted with Miss Pentyre.
    “I have not yet had the pleasure,” Lady Brownell said, smiling at Prudence. “How do you do?” She was tall and slender, with the same merry blue eyes and golden brown hair as her son. Prudence thought she appeared far too young to be Sir James’s parent.
    “Miss Pentyre and I met yesterday,” the gentleman informed them. He stepped forward to take Prudence by the hand. “I am most particularly grateful to her for convincing Miss Margaret Leyes to undergo the Jenner procedure. You succeeded, dear lady, where I had not.”
    Prudence gave him a hesitant smile, surprised by his gallantry. She did not trust the man—not entirely. Somewhat anxious, she braced herself, fearing he would soon make some outrageous remark about Margaret or refer to the frank conversation they had shared yesterday at Lady Oldenfield’s. She wondered too how she might best make her escape. Now that Sir James and his mother had arrived, Prudence realized with certainty any private conversation with Dorothea would be impossible. On the other hand, if she took her leave immediately, Sir James might think she was running away from him . She could not bear the idea he might consider her a social coward. Why it should matter one way or the other, she couldn’t say.
    “Have you also been vaccinated, Miss Pentryre?” Arthur Greenwood asked, interrupting her flustered thoughts.
    “Indeed, while still in the schoolroom many