Seductive Lies (Secret Lives Series) by Colleen Connally Read Free Book Online

“She is determined to use your good fortune to our benefit. Why would she not?”
    Harriet looked at Bessie as if she had gone mad. “Because Ewan is the most outrageous bore! He has a high opinion of himself. I cannot for the life of me see Ewan ever in love with anyone but himself. But there is Boult…”
    “Mother says marriage is not about love. It is a business arrangement,” Bessie said serenely. “Love comes later.”
    Harriet contained a giggle that swelled within her. Bessie looked quite serious. Instead, she teased her cousin, “Then you can have that pleasure of being Ewan’s wife. Why , then you can be my sister.”
    “Oh,” Bessie stammered. The thought had not crossed her mind. Seeing the look on her face, she , too, held reservations on such an attachment. “But…but…Mother said that I would have my pick of suitors with my connections. Of course, I would not mind at all being your sister…it is only…”
    “Calm yourself, Bessie,” Harriet said. “It is of no matter. Of course, you will make a wondrous marriage of your choosing. I will insist , as the future Vicountness of Daneford. No one will dare go against my wishes.”
    Bessie gave her a dubious look and glanced over at Clarissa. Then in unison the girls broke out into laughter. A sudden knock on the drawing room door disturbed their amusement.
    Baines opened the door without waiting for a reply. “Miss Harriet, your presence is requested in the study.”
    Not realizing at first that Baines was talking to her, Harriet glanced over at Clarissa for a brief moment, expecting her to rise. When all eyes fell upon her, Harriet smiled a little. Standing, she straightened her skirt. “Uncle Walter wants to see me?”
    “It is not your uncle who requested your presence, Miss Harriet. Lord Daneford has arrived.”
    “Lord Daneford .” Harriet uttered the name under her breath. Suppressing the alarm rushing through her veins, she followed Baines.
    From the moment of her engagement, Lord Daneford had received Harriet in a polite if not a distant manner. Once a week, Harriet dined with the immediate family. She had been introduced to the extended family at Christmas. Though never once over the last few months had Lord Daneford ever held a private audience with her.
    Answering the summons, Harriet walked in silence. The door was ajar and she found Lord Daneford sitting in the high wingback chair near her uncle’s desk. Her uncle was nowhere to be seen.
    Harriet didn’t notice Baines withdrawing from the room until she heard the click of the door shutting behind him. Ignoring the pounding of her heart, she focused on the man sitting stoically before her.
    An ominous sensation overcame her as she stared at Arthur’s grandfather. She took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for the news. She knew before he uttered a word. It was written on his face.
    Lord Daneford spoke, but it was all lost in a fog of words that held no meaning or none that Harriet would accept. Special assignment. Missing in action. Presumed dead.
    Not her Arthur! No, she would know if he no longer walked on this earth. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably. She had no control. Slowly the words sank into her consciousness , leaving her with only one conclusion—the world she had known had fallen into a downward spiral where there was no end.
    Harriet found little comfort. She lived in a state of limbo where she only existed. There would be no dances, carriage rides, or the acknowledgement of her attachment to the man she loved more than life itself. The excitement she held for a London Season dissipated. She cared little. It held no meaning without Arthur.
    To Harriet’s surprise, Clarissa’s marriage commenced quietly with her parents’ blessing. Though Harriet understood quickly her aunt’s goodwill didn’t extend toward herself. Harriet was more reduced to a lower status , even lower than before Arthur’s proposal.
    “I do not know what we will do with