Sharon Sobel by The Eyes of Lady Claire (v5.0) (epub) Read Free Book Online Page A

Macy and see if she has bright red ribbons. If I am to have a new red jacket, I must appear fashionable in all ways,” Camille said, not answering the immediate question, but seeming to address one equally compelling.
    ***
    “Mrs. Macy is very kind,” Claire said sometime later, shifting her small parcel so she could once again take Camille’s hand. “Is that why you prefer her to her sister? Or do you frequent both establishments?”
    Camille cocked her head, reflecting on the matter. “I suppose I do prefer Mrs. Macy, though I also visit Miss Shaw. I have never considered it before, but I suppose I have always felt that as Mrs. Macy proved the more adventurous of the two sisters, her hats must be somewhat more adventurous as well.”
    Claire thought Mrs. Macy’s hats as adventurous as an evening alone, reading
Pilgrim’s Progress
.
    “Well, she certainly offered an abundance of ribbons,” Claire said cheerfully. “I daresay she had twenty spools.”
    Camille said nothing, and Claire wished she were able to tamp down her own sarcasm and not sound so high in the instep.
    “Have you other shops to visit today? There is a small tearoom across the way,” Claire said, trying to steer Camille in a different direction.
    “We are to have tea with Mr. Cosgrove. Did I not mention I have a letter for my solicitor?”
    “You did, though I nearly forgot it. It is very pleasant of him to offer us tea while on a business call.”
    “Jamie Cosgrove is very pleasant,” Camille said, and nodded. “We are to meet him at the posting house.”
    “The one we passed on the way into Middlebury?”
    “There is only one posting house,” Camille explained.
    Of course. A small town might require two milliners, but one posting house would do.
    In fact, the simplicity of its exterior was far exceeded by the cleanliness and elegant fixtures within. It would do very nicely, Claire reflected. Certainly, it was a fine place for a meeting.
    “Lady Camille?”
    A tall man came forward, out of the shadows. He was very lean, with deep dimples that might well disappear if he gained more heft, or if he did not smile so. But he appeared to be a man who liked to smile. As he bent over Camille’s hand, his brown hair fell over his forehead and brushed against her fingers. She slowly bent her elbow, so as he raised his head he was close to her he might well have stolen a kiss. Camille seemed to sense this, and parted her lips, as if in anticipation.
    “I believe you are Mr. Cosgrove?” Claire interrupted. She thought she knew the full extent of her responsibilities to the young lady, and did not guess she would also be chaperone.
    “I am,” he said, turning towards her, still holding Camille’s hand. Claire suddenly realized he was the gentleman who rode away from Brookside Cottage just as she arrived.
    “Lady Claire, please let me introduce Mr. James Cosgrove. Lady Claire is my new friend.”
    “It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I understand you are a great reader and have traveled to Brookside Cottage to share your knowledge of the classics with Lady Camille,” he said.
    Oh, indeed. If one considered shelving the latest issues of Ackermann’s fashion plates alongside Aristotle in one’s library.
    “I have come to share many things, Mr. Cosgrove. And as Lady Camille also shares much with me, we are learning from each other. Perhaps today we both are to learn a lesson in the law?”
    He grinned, and his dimples deepened. “Are you interested in the law? Some consider mine a savage profession.”
    “Mr. Cosgrove, I know people who consider any profession a savage one. But they have never had one, so could not truly know.” Claire smiled back at him, for his good humor was contagious. “Perhaps I ought to have a lesson from you, for one never knows when a source of income might come in very handy.”
    “Are there lady solicitors?” Camille asked.
    “No, my dear lady, there are not.” Mr. Cosgrove took her hand and led her to