The Betting Season (A Regency Season Book) by Jerrica Knight-Catania, Catherine Gayle, Ava Stone, Jane Charles Read Free Book Online Page B

seen. Everything from regal ladies and gentlemen to the middle and much lower classes.
    “ One could get lost here and never find their way out,” Georgie muttered.
    Pippa squeezed her friend’s arm. “Isn’t it grand?”
    Georgie laughed, but said nothing else as they navigated the vast sea of people.
    Just as they approached the grove, a hand reached out from the shadows and caught Pippa’s arm. Before she could let out a squeal of surprise, she found herself staring up at a gentleman in black half-mask. A roguish smile lit his lips, then he tugged the mask off.
    Colebrooke.
    So handsome, his light blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight. Pippa’s heart leapt and her breath caught in her throat at his vision. “My lord!” she said on a sigh.
    “ My dear Lady Philippa.” And the way her name flowed from his lips made tingles race across Pippa’s skin.
    Beside her, Georgie cleared her throat, which brought Pippa back to the present. Who knew how long she might have stood there gaping at Lord Colebrook otherwise?
    “ Oh!” Pippa glanced at her friend. “Lady Georgiana Bexley-Smythe, this is Viscount Colebrooke.”
    “ My lady.” Lord Colebrooke inclined his head in greeting. “You are Stalbridge’s sister?”
    A crinkle formed on Georgie’s brow, but she nodded. “Do you know my brother?”
    Lord Colebrooke frowned as though he meant to say something but changed his mind at the last minute. “Only by reputation.”
    Georgie winced, but her expression returned to normal a moment later. “Even through all these people, I do see someone I know. Will you excuse me?” she asked, not waiting for an answer before she disappeared into the throng.
    “ Georgie!” Pippa called after her friend. What if she got lost in this crowd? “I wish you hadn’t mentioned Stalbridge.” Poor Georgie was beleaguered enough by her familial connection.
    Colebrooke looked off in the direction Georgie had gone. “I do hope I didn’t make her run off.”
    “ Georgie’s resourceful. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” At least Pippa hoped so.
    “ Don’t frown, my lady, you make me feel like the worst sort of cad.”
    “ You couldn’t know she’d react in such a way. “ Pippa refocused on her handsome Sir Galahad. “Would you care to join us in our supper box this evening, my lord? I’m certain my brothers would like to make your acquaintance.”
    “ Afraid I already have plans,” Colebrooke drawled, then he offered his arm to Pippa. “But do let us stroll the gardens until then.”

    A jolt of something went through Pippa as she took Lord Colebrooke’s arm. She glanced up at the viscount, catching his profile. His strong jaw, his aristocratic nose. A smile tipped the corner of his mouth as he caught her looking at him.
    “ How are you enjoying the Season, sweetheart?”
    Pippa turned her gaze back to the path in front of them. “A bit strange, honestly.”
    “ Strange?” he chuckled. “I thought ladies lived for the Season.”
    Pippa had certainly been anxious to attend her very first one, of that there was no doubt. But… “Well, in many ways it has been more than I’d hoped for, but in others…”
    “ Yes?” He led her towards a darkened, less crowded path.
    “ Well, I’ve been more than a little frustrated so far.” The shame of her first ball, that awful bet, the occasional look from haughty matrons. Her first Season was nothing at all as she’d thought it would be.
    “ I do hate to hear that,” he said softly, stopping along the now darkened path which seemed quite empty. “I hate to think of you ever feeling frustrated.” He drew her in front of him and he tipped her chin up with one bent finger. “I have wanted to do this since I first laid eyes on you.” He dipped his head towards hers, and before Pippa knew what or how it happened, Lord Colebrooke’s warm lips pressed against hers.
    Her eyes fluttered closed and she would have tumbled to the ground if he hadn’t, at that moment, wrapped one