The Courtesan's Secret by Claudia Dain Read Free Book Online Page B

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    Martha, Amelia's mother, had acquired herself a duke in the form of Amelia's father. Margaret had done just slightly worse in acquiring for herself the Marquis of Melverley. But of course, that was the tale as the public told it. Louisa knew without a doubt that her mother had done very much worse in finding herself saddled with Melverley.
    Both Margaret and Martha were dead now, leaving their children in the care of less than diligent fathers and leaving Mary, their sister, the field. Mary, to hear her tell it, had married for love. Mary had married badly, a mere baron who had died ten years ago leaving his wife without children and without funds. Marrying for love had not been the wisest course for Aunt Mary. Louisa was going to do much better at it when she married Lord Dutton. Marrying for love was not a bad idea if one married the right sort of man. Lord Dutton was precisely the right sort of man. To start, he was a marquis, a very much better sort of man than a mere baron.
    Eleanor did not agree with such sound and logical reasoning, however. She loved to read Shakespeare, and who knew where he had gotten his rather odd ideas about love and marriage. Amelia, on the other hand, agreed with her completely. Amelia was possessed of an entirely practical frame of mind about things romantic. Louisa rather liked that about her.
    She also rather liked the fact that Amelia cared absolutely nothing for Lord Dutton. For that reason alone, Amelia could not possibly have been a more delightful companion.
    " We are laughing because Louisa just announced that not every thing revolves around Lord Dutton," Eleanor said with a chuckle.
    "After the day you've had?" Amelia said, sitting down on a well-padded chair and stretching out her legs. "That takes cheek, Louisa. Now, tell me everything. What did you discuss with Lady Dalby? Was Lord Dutton there?"
    "No, he was not there, nor did I expect him to be," Louisa said, coloring it just slightly. It would not have been at all amiss if he had been there, though since she had not expected him to be there she did not think it at all amusing that everyone assumed she'd gone to Dalby House looking for him. It was a fine point, but in a courtship such as the one she was almost having with Lord Dutton, fine points became excruciatingly important.
    "I must say, I think it's for the best that he wasn't there," Amelia said, brushing a hand over the back of her golden hair. "It's scandalous enough that you paid a call upon Lady Dalby without an escort. It would be altogether worse if you'd been closeted within with Lord Dutton."
    "It was hardly scandalous," Louisa said. "After all, I've paid more than one visit to Lady Dalby in the past."
    "Yes, but always with a chaperone or escort and always when she was hosting a party. To plop yourself upon her doorstep in the middle of the afternoon... well, I must tell you that I tried to stop you, or to at least accompany you, but Eleanor prevented me."
    Louisa raised her ginger brows and looked at her sister in surprised curiosity.
    "I thought you should have a go at her," Eleanor said, shrugging. "At Lady Dalby, I mean. They say she's very clever about things, and very wicked as well. But then, I don't suppose it is very unusual to be both clever and wicked. Based upon my reading, I should say it was rather unlikely to be one and not the other."
    "Don't be absurd, Eleanor," Louisa snapped. "Of course a person may be both clever and good."
    "Name three," Eleanor countered with a straight face. "And don't bother naming Lord Dutton as I am completely certain he is as wicked as the worst rake in Town should be, though I'm not at all certain he is clever in the least."
    Into a silence that stretched rather uncomfortably as they each tried to think of someone, anyone, who was both clever and good, Amelia said, "One thing can be said for Dutton; he is remarkably clever at avoiding—"
    "Louisa?" Eleanor chirped.
    "Marriage," Amelia said instead, her blue