The Dashing Miss Fairchild by Emily Hendrickson Read Free Book Online

simpered, batting her lashes in an amusingly coy manner. “I shall attempt to help you solve the dilemma of the unwanted baby."
    "He may be temporarily unwanted, but I daresay he is some mother's treasure. Much anguish must tear her heart while she wonders if all is well with her darling."
    "You are too fanciful. Women cannot feel such emotions over a there scrap of humanity such as he.” Venetia thought of the often damp and smelly child, and held her vinaigrette to her nose in a practiced and assuredly graceful movement.
    Clare studied the young woman she had urged to travel with her to Bath to spend two months in genteel amusements, and decided the time would pass very slowly. Not bothering to answer this last particular bit of utter nonsense, Clare bestirred herself to consult with the housekeeper regarding the gentleman expected that afternoon. There must be tea and sufficient good things to serve with it. Gentlemen, Clare knew, subsisted on more hearty fare than watercress sandwiches and ratafia biscuits.
    Venetia remained by the window. After giving the retreating Clare a baleful look, she stared out the window toward Brock Street where Mr. Talbot had disappeared. He was quite, quite handsome. A worried frown settled on her brow.
    While Clare told herself that Mr. Talbot was merely serving as a sort of knight-errant to help an old friend now in distress, she studied the contents of her wardrobe with great care before selecting a gown for his anticipated call.
    Cornflower-blue jaconet trimmed with cream silk flowers and fragile lace proved just the thing. It looked most feminine. And it made her seem young without being ridiculously girlish or attempting to be overly obvious. After Priddy gave the final hook a pat, then adjusted the skirt a trifle, Clare subsided on the bench of her dressing table to stare at the face in her looking glass.
    She quite liked the neat little table with its muslin skirt and pretty candle holders. Best of all, it sat between the room's two windows so that the gentle Bath light illuminated her countenance, telling her that time had not been too harsh. She examined the face before her for lines or signs of fading.
    "My hair, Priddy! It is disgraceful. Look at how those curls droop and the color seems so insipid. How I wish I had something more vibrant, like Venetia's chestnut, perhaps.” The wistful words were rung from a suddenly constricted heart.
    The abigail frowned at her mistress. It was quite unlike her to rail at her looks. They were far superior to most young women's. Usually Miss Fairchild calmly accepted what she saw, and instructed Priddy to freshen her hairstyle before she drifted off to do whatever amused her. Today was different. Priddy determined to nose about to discover what was afoot. Why the sudden care about an appearance that was always immaculate and polished?
    "Fetching blond curls and pretty blue eyes are quite the thing, my lady,” declared Priddy with a good deal of satisfaction. “You look not a day older than when you made your come out."
    This statement seemed to lift her mistress out of whatever doldrums she had fallen into, for she brightened at the words and allowed Priddy to complete the careful arrangement of the blond curls with a matching blue riband.
    "You are a dear, Priddy. Take yourself off to have a rest while Miss Godwin and I entertain my guest this afternoon. When in the Sydney Gardens, I encountered an old friend who has offered to assist with locating the parents of little William.” Mr. Talbot had been more in the line of an acquaintance, or possibly a safe flirt, since both knew their relationship had limits. Clare blithely ignored this bit of history and floated from her bedroom across the hall to the drawing room.
    Here she was shortly joined by Venetia, who loudly complained about Jenny and the baby, not to mention Priddy, being housed so close to her. Priddy, quick to smooth the path for her beloved mistress, hastily offered to move her