The Dashing Miss Fairchild by Emily Hendrickson Read Free Book Online Page A

belongings up to the attic floor. Regarding Jenny and the baby, Clare balked.
    "It is the outside of enough if you insist that child and his nurse be forced to dwell in the top-most floor. I strongly suspect he is of the gentry. Possibly even higher rank. How would your tender sensibilities feel if you were responsible for that dear baby being relegated to the attic?"
    "Dear Clare, that is easy for you to say. You are not the one who must listen to him cry. He is but two doors away from the. He ought to be in a nursery, or at the very least the attic.
    "He is directly above the. I hear him. But he is a good lad, and Jenny tries her best.” Clare admitted to no one that she would likely banish the infant to the attic if she were not afraid for him. As absurd as that seemed, she wanted the baby close by. And Jenny had undertaken to keep him silent as best she could. His outcries were brief, though Clare had found it difficult on occasion to return to sleep when awakened at three in the morning.
    Bennison saved the afternoon by announcing Mr. Talbot just at that moment. Venetia smiled and fluttered her long dark lashes at him. Clare drifted across the room with outstretched hands to greet him with all the gracious warmth a gentleman could desire.
    It was the first time Richard had met Venetia Godwin. Although she had graced Almack's and all the requisite balls, she had never been a part of his circle. A younger son of the wealthy Earl of Knowlton, he had lived in elevated company even if his own pockets had not been deep. Miss Godwin, while of decent enough lineage, had not quite the same connections. Nor the monied background. Clare Fairchild had both money and proper ancestry. She also possessed something else. Precisely what it was, Richard was not prepared to say at the moment. But deep within him something stirred he could not deny. He didn't even wish to explore it right now.
    "I know you are here to work"—here Clare made an adorable little grimace—"but we shall have tea and become better acquainted before we do such a dreadful thing. Providentially for us, Miss Godwin has agreed to help. You see, she has a remarkable memory. We are indeed fortunate."
    Clare drew Venetia forward only to be required to take several deep breaths as that lady proceeded to flirt outrageously with Mr. Talbot. Happily, he seemed to ignore her attempt.
    "La, sir, I have seen you often enough in past years. It is lovely to discover you have done so well.” Venetia fluttered about, settling on the nearest chair.
    Clare smoothly guided the gentleman to a chair by a rather pretty Pembroke table laid for tea. She neatly sat herself across from him, congratulating herself on her cleverness. Then she berated herself for the same trait. She was to find Willy's parents. Nothing more. For the present, at least.
    After the hearty tea, which substance quite surprised Richard, accustomed to his mother's more delicate fare, they began to discuss the problem facing them.
    Removing a notebook from his pocket, Richard glanced about the room. “May I suggest we remove ourselves to the charming study downstairs? As I recall from a hasty glance as I entered the house, it has an excellent desk, though small. I trust we shall find it just the thing for our needs."
    Clare rose to her feet in one of those elegant movements that drive other women to gnash their teeth. Smiling at Mr. Talbot and Venetia, she invited, “Let us change rooms, then, for I perceive Mr. Talbot is entirely correct.” To him, she added, “I must again beg forgiveness that we forced you from the house you had selected."
    "It is entirely my fault,” he stated with a nice show of manners as he assisted Venetia from her chair. “I had business matters in London that took far longer than they ought. After several years of being abroad, I had forgotten how slow the wheels can move here. I looked forward to a respite in Bath, one of my favorite places, enjoying a change from the heat of