The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown (Lady W 1) by Julia Quinn Read Free Book Online Page A

Pauline excluded, she wasn’t the only unsteady one.
    “Shall we?” Desmond asked, offering his hand.
    Her ermine muff hanging from the ribbon about her neck, and her right hand tightly gripping his arm, Anne nodded. They stepped onto the ice together, and thankfully she didn’t collapse as they glided forward in a fairly competent fashion.
    “Oh, this is fun,” she exclaimed, relief making her chuckle.
    “And even better, all chaperones must remain on the bank.” Desmond slipped his arm free of her grip and skated a slow circle around her. “Green velvet becomes you,” he said, continuing his circles. “And the cold brings roses to your cheeks. You are breathtaking, Anne.”
    That odd feeling started in her gut again. This was not how friends spoke to each other. “You look very fine yourself, Lord Howard,” she returned, keeping the smile on her lips. “And I think you’ve been practicing your skating. You far outshine me.”
    “Nothing could.”
    Trying to gather her thoughts, Anne looked across the ice. Fifty or so guests had joined them already on the cold surface. As she watched, Moreland servants in socks emerged onto the Thames, pushing carts of sandwiches and Madeira before them while the orchestra launched into a country dance.
    “You haven’t answered me,” the viscount said from behind her.
    She shook herself. “Beg pardon. Answered you about what?”
    His sky blue eyes narrowed for a brief moment as he passed in front of her, then cleared again. “I have to rescind my earlier apology, Anne. I did mean to kiss you.”
    Oh no . “Please stop circling,” she snapped. “You’re making me dizzy.”
    Immediately he returned to her side, taking her hand again as they neared the far bank and the higher piles of snow there. “Perhaps it’s your feelings making you dizzy. I know this must be unexpected, but we have been friends for some time now. Surely you’ve realized my admiration and regard for you.”
    Anne swallowed. His recent declarations that he would never remove her from London and that he feared for her happiness in Maximilian’s company abruptly made sense. It wasn’t friendship he was after. “Desmond—”
    “Damn him,” the viscount cut in. “How did he manage to get invited? Obviously the Morelands had no idea what they were doing.”
    She turned. A clinging, slipping female on either arm, Lord Halfurst glided up and back along the ice. Something one of the ladies said made him laugh, the sound ringing merrily across the width of the river. Her heart jolted. He was supposed to be sulking somewhere, or thinking up their next outing. He wasn’t supposed to be enjoying himself at the party to which she’d declined to accompany him.
    “I suppose any chit with an income will do for him,” Desmond murmured in her ear. “At this rate he’ll be a married man by St. Valentine’s Day, and you’ll never have to worry about being dragged off to Yorkshire.”
    “But he seemed so…”
    “Sincere?” the viscount finished. “Yes, he looks it.”
    Anne wanted a few moments to think in peace, without Desmond Howard echoing her own worst doubts aloud. As she continued to watch, unable to turn away, Halfurst returned to the snowy bank, released the ladies in his company, and amid much laughter collected two more. From the silly tittering and giggling, all the gathered females were supremely grateful both for his attention and for his clear skill on the ice.
    “Come, my dear,” Desmond continued. “You’re upset. It’s quite natural; you had no idea he was courting other females.”
    “Wouldn’t you consider,” she forced out, trying to shake free of Desmond’s whisperings, “that he’s merely being nice? This party does lack for male escorts.”
    “Ah, dear Anne. Always determined to think the best of everyone, aren’t you?”
    “Not real—”
    “I have an idea to take your mind off this odiousness. At Queenhithe the commoners have set up food and gaming booths all