The Hidden Heiress by Juliet Moore Read Free Book Online Page A

glanced at the cabinet where her few dresses hung. "I suppose I could come."
    "I promise you'll enjoy yourself," she said, then whirled around and glided into the hallway.
    Isabel watched Jane's numerous petticoats sweep the floor clean and she fell back onto the bed. Enjoy herself? Hardly. Her childhood governess had been in a similar situation many times. The poor woman would sit at the table only to suffer pitying looks and be left out of every conversation concerning things outside of her social sphere. With her head still spinning from the "tea incident", Isabel knew her experience wouldn't be any different.
     

    * * *
     
    "Why all alone, Miss Balfour?" Miss Sarah Norcross approached Isabel in the drawing room after dinner, two other women following in her wake. The men -- including Marshall -- were still closeted in the dining room over cigars and port.
    "I was just admiring this painting," Isabel lied, gesturing to the one above the mantel. She couldn't reveal she'd been trying to avoid the hateful woman.
    Sarah frowned, disappointed at finding nothing ary nsult or ridicule in Isabel's reply. She glanced toward Mrs. Templeton. "How are you dealing with Paige? She's such a rotten girl."
    "I can handle her."
    "That's wonderful to hear," she said, speaking to her gaggle as much as Isabel. "They say that most governesses end up in mental institutions."
    The gaggle giggled.
    "That's a fascinating tidbit, Miss Norcross," Isabel replied, then turned abruptly and walked away. To a chorus of gasps, Isabel sat at the piano. She ignored them all.
    She placed her fingers on the keys superficially, pretending she were about to perform, but she couldn't concentrate long enough to think of anything to play. All throughout dinner, she'd been forced to watch Miss Norcross flirt with Marshall. Now -- because of the few words he'd tossed in Isabel's direction -- she was being punished even further.
    Finally the men joined them in the drawing room. Their appearance triggered a cacophony of giggles. Isabel pressed a series of keys and a solitary tear fell onto the ivory.
    Someone sat beside her and, without looking up, she knew it was Marshall.
    "What's wrong, Miss Balfour?" he asked in a whisper. "You know I cannot ignore a damsel in distress."
    She wiped her eyes before looking at him. "Nothing is the matter. Go back to your friends before she thinks I'm trying to steal you."
    " She isn't entitled to care." Marshall turned to look at the assembled group. "Let's go outside. It's a warm night."
    His kind words made her tingle. His suggestion made her ache. She peeked at the rest of the company. "Is that proper?"
    "No." He laughed and placed his hand over hers on the piano. "But you're in no shape to stay. I know how catty those women can be to someone they feel they have power over."
    Her sorrow turned to anger. "They haven't the slightest power over me."
    "Let's go outside then."
    "Yes, we shall."
    He smiled. "You go first. I'll follow in a few minutes."
    "Why don't you go first?"
    She was surprised to see him pull at his cravat. "I think that if Miss Norcross saw me leave, she would get to me first."
    "I'll leave now," she replied. Isabel stood up and walked toward one of the room's large paintings. She examined it for a moment and then drifted to the glass-paneled French doors. The cool night breeze made the sheer white drapes flutter into the drawing room, caressing her face when she passed.
    The garden path was fragrant with the mingled scents of lilacs and roses. She inhaled and wished the calmness of the garden would soothe her rattled nerves. It wasn't able to change the fact that she was about to meet Marshall in a secluded, private spot. Exactly what she'd promised herself she would never do.
    If the alternative weren't worse, she would hasten to her bedroom, far away from Marshall. But she had never done anything like having a secret rendezvous with a man and the thought of it made her heart beat twice its normal speed. Isabel