The Maiden At Midnight by Kate Harper Read Free Book Online Page B

be
posted and arrangements made. Good God, we might not be leg tied
for an age.’
    ‘You are eager to wed?’ Isabella
enquired.
    ‘I feel I have reached that time in life.
Yes, yes I think it safe to say that I am very keen.’
    Mr. Carstairs gave a small snort of –
Isabella assumed – derision. Clearly there was more to it than a
sudden, pressing urge to enter into the happy state of matrimony.
From what she had already overheard, like herself the earl was in
financial difficulties. ‘Even though the aunt does not care for
you, you seem to think the lady is eager to further her
acquaintance with you?’
    ‘I believe so.’
    Isabella took another sip of coffee. ‘I have
not met the lady.’
    ‘She is really marvelous. Isn’t she
Harry?’
    Harry shrugged. ‘I had not noticed.’
    Stornley made a face. ‘Harry is more of a
nonpareil. His interest in the female of the species is confined to
horseflesh and ladies of the -’ he broke off abruptly, belatedly
realizing that he was about to be highly inappropriate. Far from
shocking Isabella, this gaffe helped to mollify her uncertain
temper. She had spent the greater part of her life saying the wrong
thing at precisely the wrong time and it was always pleasant to
discover she was not alone in this.
    ‘Joss,’ Carstairs looked at his friend whose
fair skin had colored up to an interesting shade of red once more,
‘perhaps we might hold off on the conversational niceties until
you’ve had the opportunity to fully sober up. I am sure Miss
Hathaway does not need to know about my personal life.’
    ‘Perhaps that would be wise,’ Stornley
agreed, a little forlornly. ‘Although really, I’m as right as a
trivet now.’
    Isabella took a slice of toast. It was cold
but cold buttered toast had a lot to recommend it and she
approached the butter dish with enthusiasm. She was thinking; how
unusual it was to have two people in such a position. Well, perhaps
it wasn’t unusual, as such. She had not really considered that
peers of the realm could be so hard up that they dangled after
heiresses but it made sense. Still… she was in need of a wealthy
husband and her abductor was in need of a wealthy bride.
    It was most interesting.
    ‘I have only just arrived in London,’ she
said thoughtfully, eyeing the marmalade. It was always difficult to
know if one should add marmalade. A good one was delicious but too
frequently it was uncommonly bitter and quite ruined the toast it
was spread on. She decided to forego it. This did not look like a
very good hostelry that would know their way around the correct
makings of marmalade. ‘I have not been about much yet but I suppose
I will be sure to meet your Miss Piedmont.’
    Stornley eyed her nervously. ‘I would take
it as a great favor if you would not mention any of this. I can’t
help but think that she would consider me a fool and I rather
thought I was making ground with her.’
    ‘Don’t you think you would have lost a
little, snatching her away?’
    ‘It would not have mattered. We would have
been married by then and she would be stuck with me.’
    ‘A happy outcome for everybody.’
    Apparently Mr. Carstairs
was not immune to sarcasm and he spoke up in his friend’s defense.
‘Joss did not mean any harm,’ he pointed out. ‘He just did not
think it through very well. And he was as drunk as a sailor to boot. Not
responsible for his actions.’
    ‘Apparently not. But you can both rest
assured that I will not be mentioning this to anybody.’ Isabella
looked up from her buttering and found that she was being closely
scrutinized by Harry Carstairs. His green eyes were unnervingly
intense, so much so that she quickly switched her gaze to Stornley.
She had decided that she preferred the earl to his friend. There
was something about Mr. Carstairs that rubbed her up the wrong way.
He had an air of… superiority about him that she did not care for.
At least Stornley did not pretend that he was anything but a