The Unexpected Bride by Elizabeth Rolls Read Free Book Online

positively forbidding. Roger shut the door carefully. Whatever had put that look on the master’s face, he preferred not to be involved.
    ‘Brook Street. We are picking up Mr Carstares at his lodgings,’ was the terse order. The carriage rolled away, clattering over the cobbles. Its occupant leanedback against the squabs, prey to bitter thoughts, all of which were directed at the fairer sex. To Lord Darleston, at that moment, the goddess Aphrodite held no charms whatsoever.
    He shuddered at the thought of the ball he had promised to attend. Hordes of gauche young girls, all in hopes of catching a husband, all with ambitious mamas eager to make sure they danced with the most eligible bachelors or, as in his case, widowers. Blast them all, he thought furiously. He would stay in the card room drinking brandy!
    The carriage drew to a halt in Brook Street unnoticed by him. Then George’s cheerful voice said, ‘Anyone home? Wake up, Peter, you’re away with the clouds!’
    He looked up in surprise into the open countenance. ‘Oh. Here, am I? Sorry, George. I was thinking.’
    ‘Bad habit that,’ said George, getting into the carriage. ‘People might notice and then where would you be?’ Observing the frown as he looked closely at his friend, George asked, ‘What’s happened, Peter? Your face is enough to turn the milk!’
    Peter was silent for a moment before replying savagely, ‘Caroline!’
    Momentarily puzzled, George enquired, ‘Is she ill?’
    ‘Not in the least! She sent a notice of our engagement to the Gazette!’ was the sufficiently startling reply.
    Speechless with amazed horror, George could only stare at his friend with a dropped jaw. His brain whirled as he contemplated the uproar which would greet the Seventh Earl of Darleston’s betrothal to his mistress.
    Finally he managed to say, ‘Er…do I congratulate you?’
    ‘You do! Fortunately the editor had the good sense to check with me before printing! I was able to stop it being published, thank God.’
    ‘Anyone else know about this?’ asked George.
    ‘I hope not! Except for old Miss Jameson, who delivered the notice. From what the editor said she deliberately went out of her way to put them on their guard.’
    After some thought, George said, ‘Seems to me that if Lady Caroline has told people the notice is going to appear, and it doesn’t, she’ll look like a fool.’
    ‘Good!’
    ‘Won’t like that, Peter.’
    ‘She’s not supposed to like it! I sent a discreet note to her house informing her that after a most interesting conversation with an editor of the Gazette I would be returning to Darleston Court tomorrow and did not expect to see her again!’
    ‘Oh!’ George digested the news that Peter had broken irrevocably with his mistress, then said cautiously, ‘Probably a good thing.’
    ‘I’m damned sure it is! Tonight I’m celebrating. Cards, dice and brandy are the order of the evening. Curse all women! The problem is that I have to marry! Caroline knows that, but if she thinks I want a child of hers to succeed me any more than my revolting cousin Jack…!’
    George was fully in agreement with this sentiment. So Carrington had been right after all! No doubt she had subtly manoeuvred Peter into spending all those months in France. His retreat to Darleston Court and the Fairfords’ for the entire winter, though, must havemade her desperate. No doubt she had decided to risk all on this last throw when Darleston had returned to town and begun attending the sort of parties where one met eligible young ladies.
    The problem, to George’s way of thinking, was Peter’s ridiculously low opinion of women generally. Much of this could, of course, be attributed to Melissa’s behaviour. Lovely, faithless Melissa, who had run off with another man just as her husband returned, wounded, from Waterloo. Her defection had been no surprise to anyone, least of all Darleston, who had rejoined Wellington’s forces as a volunteer in full