Velvet Chains (Historical Romance) by Constance O'Banyon Read Free Book Online Page A

the day you shamed me, miss."
    "Papa! I never allowed a man to ... I didn't... you don't understand." She was horrified that her father should believe she had behaved in an unmaidenly fashion. "I'm sor—"
    "Stop saying you are sorry. You don't yet know what the word sorry means—but you will, Season. By God you will!"
    "What are you going to do to me?" she asked, raising frightened eyes to him.
    "You might well ask. I will tell you in good time, but first I want you to know what a scandal you have caused in London. Your conduct has even reached the ears of the king!"'
    Season couldn't remember ever having seen her father so angry. Her fondest wish had always been to please him and make him proud of her. She would have done anything to gain his approval—anything but marry Lord Ransford. She had always known she had been a disappointment to him, because she, his daughter, was alive, while his son and heir was dead.
    Now as he towered above her, Season could see his nostrils flare. "Ransford has blackened your name, miss, and in doing so, he has blackened my name as well. I called him out, but he refused to fight, saying you weren't worth his life or mine. What do you think of that, Season?"
    "Oh, Papa, I didn't think about you calling him out. I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you," she cried, tears streaming down her face. Her father had always been a proud man, and she hated the fact that she had shamed him before the whole world. For the first time she wished she had willingly married Lord Ransford.
    "You can spare me your tears, Season. They will neither soften my heart, nor the stand I have been forced to take on your behalf. Do you have any notion what's being said about you in London?"
    "Yes, I assume it's being said that Lord Ransford and his friends found me in the hay . . . with the stable boy."
    "Yes, that and more. I couldn't believe that my own daughter would behave in such a disgraceful manner." He seemed to shrink visibly. "You look so like an angel, Season."
    "Papa, I never ... I would never—"
    "Dammit, girl, stop stuttering. If you have something to say, say it! However, I don't see how you will find anything to say in your own defense, though God only knows I wish you could."
    Suddenly Season became angry. Her father believed her guilty. How could he have so little faith in his own daughter? Tears of frustration blinded her as she stood up, looking her father squarely in the eyes.
    "How can you, my own father, believe what Lord Ransford told you about me? My greatest guilt lies in staging a tête-à-tête for Lord Ransford's benefit. I would hope that as my father, you would have more faith in me."
    Mason Chatsworth's eyes gleamed dangerously, but Season saw something besides anger in their green depths. Could it be that she saw pride in her father's eyes? "You had better explain yourself, Season. What are you telling me?"
    "I am telling you that before that awful day I had never been so forward with a man. I used poor Tom, the stable boy, to my own advantage. I was angry because Lord Ransford had come to my home while you were away. I wanted to make the earl think I wasn't worthy of being his wife. Nothing happened between me and Tom but a harmless kiss. It was all staged for Lord Ransford's benefit, Papa."
    Season saw her father's lips dip into an almost smile, and she did see a glint of pride in his eyes. "By damn, did you now? I always thought you were sweet and mild like your mother, but by heaven, I'm finding out you have some of me in you."
    Season was astonished. She had always been in awe of her father. Thinking he wanted her to be a proper lady, she had tried to please him with her soft manners. On the rare occasions when he had been at home, she had always tried to act timid to make him like her. She wondered how different their relationship might have been if she had just been herself.
    "You aren't mad at me, Papa?" she asked in a voice filled with wonder.
    "Oh,