What a Reckless Rogue Needs by Vicky Dreiling Read Free Book Online Page B

with him.
    “Penny, what are you embroidering?” Bernadette said.
    “A leaf pattern on a handkerchief.”
    Angeline looked at her sister’s work. “The whitework embroidery is very pretty, but you have always had a gift with a needle.”
    Penny blushed. “Thank you.”
    “Everyone has a talent,” the marchioness said. “Angeline has an expertise in converting old-fashioned rooms to fashionable rooms.”
    Angeline smiled. “I fear it is my only real talent. My needlework is only average at best, and I’m surprised Hercules did not howl when I played the pianoforte last night.”
    “But Colin was much taken with your playing,” Margaret said with a sly smile.
    Oh, no. Surely Margaret wasn’t bent on matchmaking. Angeline focused her attention on her needlework. “I’m fairly certain he felt obliged to turn the pages.”
    “He rather looked as though he were enjoying it.”
    “I must say you looked as if you were enjoying his conversation as well, Angeline,” the duchess said.
    God help her. If Margaret and her mother kept this up, she would have to put a stop to it. Otherwise, she and Colin would find this house party even more of a trial. She wondered if she ought to warn him and decided to do so only if Margaret and her mother became even more obvious.
    The marchioness looked at Penny’s needlework. “Your stitches are perfect.”
    “A thing worth doing is worth doing well,” the duchess said.
    “My girls would do well to remember that proverb,” the marchioness said.
    “Yes, Mama,” the twins said in unison.
    “Why do I suspect you will both forget the moment something else catches your fancy?” the marchioness said.
    Angeline liked Margaret very much. She had a witty way of managing her high-spirited girls. Even her scolds were gentle but effective.
    “Mama, may we take Hercules for his walk now?” Bianca asked.
    “I can see very well you are wild to be out of doors.” The marchioness turned to the duchess. “Do you mind if Penny joins them?”
    “Not at all,” the duchess said. “The exercise is good for their health. Do remember your bonnets and wraps, girls.”
    The twins and Penny retreated. High-pitched giggles echoed outside the drawing room and eventually dissipated.
    “Angeline, do you wish to join them?” the marchioness asked.
    “I think I shall take my sketchbook and walk,” she said. “The scenery is so spectacular this time of year.”
    After she quit the room, the marchioness sighed. “She is better now, but we shall endeavor to enliven her spirits with walks, drawing, and conversation.”
    “She is restless,” the duchess said. “When she begged me to allow her to make over the principle drawing room at Worthington Abbey, I could not deny her. She was excited, and we all saw her talent, but when it ended, she looked lost. Now she spends much of her time walking the grounds and drawing. I confess I worry.”
    “She will recover her high spirits,” the marchioness said. “Angeline is strong, never forget that.”
    The duchess set her dish of tea aside. “Hopefully we have weathered the worst.”
    “I do believe the scandal has already faded,” the marchioness said.
    The duchess sighed. “It has faded because my daughter has not made an appearance in London society since breaking her engagement.”
    The marchioness set her own cup aside. “She is beautiful and the daughter of a duke. That and her marriage portion will pave the way.”
    “I’d always hoped she would make a brilliant match.”
    “I hope she finds love,” the marchioness said.
    “In our day, parents arranged the marriages,” the duchess said.
    “Yes, my father wanted to elevate our family,” the marchioness said. “I was frightened half to death.”
    “You were educated as a lady,” the duchess said.
    “I learned the nuances from you, my dearest friend.”
    The duchess smiled. “More important, you found happiness with your husband.”
    “I am blessed to have married a man I grew to