(Omnibus) The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown - 36 Valentines by Julia Quinn

Author:Julia Quinn [Quinn, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Both Mann-Formsby brothers were in attendance at the Moreland skating party, although it can hardly

be said that their interactions were amiable. Indeed, it was reported to This Author that the earl and his

brother nearly came to blows.

Now, that, Gentle Reader, would have been a sight to see. Fisticuffs on skates! What could be next?

Underwater fencing? Tennis on horseback?

Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, 4 February 1814

When Susannah placed her hand in Clive's it was as if she'd been transported back in time. It had Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

been half a year since she'd stood so close to the man who'd broken her heart—or at the very least her pride—and much as she wanted to feel nothing ...

She did.

Her heart missed a beat and her stomach flipped and her breath grew shaky, and oh, how she hated herself for it all.

He should mean nothing. Nothing. Less than nothing if she could manage it.

"Clive," she said, trying to keep her voice even as she tugged her hand away from his.

"Susannah," he said warmly, smiling down at her in that oh-so-confident way of his. "How have you been?"

"Fine," she answered, irritated now, since, really, how did he think she'd been?

Clive turned back around to offer a hand to his brother, but David had already found his feet.

"David," Clive said cordially. "I didn't expect to see you here with Susannah."

"I didn't expect to see you here at all," David replied.

Clive shrugged. He wasn't wearing a hat, and a lock of his blond hair fell forward onto his forehead.

"Decided only this morning to attend."

"Where is Harriet?" David asked.

"Off with her mother near the fire. She doesn't like the cold."

They stood there for a moment, an awkward triptych with nothing to say. It was strange, Susannah thought, her eyes drifting slowly from one Mann-Formsby brother to the next. In all the time she'd spent with Clive, she'd never known him to be without words or an easy smile. He was a chameleon, slipping and sliding into situations with perfect ease. But right now, he was just staring at his brother with an expression that wasn't quite hostile.

But it certainly wasn't friendly.

David didn't seem quite right, either. He tended to hold himself more stiffly than Clive, his posture always straight and correct. And in truth, it was a rare man who moved with the easy, fluid grace that Clive epitomized. But now David seemed almost too stiff, his jaw too tight. When they'd laughed so hard, just moments before in the snowbank, she'd seen the man and not the earl.

But now ...

The earl was most definitely back.

"Would you like to take a turn about the ice?" Clive suddenly asked.

Susannah felt her head jerk with surprise when she realized that Clive was talking to her. Not that he would have been likely to want to take a turn about the ice with his brother, but still, it didn't seem quite appropriate that he do so with her. Especially with Harriet so close by.

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