Blame It On Bath by Linden Caroline

Author:Linden, Caroline [Linden, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Historical, Adult, Regency
ISBN: 9780062025333
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2012-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Lady Darby and her sister, Mrs. Woodforde, might have been two halves of the same person.

They spoke in the same quick, lilting voice, and regularly finished each other’s sentences. Their brains seemed to run along exactly the same lines and at the same tempo. Even their gestures were the same. And to cap it all off, they looked virtually identical. Lady Darby was a little plumper, and Mrs. Woodforde a little taller, but otherwise, Katherine thought, their own mother might mistake one for the other.

Together, they were two of the most entertaining people she had ever encountered. From the moment they called, she was caught up in the rapid swirl of their conversation, sent in one direction, then another, flooded with information about other residents of Bath and the peculiarities of Queen Square one moment and barraged with polite questions about herself the next. All of it was done in such a deft and friendly way, though, she found herself smiling and answering freely.

“We are just so delighted to have such a pretty new neighbor, delighted!” declared Mrs. Woodforde, beaming. “Barbara, isn’t she the loveliest girl you’ve ever seen?”

Lady Darby nodded vigorously. “Indeed! What I wouldn’t give for such fine skin and eyes.”

“You flatter me,” Katherine said with a blush of discomfort.

“Stuff and nonsense. Barbara was considered a pretty girl in her youth, but she never had a good complexion.” Mrs. Woodforde leaned forward and whispered loudly, “Cow pox, you know.”

“Hush, Alice!” cried Lady Darby. “It is two trifling scars!”

“I think she must have been a great beauty,” said Katherine, not certain how to react.

“Well, perhaps,” allowed Mrs. Woodforde as her sister smiled in delight at Katherine. “We are twins, you know.”

“I am the younger,” put in Lady Darby.

“I am the prettier,” added Mrs. Woodforde with a triumphant air. Katherine bit back a smile, only to let it out when both older ladies burst into laughter at each other.

“You must forgive us, Lady Gerard. We have only each other most of the time, and sometimes forget ourselves.“ Mrs. Woodforde dabbed at her eyes, still chuckling.

“Yes, no daughters to pass on our great beauty to,” said Lady Darby, sending her sister into another gale of laughter. “And our sons all gone off here and there! Mrs. Woodforde’s eldest is at sea, like his father was, and my boy has taken up the law, in London. So you’ve done a great service to us all, bringing your tall, handsome husband to ornament our Square.” Lady Darby winked at her. “Shall we see you at the Assembly Rooms soon?”

“Er … Possibly.” Katherine smiled to cover the fact that she didn’t know if her husband liked to dance or play cards. “The captain has taken a box at the theater.”

“Excellent! We attend the theater every week, twice if the weather is poor. Good weather, as you must know, Lady Gerard, leads to a great many entertainments in Bath. And in the autumn, there are festive activities, which you will no doubt enjoy—you do

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